Page 309 - Practical English Usage 3ed - Michael Swan, Oxford

-ing forms (7): remember, go on etc + -ing or infinitive 299 Would you like to dance? (= Do you want to dance now?)
For more about like, see 325.
For details of structures with prefer. see 444.
10 begin and start
Begin and start can be followed by infinitives or -ingforms. Usually there is no important difference.
She began playing / to play the guitar when she was six.
Hestartedtalking/totalkaboutgolf, buteverybodywentoutoftheroom. After progressive forms of begin and start, infinitives are preferred.
I'm beginning to learn karate. (NOT I'm beginning learning /eaf'ette.) Infinitives are also preferred with understand, realise and know.
Islowlybegantounderstandhowshefelt. (NOT ••. begetn1:lntlef'3ttltttling...) He started to realise that ifyou wanted to eat you had to work.
(NOT . . . Sttlrteti realising . ..)
11 attempt. intend. continue. can't bear. be accustomed to. be
committed to
After these words and expressions we can generally use either an -ing form or an infinitive without much difference of meaning.
I intend telling / to tell her what I think.
I'm not accustomed to giving/give personal information about myself to
strangers.
For details of structures with 10 + .ing. see 298.2.
12 -ing form or infinitive of purpose: stop
Some verbs that are followed by -ing forms can also be followed by an infinitive of purpose (see 289). A common example is stop.
I stopped running. (NOT • . . : SfBI'fJed tB I'I:lft.) I stopped to rest. (= ..• in order to rest.)
13 afraid
To talk about fear of things that happen accidentally, we prefer
afraid of+ -ing.
I don't like to drive fast because I'm afraid o f crashing. Why are you so quiet? ,.., I'm afraid o f waking the children.
In other cases we can use afraid of+ -ing or afraid + infinitive with no difference of meaning.
I'm not afraid of telling / to tell her the truth.
14 sorry
Sorry for/about + -ing is used to refer to past things that one regrets. (That-clauses are also very common in an informal style.)
I'm sorryfor/about losing my temper this morning. (OR I'm sorry that 1 lost my temper.)
Sorry + perfect infinitive (more formal) can be used with the same meaning. I'm sorry to have woken you up. (OR I'm sorry that 1 woke you up.) ~
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