Same verb, different fact
Four pairs of sentences. In each pair the only difference is the form of the second verb.
They are not two ways of saying one thing. They are two different things that happened.
Four questions. Choose what the sentence says, not what it sounds like.
1. I stopped smoking.
2. I stopped to smoke.
3. I remembered to lock the door.
4. I remember locking the door.
One rule, eight verbs
Backwards and forwards
The thirty verbs in Lesson 3 have no reason behind them. Enjoy takes -ing and hope takes to, and no explanation will help; you store the pair and move on.
These eight are different. They take both forms, and the two forms mean different things — which means that here, for once, there is something to understand rather than store.
The -ing form always looks backwards, at something real: an event that happened, an activity already running, a method already tried. I remember locking it — the locking is real. I stopped smoking — the smoking was real and is now over. I tried taking the earlier train — the earlier train was a real experiment.
The to form always looks forwards, at something not yet done: a job waiting, a purpose, an attempt at something difficult. I remembered to lock it — locking was on the list and got done. I stopped to smoke — smoking was the purpose of stopping. I tried to catch the earlier train — catching it was hard, and may not have worked.
One rule. It covers all eight. It is the only rule in this unit that does.
Eight sentences. Match each to what it actually tells you.
The eight, side by side
Both forms, two meanings
| Verb | + -ing · looks back at something real | + to · looks forward at something not yet done |
|---|---|---|
| remember | I remember locking it — a memory of a real event | I remembered to lock it — a job on the list, done |
| forget | I’ll never forget seeing it — nearly always negative | I forgot to send it — the job was not done |
| stop | She stopped arguing — the arguing ends | She stopped to argue — she paused in order to argue |
| try | Try turning it off — a method worth experimenting with | Try to turn it off — it is difficult; make the attempt |
| regret | I regret saying it — I said it, and wish I had not | We regret to inform you — formal, bad news, now |
| go on | He went on talking — the same thing, continued | He went on to talk about… — a new thing, next |
| mean | It means leaving at six — that is what it involves | I meant to leave at six — that was the intention |
| need | The shirt needs washing — a job waiting for it | I need to wash the shirt — my obligation |
Two that matter most in speech.
Try doing is advice: try turning it off and on. The thing is easy; the question is whether it works. Try to do is effort: try to get here by six. The thing is hard; the question is whether you manage it. Offering advice with try to makes it sound like you doubt the person.
Needs washing has no Portuguese shape at all — precisa ser lavada is a passive. English uses an active -ing form with a passive meaning, and it is one of the quickest ways to sound like somebody who lives in the language.
Five questions. Each has one correct reading.
1. Your friend’s laptop is frozen. What do you say?
2. She stopped to check her phone. What happened to what she was doing?
3. You want to say the meeting has a consequence you dislike. Which?
4. A talk moved from staffing to money. Which is right?
5. I forgot to reply. Did a reply happen?
Choosing on purpose
One or two words per gap. Read the sentence around the gap first — here the meaning decides, not the verb.
I remember the email, but the sent folder disagrees, so I must have imagined it. I meant it before the meeting and then forgot at all. On the way in I stopped a coffee, which cost me the four minutes I needed. My manager went on about deadlines for ten minutes and then went on about something else entirely. I have stopped that the problem is the diary. It needs , and so do I.
Seven sentences. Each is grammatical. Each says the wrong thing — the note tells you what was meant.
1. I stopped to check my phone every ten minutes, so I got nothing done. — the checking was the problem
2. Try to turn the wifi off and on. — offering a simple fix
3. I regret to tell her about the job. — he told her, and wishes he had not
4. I remembered locking the door, so I did not have to go back. — locking it was on his list and he did it
5. The report needs to rewrite. — the report is the thing being rewritten
6. She went on talking about the budget after she had finished with staffing. — she changed subject
7. I forgot sending the invoice, so they have not been paid. — the invoice never went
A day that went wrong
Task card · Speaking · Pairs · 4 minutes each
Tell your partner about a day when a small thing went wrong and made everything else late.
Four minutes. Use at least four of the eight verbs from this lesson, and mean them.
- Something you forgot to do, and something you remember doing but cannot prove.
- Something you stopped doing, and something you stopped to do.
- One thing that meant arriving somewhere late.
- One thing that still needs doing tonight.
Listener’s job. Each time you hear one of the eight, write the pair and one word: back or forward.
At the end, read them out. Where you and your partner disagree about which direction was meant, that is where the form and the meaning came apart — and it is the most useful thing either of you will find today.
Where back and forward disagreed
Two questions.
1. When you and your partner disagreed, what had usually happened?
2. Which of the eight is worth checking first in your own speech?
One rule that generalises
Two questions. Twenty seconds.
1. What does the -ing form point at, with these eight verbs?
2. Does this rule work for the thirty verbs in Lesson 3?
Next. A real decision, argued properly — pros, cons, and the one factor that actually settles it. Twenty-six minutes of it.