Unit 4 Save and Shine: green changes, campaigns and verb patterns

Some verbs are followed by to + base verb. Common ones are: decide, want, hope, plan, promise, refuse, agree, afford, learn, manage, offer, need. We decided to plant a tree. Other verbs are followed by the -ing form: enjoy, finish, avoid, mind, suggest, consider, admit, keep, practise. She avoided answering the question. Some verbs can take either form with almost no change of meaning: start, begin, continue, hate, like, love, prefer. I like to swim or I like swimming. After a preposition we always use -ing: She is good at drawing. A few verbs change meaning. Remember to lock the door means do not forget this task. I remember locking the door means I recall doing it. Forget to means not to do something; forget -ing means not to recall something. Stop to means stop in order to do another thing: He stopped to drink water. Stop -ing means end an action: He stopped drinking water. Try to means make an effort; try -ing means test something. Regret to do is a formal sorry before an action; regret doing means sorry about an earlier action.