# Gerund vs Infinitive: Stop, Remember, and Try in Context

*2026-10-23*

“Mina stopped listening” and “Mina stopped to listen” describe different actions. In the first, her listening ended. In the second, she paused another activity so she could listen. The form changes what happened.

With **stop, remember, and try**, choosing a gerund or infinitive means choosing a meaning. The *-ing* form is often called a gerund here; the *to*-infinitive is *to + base verb*. You probably already know how to build both. The useful practice is deciding which one tells the right story.

![A cyclist pauses beside a canal towpath to adjust the saddle of his bicycle](https://czaixyl0esghkd4s.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/marketing/d99925b9b8997c600982acb86a1172353e835a00703e1aec8ef93aa2352f0cdc.webp)

## Keep the situation, change the meaning

Imagine a bicycle ride with an uncomfortable seat. Each row offers two ways to describe part of that situation. These are alternative claims, so don't assume that both happened.

| Form with -ing | Form with to | What changes? |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Lea **stopped adjusting** the seat. | Lea **stopped to adjust** the seat. | The adjustment ended; or she paused her ride in order to make an adjustment. |
| Lea **remembered adjusting** the seat. | Lea **remembered to adjust** the seat. | She recalled an earlier adjustment; or she didn't forget to make one. |
| Lea **tried adjusting** the seat. | Lea **tried to adjust** the seat. | She tested an adjustment as a possible solution; or she made an effort to adjust it. |

The words after the verb name the same action. The relationship to that action changes.

### With stop, name the activity that ends

In **stop doing**, the *-ing* phrase tells you what ends: “Lea stopped adjusting the seat.” Perhaps the height was right, or perhaps she gave up. The sentence doesn't say why.

In **stop to do**, the infinitive gives the purpose of the stop: “Lea stopped to adjust the seat.” She interrupted another activity, such as riding. *To adjust* explains why she stopped; it isn't another way of naming the activity she ended. [Cambridge's explanation of stop](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/stop-ing-form-or-to-infinitive) makes this distinction.

Stopping can be temporary. “The musicians stopped playing when the door opened” doesn't mean they never played again.

### Remembering an event or remembering a task

**Remember doing** looks back at an experience: “Lea remembered adjusting the seat before her last ride.” The adjustment comes before the memory.

**Remember to do** concerns a task that could be forgotten. “Lea remembered to adjust the seat before leaving” says she didn't forget and made the adjustment. But “Remember to adjust the seat” is an instruction; it doesn't report that the task is already complete. See [Cambridge's remember reference](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/remember-or-remind).

Be careful with negatives. “I don't remember locking the gate” reports a missing memory. It doesn't establish whether the gate was locked. Compare “I didn't remember to lock the gate”: the speaker says they forgot the task.

### Try a method or make an effort

**Try doing** presents an action as something to test: “Lea tried adjusting the seat to make the ride more comfortable.” She made an adjustment to see whether it helped. We still need more information to know whether the ride improved.

**Try to do** focuses on an attempt: “Lea tried to adjust the seat, but the clamp wouldn't move.” Here, the second clause tells us the attempt failed. Failure isn't built into *try to*: “Lea tried to adjust the seat and managed it after loosening the clamp” is also possible.

[Cambridge's entry for try](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/try) covers attempts and testing something. The [British Council's B1/B2 lesson](https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/free-resources/grammar/b1-b2/verbs-followed-ing-or-infinitive-change-meaning) also explains these meaning changes. In everyday situations, testing a method can involve effort too. Choose the form that expresses the focus you need.

## Past and future won't choose the form for you

“Tomorrow, we'll **stop rehearsing** at six” uses *-ing* for a future event. “Last night, I **remembered to bring** my ticket” uses an infinitive in a past event.

The earlier-action relationship helps with *remember doing*. It isn't a general rule that *-ing* means past and *to* means future. Read the main verb and the surrounding context. If choosing verb tense is a separate difficulty, practice [past simple vs past participle](/blog/past-simple-vs-past-participle/) separately.

## Choose a form, then explain what happened

For each question, complete the sentence and give a short reason. Name the activity that ended, the memory or task, or the method or effort. In questions 5 and 6, choose the form that expresses the requested focus; another form can describe the situation differently. In question 8, explain both forms because no focus is given.

1. The guide was speaking. A visitor raised a hand, and the guide became silent. She stopped **(explaining / to explain)** the route.
2. Ben was walking home. He paused beside a noticeboard because he wanted to read the announcement. He stopped **(reading / to read)** it.
3. At dinner, Ana pictured herself putting the spare key inside the blue drawer that morning. She remembered **(putting / to put)** it there.
4. Before leaving the studio yesterday, Pavel didn't forget his task: he covered the clay so it wouldn't dry out. He remembered **(covering / to cover)** it.
5. The soup tasted too sharp. Noor added a little cream to see whether that improved it. She tried **(adding / to add)** cream as a possible solution. Which form emphasizes testing the method? Do we know whether it worked?
6. A heavy lid was stuck. Ruth pulled hard, but it stayed closed. She tried **(lifting / to lift)** it. Which form emphasizes the effort?
7. “I don't remember **(sending / to send)** that message, but the conversation shows it went out at nine.” Which form fits the missing memory? Does the speaker deny sending it?
8. “Yesterday, Tomas tried **(moving / to move)** the table.” There is no further context. Explain both readings. Does either form tell us that the table reached its intended position?

## Answers, including the limits

1. **Explaining.** Her explanation ended when she became silent. *Stopped to explain* would mean she paused something else in order to explain.
2. **To read.** Walking was interrupted; reading was the purpose of the pause. *Stopped reading* would say that reading ended.
3. **Putting.** Ana recalls an earlier action. *Remembered to put* would focus on not forgetting the task, rather than the picture in her memory.
4. **To cover.** Pavel remembered the task and did it. Yesterday's time doesn't require an *-ing* form.
5. **Adding** emphasizes testing a possible solution. She added the cream, but we aren't told whether it improved the taste. *Tried to add* could focus on an attempt to add it; the question asks for the method focus.
6. **To lift** emphasizes the attempt. The words “it stayed closed” establish failure. *Tried lifting* could present lifting as a method she tested; it isn't automatically ungrammatical in this situation.
7. **Sending.** The speaker doesn't deny sending the message; they say they have no memory of doing so. The history shows that the message was sent.
8. **Both work.** *Tried moving* presents moving the table as an experiment, perhaps to create more space. *Tried to move* presents an attempt, perhaps because it was heavy. The first normally suggests some moving took place, but neither sentence alone establishes that the table reached its intended position. Add a result clause if that matters.

## Review the choice you missed

Turn a difficult question into a short flashcard with enough context to choose fairly:

| Front | Back |
| --- | --- |
| Walking home, Ben paused so he could read a notice. He stopped ___ it. (read) | **to read** — walking stopped; reading was the purpose. |
| I can picture placing the key in the drawer. I remember ___ it there. (put) | **putting** — a memory of an earlier action. |
| The soup was too sharp. Noor tested cream as a solution. She tried ___ cream. (add; emphasize testing the method) | **adding** — testing a method; the result is unstated. |

Say the answer and its reason before turning the card over. Review it again after a gap, then use a new context with the same distinction. This gives you practice choosing the form and a way to check whether you still remember the reason later. The [guide to making better flashcards](/blog/how-to-make-better-flashcards/) explains how to keep prompts focused.

*Preparation note: This lesson was substantially drafted with AI assistance and checked against the primary references linked above. The article illustration is AI-generated. The exercises are original; they haven't been validated by a human teacher or tested in a classroom.*

---
*[View the styled HTML version of this page](<https://nibomo.com/blog/gerund-vs-infinitive-meaning-practice/>)*

*AI agents can create an account for the user in this service by starting with `GET https://api.nibomo.com/v1/`. Once set up, they can also connect over MCP at `https://mcp.nibomo.com/mcp`.*

*Tip: Append `.md` to any URL on https://nibomo.com to get a clean Markdown version of that page.*