1. Meaning first, form second
Remember, forget, stop, try, regret, go on and mean can take either -ing or to + base form. They are not freely interchangeable: the relationship between two actions, or the speaker’s attitude towards the action, changes.
Do not apply the universal formula “-ing means past; to means future”. Tomorrow, moving the archive will mean carrying heavy boxes uses -ing for a future consequence. I remembered to send the invoice yesterday uses to for a completed past action.
Ask what you mean: recalling an event, remembering a duty, ending an activity, explaining a pause, testing a method, making an effort, expressing regret, moving to a next stage or describing a consequence? That determines the construction.
remember / forget / stop / try / regret / go on / mean + verb-ing OR to + base form
- verb / V —
- A word for an action or state, such as work or be. The pattern determines its form.
- V1 / base form —
- The base verb without to: work, go, be.
- V-ing / -ing —
- The verb form ending in -ing: working, going. Its role depends on the construction.
We tried using a shared calendar.
We tried using a shared calendar.
The focus is on a method that was tested, not a time meaning inherent in -ing.
We tried to agree on a date.
We tried to agree on a date.
The focus is the effort to reach agreement; the outcome needs separate information.
2. Remember: recall an event or remember to act
Remember doing means having a memory of the event itself: signing, seeing or speaking. The event comes before the recollection. Remember to do means keeping a required action in mind and carrying it out at the appropriate time.
In the reminder Remember to attach the file, attaching is still to be done. But I remembered to attach the file describes successfully remembering and performing the action in the past. It does not mean the file is still unattached.
I don’t remember sending it does not prove that the message was not sent: memory can fail. I didn’t remember to send it normally says that the required action was forgotten.
remember + doing = recall an event; remember + to do = remember to perform an action
I remember signing beside the blue stamp.
I remember signing beside the blue stamp.
The remembered detail describes the moment of signing.
I remembered to sign before leaving.
I remembered to sign before leaving.
The signature was made. The infinitive does not move the action into the future.
Remember to check the address tomorrow.
Remember to check the address tomorrow.
The reminder concerns an action that still needs to be performed.
3. Forget: lose a memory or miss an action
Forget doing means forgetting an event that happened. It often sounds natural with never: I’ll never forget hearing that announcement means the event will stay in memory. You can also clarify a lost memory: I had completely forgotten meeting her until she showed me the photograph.
Forget to do means failing to perform a required action through forgetfulness. In I forgot to upload the file, the problem is not the memory of uploading but the omitted upload.
Do not equate I forgot meeting her with I forgot to meet her. In the first, the meeting happened; in the second, the person missed the planned meeting. If you simply do not know whether something happened, I don’t remember doing… often expresses the uncertainty more accurately.
forget + doing = lose the memory of an event; forget + to do = forget to perform an action
I had forgotten visiting that studio until I saw the old booking.
I had forgotten visiting that studio until I saw the old booking.
The booking restored a memory of an actual visit.
I forgot to visit the studio before it closed.
I forgot to visit the studio before it closed.
The planned visit did not take place.
I'll never forget presenting my first proposal.
I'll never forget presenting my first proposal.
Future never forget concerns retaining the memory; -ing names the event.
4. Stop: the activity that ended versus the purpose of a pause
Stop doing names the activity that ends. It may be a habit or a brief action: stopped checking email means ending email checking; stopped speaking means becoming silent. Stop doing does not always mean giving something up permanently.
Stop to do names the purpose of stopping or pausing another activity. We stopped to check the map means we interrupted our journey in order to check it, not that we ceased checking it.
Both patterns can occur together: We stopped talking to hear the announcement. Talking is what ended; to hear is why. Purpose does not guarantee success: We stopped to buy tickets, but the office was closed contains no contradiction.
stop + doing = end that activity; stop + to do = pause in order to do something
She stopped buying takeaway lunches.
She stopped buying takeaway lunches.
A grammatical sentence about ending a habit.
She stopped to buy lunch, but the café had closed.
She stopped to buy lunch, but the café had closed.
The stop happened, but the purchase did not. The infinitive expresses purpose.
We stopped typing to listen.
We stopped typing to listen.
Two different semantic relationships in one sentence.
5. Try: test a solution or make an effort
Try doing presents an action as an experiment or possible solution: see whether changing the lighting, order or procedure helps. Try to do focuses on an attempt to achieve a result, often despite difficulty.
Neither form alone tells us whether the attempt succeeded. I tried restarting it, but nothing changed means the method was tested but the problem remained. I tried to explain, and eventually she understood describes an effort that succeeded.
The same event can be viewed both ways. I tried opening the window presents opening as a method; I tried to open the window presents it as the goal of an effort. But, difficult and tomorrow are not mechanical answer keys. A closed exercise must explicitly establish the intended perspective.
try + doing = test a method; try + to do = attempt an action
Try moving the lamp closer to the page.
Try moving the lamp closer to the page.
Advice to test a way of improving the lighting.
I tried to move the cabinet, but it was fixed to the wall.
I tried to move the cabinet, but it was fixed to the wall.
The effort targets moving the cabinet. The second clause tells us it failed.
We tried shortening the meeting, but people still lost focus.
We tried shortening the meeting, but people still lost focus.
Testing a method does not guarantee its effectiveness.
6. Regret: regret an action or announce unwelcome news
Regret doing means regretting an action or omission: I regret sharing the draft; I regret not asking sooner. Having done can emphasise that it happened earlier, but ordinary doing is often sufficient.
Regret to inform / say / tell / announce is a formal way to deliver news with regret now. It does not replace every regret doing pattern; it is especially associated with communicating unwelcome information.
I regret telling you is grammatical: the speaker regrets having already told someone. If the task is to announce a decision now, that version changes the communicative intention. I’m sorry to say… is also natural in friendly conversation, but an exercise may explicitly target regret.
regret + doing = regret about an action; regret + to inform/say/tell = regret while delivering information
I regret publishing the figures before checking them.
I regret publishing the figures before checking them.
The speaker evaluates an action already performed.
We regret to announce that Friday's workshop is cancelled.
We regret to announce that Friday's workshop is cancelled.
The expression is part of the announcement itself.
I regret not asking for another opinion.
I regret not asking for another opinion.
Not before -ing negates the action whose omission is regretted.
7. Go on: continue the same activity or move to the next one
Go on doing means continuing an activity already begun. There may be a brief interruption, but the activity remains the same: after a question, the speaker continues explaining the same chart.
Go on to do means moving to the next action, topic or stage. The sequence may occur within a presentation or across a career. Do not confuse this infinitive with purpose after stop: went on to lead the team describes a later stage, not merely an intention to lead it someday.
go on + doing = continue; go on + to do = proceed to a next action
Despite the interruption, she went on explaining the same diagram.
Despite the interruption, she went on explaining the same diagram.
The same activity continues.
After explaining the diagram, she went on to discuss the costs.
After explaining the diagram, she went on to discuss the costs.
The costs are a new stage of the presentation.
He trained as a designer and went on to manage a small studio.
He trained as a designer and went on to manage a small studio.
The next stage can be much later in time.
8. Mean: what a decision entails versus what someone intends
Mean doing means involving, requiring or resulting in an action: accepting the role means travelling. The subject can be a decision or condition rather than a person with an intention.
Mean to do means intend. I meant to reply explains an intention but does not by itself prove that a reply was sent. I didn’t mean to interrupt denies the intention to interrupt, not necessarily the interruption itself.
Use the rule in conversation by asking precisely: is this a person’s plan or a consequence of the conditions? For all seven verbs, keep form, meaning and task fulfilment separate. A grammatically possible sentence may express a different meaning.
mean + doing = involve or entail an action; mean + to do = intend
Keeping the archive open will mean hiring another assistant.
Keeping the archive open will mean hiring another assistant.
A future consequence is expressed with -ing.
We mean to hire another assistant.
We mean to hire another assistant.
This is the team’s plan, not a meaning or consequence of a condition.
I didn't mean to interrupt you.
I didn't mean to interrupt you.
The interruption may have happened; intentionality is denied.
Common mistakes
Incorrect:Please remember to attaching the receipt.
Correct:Please remember to attach the receipt.
The infinitive after to needs base-form attach, not attaching.
Incorrect:She stopped buy lunch.
Correct:She stopped to buy lunch.
The purpose of the pause needs to buy. Bare buy after stopped does not form the required construction.
Incorrect:I regret not to asking earlier.
Correct:I regret not asking earlier.
Regret about an omitted action uses not + -ing. Not to asking mixes incompatible forms.
Incorrect:They went on to discussed the budget.
Correct:They went on to discuss the budget.
Past tense is already expressed by went; after to, keep base-form discuss.
Incorrect:Accepting the offer means to working abroad.
Correct:Accepting the offer means working abroad.
To working does not provide the required complement of means. The consequential action is working abroad. Work abroad, without to, is also possible as a noun phrase meaning employment abroad, so it is not inherently ungrammatical.