oxford_guide_to_english_grammar

14 THE INFINITIVE PAGE 150
2 Verbs taking either form
Some verbs can take either a to-infinitive or a gerund with almost no difference in
meaning.
I hate to leave/hate leaving everything to the last minute.
When the President appeared, the crowd began to cheer/began cheering.
We intend to take/intend taking immediate action.
These verbs are begin, bother, can't bear, cease, commence, continue, hate, intend,
like, love, prefer, propose, start.
NOTE
a With verbs of liking and hating, sometimes the gerund gives a sense of the action really
happening, while the infinitive often points to a possible action.
I hate doing the same thing all the time. It gets really boring sometimes.
I'd hate to do the same thing all the time. I'm lucky my job is so interesting.
Like, love and hate usually take a gerund, but would like, would love and would hate
normally take a to-infinitive.
I love swimming. I swim nearly every day.
I'd love to go for a swim. It's such a lovely day.
b Like takes a to-infinitive when it means that something is a good idea, rather than a
pleasure.
I like to keep all these papers in order.
Compare these two sentences.
I didn't like to complain. (= I didn't complain because it wasn't a good idea.)
I didn't like complaining. (= I complained, but I didn't enjoy it.)
c When the main verb has a continuous form, we normally avoid using another ing-form
after it.
The spectators were already beginning to arrive. NOT beginning arriving
d After start, begin and continue, a state verb usually has the to-infinitive form.
I soon began to understand what the problems were.
e Commence and cease are formal. For stop, • (3e).
f Bother is normally in a negative sentence or question.
Don't bother to wash/bother washing up.
3 Either form but different meanings
The to-infinitive and gerund have different meanings after remember, forget;
regret; dread; try; stop; mean; go on; need, want, require and deserve.
a
We use remember and forget with a to-infinitive to talk about necessary actions
and whether we do them or not
Did you remember to turn off the electricity?
You forgot to sign the cheque. ~ Oh, sorry.
We use a gerund to talk about memories of the past.
I'll never forget breaking down in the middle of Glasgow. It was awful.
I don't know. I can't remember turning it off.
NOTE
We can use a finite clause instead of a gerund clause.
I'll never forget (the time) when we broke down.
I can't remember if/whether I turned it off.
b
We use regret + to-infinitive for a present action, especially when giving bad news.
We use a gerund to express regret about the past.
We regret to inform you that your application has been unsuccessful.
I regret wasting/regret having wasted so much time last year.
Compare patterns with sorry. • 132(5b) Note h