Difference in meaning between the to-infinitive and -ing form 2

Ya vimos en una entrada anterior que había una serie de verbos que podían ir seguidos de to-infinitive o de -ing form y usar uno u otro suponía una pequeña diferencia en el significado (si quieres recordar dicha entrada puedes verla pinchando aquí).

En esta entrada vamos a tratar los verbos like, love y hate. Cualquiera de ellos puede ir seguido de to-infinitive o de -ing form con una diferencia en el significado que vamos a ver a continuación:

like/love/hate + to-infinitive -> cuando piensas que algo es buena (o mala) idea. Por ejemplo:

     I like to do my tax returns early.

Puede parecerte una buena idea por algún motivo (que haya menos gente y, por tanto, tengas que esperar menos tiempo para realizar dicho trámite). Ojo, que te parezca una buena idea por el motivo indicado no significa que realmente te guste pagar impuestos.

like/love/hate + -ing form -> cuando dices lo que sientes sobre algo. Por ejemplo:

     I hate doing my tax returns.

En este caso estás diciendo que no te gusta nada el pagar impuestos.

Nota:  like, love, hate, etc + to-infinitive puede ser usado también  para mostrar lo que sientes sobre algo. Por ejemplo, te gustaría visitar China. En este caso dirías:

     I'd like to visit China.

Pues creo que ya he puesto todo lo que tenía que poner acerca de las diferencias en el significado entre verb + to-infinitive y verb + -ing form. En caso de encontrar más información escribiré una nueva entrada al respecto.

Verb pattern

Verbs followed by to-infinitive

1) verb + to-infinitive -> aim, arrange, attempt, can't afford, decide, hope, intend, manage, offer, plan, refuse, seem, tend, try.

          She manage to stay in shape.

          We tend to go on camping holidays.

2) verb + (object +) to-infinitive -> expect, help, pay, prefer, want, would like.

          I wanted to go out but I couldn't afford to.

          I wanted her to go out with me, but she said she was busy.

3) verb + object + to-infinitive -> allow, encourage, force, invite, order, remind, teach, urge, warned (not).

          My father taught me to swim when I was five.

          My parents allowed me to go to the party.

Verbs followed by the -ing form

Verb + -ing form -> avoid, can't stand, consider, detest, dislike, don't mind, dread, enjoy, fancy, finish, keep, miss, spend/waste time.

          My mother keeps embarrasing me.

          I can't stand being the centre of attention.

Verb + preposition structures

Verb + preposition structure + -ing form -> accuse somebody of, apologise for, approve of, believe in, blame someone for, concentrate on, congratulate someone on, consist of, dream about/of, forgive someone for, insiste on, look forward to, object to, prevent someone from, rely on, specialise in, succed in, think of, worry about.

          Gina's mother succeeds in staying slim.
          I look forward to hearing from you.

Difference in meaning between the to-infinitive and -ing form

Algunos verbos pueden ir seguidos por to-infinitive o por -ing form con un cambio en el significado.

forget + to-infinitive = not remember - He forgot to lock the door.
forget + -ing form = not recall - I'll never forget travelling around India.


remember + to-infinitive = not forget - Did you remember to turn off all the lights?
remember + -ing form = recall - I remember talking to Jane at the party.


mean + to-infinitive = intend to - I'm sorry I never meant to upset you.
mean + -ing form = involve - If I get this job I'm afraid it will mean moving nearer to the city centre.


regret + to-infinitive = be sorry to (usado normalmente en el presente simple con verbos como say, inform, tell) - We regret to inform passengers that the British Airways flight to Heathrow has been cancelled.
regret + -ing form = feel sorry about - I regret losing touch with my old friend Stuart.


try + to-infinitive = do one's best, attempt - She tried to call you but she couldn't get through.
try + -ing form = do something as an experiment - Why don't you try changing the batteries?


stop + to-infinitive = stop temporarily in order to do something else - After a couple of hours we stopped to have a rest.
stop + -ing form = finish doing something - At five o'clock everyone stopped working  and went home.

-ing form

La forma -ing es usada:

• como sustantivo

          Smoking is very bad for your health.

• después de ciertos verbos: admit, appreciate, avoid, continue, deny, fancy, go (for activities), imagine, mind, miss, quit, save, suggest, practise, consider, prevent, etc

          Can you imagine winning the lottery?

• después de love, like, enjoy, prefer, dislike, hate, etc para expresar preferencia

          Jamie enjoy talking to his friends on the phone.

      pero para expresar una preferencia específica (would like, would prefer, 

       would love) usamos to-infinitive:

          I would love to go to New York.

• después de expresiones como be busy, it's no use, it's (no) good, it's (not) worth, what's the use of, can't help, there's no point in, can't stand, have difficulty (in), have trouble, etc

          There is no point in talking to the boss about it, he never listens to 

          us.

• después de spend, waste or lose (time, money, etc)

          He spent a lot of time and money repairing his car.

• después de la preposición to con verbos y expresiones como look forward to, be used to, in addition to, object to, prefer (doing something to something else)

          He prefers swimming to playing football.

• después de otras preposiciones

          He was thinking of quitting his job.

• después de los verbos hear, listen to, notice, see, watch y feel para describir una acción incompleta

          I heard Nicky talking to Chris. (I only heard part of the conversation)

       Usamos el infinitivo sin to con los verbos anteriores para describir la 

       acción completa

          I heard Nicky tell the story. (I heard the whole story)