VOA慢速英语--Verbs That Change with Gerunds and Infinitives

 

In English, we sometimes follow a verb¹ with another action. When we do this, we must use an infinitive² or a gerund.

You may remember that a gerund is the form of a verb that ends with the letters -ing. For example, in the sentence "I love laughing," the word "laughing" is a gerund.

An infinitive is the simplest verb form and often has the word “to” in front of it. In the sentence "I want to go for a walk," the words "to go" are an infinitive.

English learners often have trouble knowing when to use a gerund or an infinitive. There is a good reason for this: There are a handful³ of rules. For example, some verbs⁴ can only be followed by infinitives⁵. Others can only be followed by gerunds.

There are other rules, but we won’t talk about them today.

Instead, we will explore a small group of verbs that can be followed by a gerund or an infinitive. But their meaning changes depending on which form is used.

There are seven verbs in this group. Today we will explore four of them: try, forget, stop and regret.

Let's start with the verb “try” and use it with an infinitive.

Try + infinitive

When you try to do something, it means⁶ you make an effort to do it. But it may be difficult or impossible, and you may not succeed, as in this example:

I tried to lift that box but it was too heavy. Can you help me?

Lifting a heavy object is often difficult.

Try + gerund

But when you try doing something, it means you are experimenting with an action to find out if it works⁷, as in this:

My back hurts. I tried taking pain medicine but it’s not helping⁸.

The action itself isn’t difficult but may or may not have the desired result.

The change in meaning between the infinitive and gerund with “try” is smaller than the change in meaning for other verbs we will look at today.

Forget + infinitive

Next up is the verb “forget.”

When you forget to do something, it means you wanted to do it but you did not remember. So, you did not do it.

Say, for example, you wanted to set your alarm clock last night. But you didn’t do it because you forgot. You might say:

I forgot to set my alarm clock last night.

Oh, no! I hope you won’t be late for work, school or an important meeting.

Forget + gerund

Yet when you forget doing something, the meaning changes. It means you did do it. But you fail to remember the act of doing it. In other words, you forgot a memory.

Listen to this speaker use a gerund with “forget.”

Ben forgot meeting Savana’s aunt at the last family gathering⁹.

The speaker is saying that Ben did meet Savana’s aunt. But he doesn't remember the act of meeting her.

However, the structure¹⁰ forget + gerund is more commonly used when someone declares they will not forget a treasured memory, as in this sentence:

I will never forget seeing my child walk for the first time. I was so happy!

Stop + infinitive

Let’s now move to the verb “stop.”

When someone stops to do something, it means they suspend¹¹ one action for the purpose of doing something else. Take this example:

We’ve been cleaning all morning. Let’s stop to get something to eat.

The speaker is suggesting they stop cleaning because she is getting hungry.

Stop + gerund

But when a person stops doing something, it means they have quit an action. Listen to this person asking someone to stop an action:

Can you stop looking at social media¹²? We have a big test tomorrow.

Putting a gerund after the verb “stop” is also common when talking about bad or unwelcome habits, as in this example:

I stopped smoking¹³ cigarettes.

The difference in meaning here can be tricky¹⁴ for some English learners. So let’s compare the infinitive and gerund more closely¹⁵. Have a listen:

I stopped to smoke a cigarette.

I stopped smoking cigarettes.

“I stopped to smoke a cigarette” means the speaker stopped doing something else because she wanted to have a cigarette. “I stopped smoking cigarettes” means the speaker no longer uses cigarettes. The person has ended this habit.

Regret + infinitive

And finally, we have the verb “regret.”

When you regret to do something, you are sorry to give someone bad news. This is a formal expression and almost always goes with the verb “inform” “say” or “tell.” Have a listen:

We regret to inform you that your flight has been cancelled.

Regret + gerund

But when you regret doing something, you feel badly about something you did in the past. You are not happy about it, as in this example:

She regrets choosing that university. It wasn’t a good fit for her.

The person does not like her choice of school. She wishes she had not chosen it.

What you can do?

Here are two suggestions for using the information that you learned¹⁶ today.

The first is to listen and look for the four verbs we talked about wherever English is being used. If a second verb follows, try taking note of whether it’s a gerund or an infinitive.

The second is to try using these verbs in your speaking and writing. And don’t worry about making mistakes with the forms. Even with mistakes, in many cases, other English speakers will still understand your meaning.

I’m Alice Bryant.

Words in This Story

handful – n. a small amount or number

alarm / alarm clock – n. a device¹⁷ that makes a loud sound at any desired time

aunt – n. the sister of your father or mother or the wife of your uncle

quit – v. to stop doing an action or activity

habit – n. something that a person does often in a regular and repeated way

formal – adj. suitable¹⁸ for serious or official speech and writing

fit – n. suitable or appropriate for someone or something

1 verb   

n.[语]动词

参考例句：

• The sentence is formed from a verb and two nouns.这句子由一个动词和两个名词构成。
• These are the finite forms of a verb.这些是一个动词的限定形式。

2 infinitive   

n.不定词；adj.不定词的

参考例句：

• The use of the split infinitive is now generally acceptable.分裂不定式的用法现在已被广泛接受。
• Modal verbs generally take the bare infinitive.情态动词通常用不带to的不定式。

3 handful   

n.一把；少量，少数，一小撮

参考例句：

• We invited 30 people, but only a handful came.我们邀请了30人，但是只到了几个人。
• He pulled out a handful of coins from his pocket.他从口袋里掏出一把硬币。

4 verbs   

动词

参考例句：

• I have to swot up on phrasal verbs for a test tomorrow. 我不得不为明天的测验努力温习短语动词。
• Verbs that do not take object are called intransitive verbs. 不带宾语的动词称为不及物动词。

5 infinitives   

n.（动词）不定式( infinitive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Her litmus test for good breeding is whether you split infinitives. 她测试别人是否具有良好教养的标准是看对方是否在不定式的动词前加修饰副词。 来自互联网
• Nouns, adjectives and infinitives can be used as objective complements. 名词，形容词及不定式可用作补语。 来自互联网

6 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

7 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

10 structure   

n.结构，构造，建筑物；v.构成；

参考例句：

• Doctors study the structure of the human body.医生研究人体构造。
• A flower has quite a complicated structure.一朵花的结构相当复杂。

11 suspend   

vt. 推迟, 悬挂, 暂停, 取消; vi. 悬挂, 中止, 停止偿付债务

参考例句：

• Balloons suspend easily in the air. 气球容易浮在空中。
• I request them to suspend their decision until they have read my narrative. 我请求他们没看完我写的故事之前,别轻率地先下断语。

12 media   

n.(medium的复数)媒体，新闻媒介，传播媒介

参考例句：

• The local media reported rioting across the country.当地媒体报道了全国范围的骚乱。
• His latest movie is being hyped up by the media.他新近的电影正被媒体大肆炒作。

13 smoking   

n.吸烟，抽烟；冒烟

参考例句：

• He was wise to give up smoking.他戒烟是明智的。
• He has decided to cut out smoking and drinking.他已决心戒烟、戒酒。

14 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

15 closely   

adv.紧密地；严密地，密切地

参考例句：

• We shall follow closely the development of the situation.我们将密切注意形势的发展。
• The two companies are closely tied up with each other.这两家公司之间有密切联系。

16 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

17 device   

n.器械，装置；计划，策略，诡计

参考例句：

• The device will be in production by the end of the year.该装置将于年底投入生产。
• The device will save much time and effort for us.这种装置会使我们节省大量时间和气力。

18 suitable   

adj.合适的，适当的，适宜的

参考例句：

• Tomorrow will be quite suitable.明天挺合适。
• Is she suitable for the job?她适于做这工作吗？