Keep calm: It’s almost here!

These verbs can be followed by -ing (verb + ing) OR to + verb.
✅ Both are correct, and the meaning is usually the same.

Main verbs:

• ❤️ Love
• 👍 Like
• 👎 Hate
• 🚀 Start

• He loves going out to eat 🍔 / He loves to go out to eat 🍔
• I love playing football ⚽ / I love to play football ⚽
• They love swimming in the sea 🏖️ / They love to swim in the sea 🏊

• I like watching horror movies 👻 / I like to watch horror movies 👻
• She likes reading books 📚 / She likes to read books 📚
• We like walking in the park 🌳 / We like to walk in the park 🌳

• My sister hated running at night 🌙 / My sister hated to run at night 🌙
• I hate cleaning my room 🧹 / I hate to clean my room 🧹
• He hates waiting for the bus 🚌 / He hates to wait for the bus 🚌

• She started drinking alcohol 🍷 / She started to drink alcohol 🍷
• They started learning English 🇬🇧 / They started to learn English 🇬🇧
• We started working on the project 💻 / We started to work on the project 💻

👉 So with these verbs, you can use either verb + -ing or to + verb. The meaning doesn’t really change.

Would you like me to also make a learner-friendly rule chart 📊 (with ✔ and ✖) that shows which verbs allow both forms and which only allow one?

These verbs can be followed by verb + -ing or to + verb with no or very small change in meaning:

• 🎬 Begin
• 🔄 Continue
• 🌟 Prefer

• She began working at a new company 💼 / She began to work at a new company 💼
• I began reading a book 📖 / I began to read a book 📖
• They began talking loudly in class 🙉 / They began to talk loudly in class 🙉

• He continued watching TV 📺 / He continued to watch TV 📺
• We continued studying until midnight 🌙 / We continued to study until midnight 🌙
• She continued running in the rain 🌧️ / She continued to run in the rain 🌧️

⚠️ Prefer is a little special!
You can use:

1. Prefer + -ing
2. Prefer + to + verb
3. Prefer + noun

🔹 Examples:

• I prefer walking to driving 🚶‍♂️🚗 / I prefer to walk rather than drive 🚶‍♂️➡️🚗
• She prefers reading books 📚 / She prefers to read books 📚
• They prefer tea to coffee 🍵☕
• He prefers playing tennis 🎾 / He prefers to play tennis 🎾

• With begin and continue → both forms are fine, no real difference.
• With prefer → we often use prefer + -ing in everyday speaking, but prefer + to + verb is also correct.

Some verbs change meaning depending on whether they are followed by to + verb or verb + -ing.

• ❌ Forget
• 🧠 Remember
• ⛔ Stop
• 🛠️ Try

• Forget + to + verb = You didn’t do it because you forgot.
• Forget + verb-ing = You did it, but you don’t remember it.

🔹 Examples:

• She forgot to buy the tickets 🎟️ (she didn’t buy them).
• She forgot buying the tickets 🎟️ (she bought them, but doesn’t remember).

• Remember + to + verb = You didn’t forget to do it.
• Remember + verb-ing = You remember the action after doing it.

🔹 Examples:

• I remembered to bring the snacks! 🍿 (I didn’t forget).
• I remembered bringing the snacks 🍿 (I recall the memory of it).

• Stop + verb-ing = Finish an activity.
• Stop + to + verb = Stop something else in order to do this.

🔹 Examples:

• I’m happy we stopped smoking 🚭 (we quit forever).
• We stopped to smoke 🚬 (we stopped walking/working so we could smoke).

• Try + to + verb = Make an effort (maybe difficult).
• Try + verb-ing = Experiment to see what happens.

🔹 Examples:

• Let’s try to open the door tomorrow 🚪 (make an effort to succeed).
• Let’s try opening the door 🚪 (see if it works as a solution).

• Forget / Remember → Difference is about before vs. after the action.
• Stop → Difference is about finishing vs. pausing to do something else.
• Try → Difference is about making an effort vs. experimenting.

Some verbs change meaning depending on whether they are followed by to + verb or verb + -ing.

• 😔 Regret
• 🔄 Go on

• Regret + to + verb = You are sorry about what you are going to say/do (often formal).
• Regret + verb-ing = You are sorry about something that happened in the past.

🔹 Examples:

• I regret to inform you that you didn’t pass ❌ (formal → bad news).
• I regret informing you that you didn’t pass ❌ (I already told you, and I feel sorry about it).
• He regretted spending so much money 💸 (sorry about past action).
• We regret to tell you the train is cancelled 🚉 (formal announcement).

• Go on + verb-ing = Continue doing the same thing.
• Go on + to + verb = Do something new / different (move to the next thing).

🔹 Examples:

• I will go on studying English 📖 (continue the same activity).
• He went on talking for hours 🗣️ (he continued).
• She went on to be a teacher 👩‍🏫 (after studying, she became a teacher → new activity).
• After finishing school, he went on to work in London 🏙️ (he did something different after).

• Regret + to + verb → often used in formal/sad announcements.
• Regret + verb-ing → used for past actions you feel sorry about.
• Go on + verb-ing → continue the same action.
• Go on + to + verb → move to the next action/change.