Unit 11.2

Gerunds and Infinitives with Verbs with difference in meaning


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Introduction

Sometimes, after certain verbs, we find the gerund (when acting as a noun) or the infinitive, but the meaning of those verbs change.

Form

Certain verbs can have the gerund (when acting as a noun) or the infinitive with somechange in meaning.

However, these formations have the same structures:

Subject + verb + gerund + object…
Subject + verb + to + verb + object…

The most commonly used verbs are: forget, remember, stop...

Example

GERUND INFINITIVE
Forget It seems she will never forget loving her first boyfriend.

(*She has memories about loving in the past.)

She forgot to meet with her uncle.

(*She needed to meet with her uncle but she forgot to do that.)

Remember He still remembers listening to his favorite band.

(*He has memories in the past.)

We were sitting at the table and he remembered to listen to his favorite band.

(*He didn’t forget to listen to his favorite band.)

Stop I stopped searching for my book.

(*Means that I tried a lot but I didn’t succeed so I gave up.)

He was walking and suddenly he stopped to look around.

(*He was doing another activity but in order to look around he stopped.)

Use

We use the gerund or the infinitive after certain verbs, as the meaning of the sentence changes.

Summary

After certain verbs, we find the gerund (when acting as a noun) or the infinitive, but the meaning of those verbs change.

The most commonly used verbs are: forget, remember, stop

These formations have the same structures:

  • we start with the subject of the sentence followed by the verb, a gerund and the object of the sentence;
  • we start with the subject of the sentence followed by the verb, the preposition to, another verb, and the object of the sentence.

For example:
— “I stopped working out a month ago.” = I stopped performing the activity of working out a month ago.
— “I was studying for an hour but then I stopped to work out.” = I stopped doing the activity of studying in order to start another activity, that of working out.

Let’s revise this content within the {Form} section. Take a look at the {Example} section that shows its use within a context.

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