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Home > Gerunds and Infinitives Tutorial > Part 3 > Verbs + Gerunds OR Infinitives (Different
Meaning)
Verbs Followed by Gerunds OR Infinitives
(Different Meaning)
f
t
g+
p
She began singing.
She began to sing.
begin
When "begin" is used in non
She is beginning to sing.
When "begin" is used in continuous
tenses, an infinitive is used.
continuous tenses, you can either
use a gerund or an infinitive.
She dreaded taking the test.
Usually "dread" is followed by a
dread
gerund.
He dreaded to think of the
consequences of his actions.
"Dread" is sometimes used with
infinitives such as "think" or "consider."
In the sentence above, "dreaded to
think" means "did not want to think."
She forgot reading the book when
she was a kid.
forget
She forgot to pay the rent this month.
When forget is used with an infinitive, it
When "forget" is used with a
means "to forget that you need to do
gerund, it means "to forget that
something." The sentence above
you have done something." The
means that she forgot that she needed
sentence above means that she
to pay the rent.
read the book when she was a kid,
and that she has forgotten that
fact.
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She kept talking.
"Keep" is normally used with a
keep
The attackers kept hostages to prevent
the police from entering.
gerund to mean that you continue
"Keep" can also be used with an object
doing an action.
followed by an infinitive, but then the
infinitive takes on the meaning of "in
order to... ." In the sentence above, the
attackers kept hostages in order to
prevent the police from entering.
The house needs cleaning.
When "need" is used with a
need
He needs to call his boss.
He needs him to call his boss.
gerund, it takes on a passive
"Need" is usually used with an infinitive
meaning. The sentence above
or an object + an infinitive.
means "the house needs to be
cleaned."
I regretted being late to the
We regret to inform you that your
interview.
position at the company is being
"Regret" is normally used with a
regret
gerund.
eliminated.
"Regret" is sometimes used with
infinitives such as "to inform." In the
sentence above, "We regret to inform
you" means "We wish we did not have
to tell you (bad news)."
I remember mentioning the
He remembered to turn off the lights
meeting yesterday.
before he left.
When "remember" is used with a
When "remember" is used with an
remember gerund, it means "to remember
that you have done something."
infinitive, it means "to remember that
you need to do something." The
The sentence above means that I
sentence above means that he
mentioned the meeting, and that I
remembered that he needed to turn the
remember the fact that I did that.
lights off.
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