Gerund or Infinitive: change of meaning

REMEMBER/FORGET o remember/forget + gerund = thinking about a past action, past events I remember coming here when I was young. I dont remember leaving the party. I have not memory of it at all. o remember/forget + infinitive = (not) remember what you have to do We must remember to feed the dog before we go. Last time I forgot to feed it. Did you remember to phone Jack? I forgot to phone Jack.

TRY o try + gerund = describes an experience or an experiment Try resting for a while, you might feel better. Have you tried switching it on and off again? o try + infinitive = attempt to do something I tried to stop him but I failed. Alan tried to catch the thief but he ran away.

STOP o stop + gerund = no longer do something, stopping an action Ive stopped smoking, it is too expensive. He stopped drinking alcohol. o stop + infinitive = stop/interrupt one action in order to do another Lets stop to buy some sweets on our way home. The teacher stopped to have a drink of water.

REGRET o regret + gerund = being sorry for a past action I regret not learning to play the piano when I was younger. He regrets buying this car. o regret + infinitive = persons feeling when something happens I regret to announce the death of Prof. Jenkins. She regretted to tell him that she was fired from her job.

1) Explain the difference

Miranda stopped watching the horror film, as it was getting too scary and also quite late. She had to get up early tomorrow. The next day she was late for work because she stopped to talk to some friends on her way to work. She worked in a hotel as a receptionist. At work she had to tell a couple that she regretted to inform them that the hotel was fully booked until the end of December. After the bad news the couple regretted going to the hotel, as it was a waste of time. Miranda told her colleague Stevie about her weekend. She told him that she clearly remembered seeing Grace at the party and that she was talking to Stevies ex-girlfriend. Stevie then remembered to phone his ex-girlfriend because it was her birthday and despite breaking up, they still were friends. His ex-girlfriend planned to have her party at the local swimming pool so she reminded Stevie not to forget to pack his swimming trunks. Stevie was still talking to his ex-girlfriend and told her that he would never forget seeing Mumford and Sons in concert. However, he preferred the yesterdays football match because Real Madrid tried very hard to score a goal in order to win. Miranda on the other hand thought about lunch, for an alternative she would try adding grilled halloumi cheese instead of feta to her Greek salad.

2) Fill in the correct form of the verbs (gerund or infinitive)

a) The teacher got furious because I forgot _____________ my homework. b) Why dont we stop _____________ a cold drink? It is really hot today! c) Im sorry, I dont remember _________________ you before. d) Hey, please stop ______________ ! Theres an exam in the next classroom. e) Lets try ________________ some Mexican food for a change. f) This was amazing. I will never forget ______________ the stars with you. g) Fortunately, I remembered _____________ an important email to my boss. h) My dad stopped ____________ because it was unhealty. i) Oh, no! I forgot ______________ some salt to the soup. j) Ive been trying ____________ my girlfriend for 2 hours. k) First I tried ____________ a text but there was no answer. l) Then I tried ___________ an email but there was no answer. Where is she? do buy see shout eat watch send smoke add reach send write