Stop doing or stop to do?

  • B2 · Upper-intermediate
  • Grammar lesson
  • 60 min
  • gerund or infinitive

Six verbs that change their meaning with -ing or to: I stopped drinking coffee. On day three, I stopped to buy one. The student reads a diary of a month without coffee, sorts sentences by what they mean, completes a note for a substitute teacher, and plans a thirty-day challenge with the teacher as coach.

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remember meetingforgot to mailstopped to tie

What's in the lesson

  1. 1Warm-up
  2. 2In this lesson
  3. 3Reading: Esme's diaryReading comprehension
  4. 4What does it mean?Grammar exercise
  5. 5Find the verb and its formGrammar exercise
  6. 6-ing or to: six verbsGrammar rule
  7. 7Back or forward?Grammar exercise
  8. 8Which form?Grammar exercise
  9. 9A note for the substituteGrammar exercise
  10. 10Questions for your teacherGrammar exercise
  11. 11Say it naturallySpeaking practice
  12. 12A thirty-day challengeSpeaking practice
  13. 13About youGrammar exercise
  14. 14Wrap-up

Homework

  1. 1Homework: a weekend at the lakeGrammar exercise
  2. 2Homework: find the mistakeGrammar exercise
  3. 3Homework: what does it mean?Grammar exercise
  4. 4Homework: a habit I changedDiscussion

Two slides from the lesson

Warm-up

A few questions about you before we start.

  1. Do you need coffee or tea to start your day? What happens when you skip it?
  2. Have you ever tried to give up something for a month, like sugar, social media or meat? How did it go?
  3. What do you always forget to take with you when you leave home?

Grammar rule

-ing or to: six verbs

-ing looks back, to looks forward

With five of these verbs, -ing is about something that happened first or was already going on, and to + verb is about what comes next. try works differently.

Verb+ -ing+ to + verb
remembera memory: I remember meeting him at a conference.a job, so you don't forget it: Remember to bring a towel.
forgeta memory you will never lose (usually with never): I'll never forget riding a camel.a job you didn't do: She forgot to mail the letter.
stopnot do it anymore: The store stopped selling newspapers.stop in order to do something: He stopped to tie his shoe.
regretbe sorry about something you did: I regret dyeing my hair green.formal bad news, with say, tell, inform or announce: The airline regrets to announce a two-hour delay.
go oncontinue the same thing: The kids went on giggling.the next step: She went on to open her own clinic.
tryan idea to test, to see if it helps: Try putting the bread in the freezer.an effort, often at something hard: I tried to stay awake, but I fell asleep.

Watch out

  • stop + to does not mean "quit". I stopped to play video games means you stopped in order to play them. To quit: I stopped playing video games.
  • For a job to do, use remember / forget + to: Remember taking out the trash → Remember to take out the trash. Keep -ing for memories: I don't remember…, I'll never forget…, I can still remember…
  • regret + to is only for formal bad news. For something you did, use -ing: I regret not studying harder.
  • With try, both forms are sometimes possible. Use -ing for a suggestion or a fix to test, and to when the action itself is hard (often with "but I couldn't").
  • not goes before the -ing or the to: Try not to laugh. She regrets not calling him.

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