Gerund or infinitive: Do, to do, doing

When do we use gerund or infinitive?

When we have to use a verb after another verb or a certain kind of word, we sometimes use an infinitive or a gerund. It often depends on the word that comes before. Here’s a list of the main situations in which we use infinitives or gerunds.

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Verbs that take gerund or infinitive with a change of meaning

Forget

Forget to do something: Used to talk about things that we need to do, and we forget to do them.

• I think we forgot to lock the door when we left. 
• Don’t forget to call me when you finish.

Forget doing something: It’s normally used in negative sentences. Used to talk about memories –generally about past events that we will not forget.

• I’ll never forget walking on that amazing beach for the first time. 

Remember

Remember to do something: Used to talk about things we need to do.

• He didn’t remember to turn off the heating after class. 
• Please remember to close the windows if you leave.

Remember doing something: Used to talk about memories. We remember things from the past.

• I remember eating on this same chair the day I graduated. 
• I remember mentioning the issue to Elisabeth last week.

Here’s a Grammar Short on forget and remember.

Try

Try to do something: When we try to do something, we make an effort to achieve something that we maybe will or will not accomplish.

• Could you please try to be a bit less rude?
• I’ll try to convince him, but I’m not sure that’s going to change anything. 

Try doing something: Used when we have an objective, and we try something as an experiment to see if it helps us achieve that objective. We try something in order to achieve an objective.

• A: “I need to sleep, but I can’t.” B: “Why don’t you try drinking a glass of hot milk?”
• I can’t contact Jane. I’ve tried calling her home number and also on her mobile, but nothing. 

Stop

Stop to do something: Used when we stop doing an activity so as to start doing a different one.

• We had been driving for hours, so we had to stop to eat something and go to the toilet. (=We stopped driving in order to eat.)

Stop doing something: It means to finish doing something that we are doing.

• Could you stop biting your nails? 
• I need to stop smoking once and forever.