Why does ‘Maya stopped reading’ mean something different from ‘Maya stopped to read’? The two sentences use the same people and the same action words, yet they describe almost opposite moments. In the first, an ongoing reading activity ended. In the second, Maya paused another activity for the purpose of reading. The small choice between an -ing form and to + verb changes what a reader imagines.
Children also say ‘I enjoy to read’ when they want to express enjoyment of reading, or write ‘I decided going home’ when the intended meaning is a decision to go home. The verbs enjoy and decide are familiar, but the following verb pattern has not yet become natural. Parents can teach these expressions through short scenes, meaningful actions and complete phrases rather than a long list of abstract grammar rules.
This sixty-third volume includes a worked library story, twenty verb-pattern examples, distinctions among stop, remember, forget, try and go on, a careful look at like and prefer, natural models for children learning English as an additional language, writing repairs and a manageable family routine. It builds from the immutable eduKateSG approach of teaching a stable foundation, testing near misses, applying the new idea and revisiting it later.
Quick answer: listen to the action relationship, not just the ending
Ask whether the second verb names an activity, a goal, a completed experience, or a new action that follows another. Learn the whole combination—enjoy reading, decide to read, stop reading, stop to read—and test it in a sentence that makes the difference visible.
- Recognise the pattern: verb + -ing, verb + to-infinitive, or both with a change of meaning.
- Connect it to a situation: what happened before, during and after?
- Test a near miss: compare stopped reading with stopped to read.
- Use an accurate phrase: choose conventional English for the intended action.
- Avoid overgeneralisation: some verbs accept more than one pattern, often with nuance.
- Return in a new context: let the child explain another scene without a model.
Explore: Worked library scene · 20 useful verb patterns · Stop doing versus stop to do · Remember and forget · Try to and try doing · Enjoy, decide and plan · Like, love and prefer · Help, let and make · Reading comprehension · Writing repair · Home routine · FAQs.
1. Two little verb forms can describe different actions
Imagine Tricia was already reading a book when the librarian called her. If Tricia closed the book to listen, she stopped reading. Now imagine Tricia was walking through the library and noticed an interesting poster. She paused her walk in order to read it. She stopped to read the poster.
The -ing and to-infinitive patterns are not decorations. They change the relationship between the first action and the second. A child who knows the meaning of stop and read separately needs to learn the pattern as a meaningful unit.
English grammar uses the terms gerund and to-infinitive in relevant analyses. For beginning readers, however, the most useful question is simple: ‘Was reading the action that ended, or the purpose for stopping something else?’
2. Complete worked lesson: a visit to the library
Step 1: Begin with an ordinary ongoing activity
Use a drawing of Maya reading a story at a table. Tell the child, ‘Maya is reading’. Point to the book and ask what activity is taking place. No change has occurred yet.
Step 2: End that activity
Draw Maya closing the book when an adult announces that the session has finished. Say ‘Maya stopped reading’. The phrase names the activity that ended. Ask whether she is still reading at that moment. Not in this drawing.
Step 3: Contrast a new purpose
Draw a second scene: Maya is walking down the aisle, sees a sign and pauses to examine it. Say ‘Maya stopped to read the sign’. Ask what she stopped doing initially: walking. Why did she pause? To read the sign.
Step 4: Add an experience to remember
After the session, Maya says ‘I remember reading that story with you’. She recalls an experience that occurred. Before a future session, her parent might say ‘Remember to bring your library card’. That means do not forget a necessary future action.
Step 5: Give two ways to attempt a task
A picture-book cover is difficult to see because the light is weak. ‘Maya tried to read the title’ highlights the attempt or effort. ‘Maya tried moving closer to the lamp’ describes one possible method she tested to solve the difficulty. These can both occur in the same story.
Step 6: Practise an enjoyable activity
Tell the child ‘Maya enjoys reading picture books’. This is a natural standard-English expression. Contrast it with ‘Maya decided to read another book’. The first states enjoyment, while the second describes a decision. The verb determines which form naturally follows.
Step 7: Retell the scene independently
Ask the child to choose two sentences that truly fit the drawings: one about ending an activity, one about pausing for a purpose, one about a remembered experience or one about a plan. If they choose the wrong form, revisit the picture and ask which event the sentence would now describe.
| Fictional scene | Natural sentence | Meaning distinction |
|---|---|---|
| Maya closes the book and finishes | Maya stopped reading. | The reading ended |
| Maya pauses walking to examine a sign | Maya stopped to read the sign. | Reading is the purpose of stopping |
| Maya recalls last week’s story | Maya remembered reading the story. | Memory of an earlier experience |
| Maya needs to bring a card tomorrow | Maya remembered to bring her card. | She performed the required action |
| Maya tests moving closer to the lamp | Maya tried moving closer. | Experiments with a possible method |
| Maya makes an attempt at the title | Maya tried to read the title. | Attempt at a goal |
| Maya takes pleasure in books | Maya enjoys reading. | Natural -ing partnership |
3. Twenty verb partnerships parents can teach meaningfully
Select a few entries linked to your child’s current reading. Some verbs conventionally take one form, while others permit both. A child does not need to memorise all twenty at once.
| Natural pattern | Main job | A child-friendly sentence |
|---|---|---|
| enjoy reading | enjoy an activity | I enjoy reading books. |
| finish writing | complete an activity | She finished writing the note. |
| avoid rushing | not engage in a particular action | We avoided rushing through the task. |
| practise spelling | work repeatedly on a skill | They practised spelling the word. |
| keep trying | continue making attempts | He kept trying. |
| consider joining | think about a possible action | She considered joining the club. |
| suggest checking | propose a method | Maya suggested checking the desk. |
| mind waiting | be bothered by waiting | Do you mind waiting? |
| decide to read | choose a future action | Tricia decided to read. |
| plan to visit | form an intention | They plan to visit the library. |
| hope to succeed | want a favourable outcome | We hope to succeed. |
| promise to return | commit to an action | She promised to return the book. |
| agree to help | accept a request or proposal | He agreed to help. |
| learn to swim | acquire a skill | The child learned to swim with suitable supervision. |
| refuse to share | decline an action | The character refused to share. |
| manage to finish | succeed despite difficulty | The group managed to finish. |
| stop reading | end an activity | Maya stopped reading. |
| stop to read | pause something else for the purpose of reading | Maya stopped to read the notice. |
| remember locking | recall an earlier action | I remember locking the box. |
| remember to lock | keep a future necessary action in mind | Remember to lock the box. |
These examples describe common standard-English patterns, not a claim that every other verb in English can take the same form. Some combinations, especially with mind and suggest, have additional grammatical possibilities depending on sentence structure.
4. Stop doing and stop to do are different
‘The children stopped talking’ says their talking ended. ‘The children stopped to talk’ describes a pause in another activity, such as walking, so they could talk. The difference can affect reading questions about the sequence of events.
Try a simple two-picture test. One shows a child putting down a pencil after writing. The other shows a child pausing a walk to write a note. Ask which picture fits ‘stopped writing’ and which fits ‘stopped to write’. The child should explain the first action and the purpose of the pause.
| Sentence | What ended or paused | What it does not prove |
|---|---|---|
| The class stopped singing. | Singing ceased. | Why they stopped |
| The class stopped to sing. | Another activity paused for singing. | That singing ended immediately |
| Maya stopped eating. | Eating ended. | That she had finished the whole meal |
| Maya stopped to eat. | Another activity paused for eating. | Which previous action without context |
| They stopped arguing. | The argument ceased. | That the underlying disagreement was solved |
5. Remember doing versus remember to do
‘I remember putting the book on the shelf’ describes a memory of an earlier action. ‘I remembered to put the book on the shelf’ says the person did not forget to perform the action. These differ in whether remember refers mainly to a past experience or successfully keeping an intended action in mind.
An important distinction: someone may clearly remember intending to put the book away without actually doing it. Ask the child what the sentence states, rather than treat every memory expression as proof of completing the same action.
The verb forget can show a similar contrast. ‘I forgot to close the box’ means the intended action was not carried out. ‘I’ll never forget visiting the museum’ means the earlier experience remains memorable. Context and negation matter.
6. Try doing versus try to do
‘Try to open the jar’ focuses on attempting a goal, which may or may not succeed. ‘Try turning the lid gently’ proposes an approach to test. The first is about the desired outcome; the second is about experimenting with a method.
Do not present the distinction as an inflexible universal rule. Both forms can overlap in ordinary English, and pragmatics matters. Teach the clearest contrast through a realistic problem where the child has a goal and several possible methods.
For example, ‘I tried to read the blurry label. Then I tried moving into better light.’ The child should see that moving changes a condition in the hope of making the reading easier.
7. Like, love, hate and prefer allow more than one pattern
‘I love reading’ and ‘I love to read’ can both be natural. The -ing form often emphasises an activity or experience; the infinitive can highlight choice, preference or habit in a particular context. The difference is sometimes subtle, and the phrases may be interchangeable for many purposes.
‘I prefer walking to cycling’ compares activities; ‘I prefer to walk rather than cycle’ uses infinitives to express a preference. Both can be natural. Do not mark one as universally wrong simply because a worksheet introduced the other.
| Pattern | Natural sentence | Note |
|---|---|---|
| like + -ing | I like drawing maps. | Enjoyment of the activity |
| like + to-infinitive | I like to draw before bedtime. | Preference or regular practice |
| love + -ing | She loves reading stories. | Natural activity expression |
| hate + -ing | He hates waiting in long queues. | Natural expression of dislike |
| prefer + -ing to -ing | I prefer reading to watching television. | Parallel activity comparison |
| prefer + to-infinitive | I prefer to read quietly. | A preferred action |
8. Go on can continue an action or move to a new one
‘Maya went on reading after the bell rang’ means she continued reading. ‘Maya explained the title and went on to describe the picture’ indicates that after the first action she performed a different next action. The child must track whether the same activity continues or a new stage follows.
A useful drawing has two boxes labelled ‘reading’ and ‘reading’ for continuation, compared with ‘reading’ and ‘drawing’ for a change. Ask the child which pattern tells the story accurately.
9. Mean doing versus mean to do can change the idea
‘Taking the early bus means getting up earlier’ describes a consequence or requirement of the situation. ‘I meant to take the early bus’ describes an intention. The first is not a person’s promise; the second need not prove the intended action happened.
Another meaningful contrast is ‘Learning this skill means practising’ versus ‘I meant to practise’. A child should know when the sentence describes what a task involves and when it describes the speaker’s own aim.
10. Object patterns can add a person before the infinitive
English often uses ask someone to do something, tell someone to do something and want someone to do something. For example, ‘Maya asked Tricia to help’ identifies both the requester and the intended helper.
A child who writes ‘Maya suggested Tricia to look under the desk’ may be transferring the pattern from asked Tricia to look. Natural alternatives include ‘Maya suggested that Tricia look under the desk’ or ‘Maya suggested looking under the desk’. The reporting verb affects the permitted structure.
11. Let and make commonly use an infinitive without to
‘The teacher let the students leave’ uses a bare infinitive after let and its object. ‘The story made me laugh’ uses the same broad shape. The sentences ‘let me to leave’ and ‘made me to laugh’ are not the usual standard active-voice patterns for these meanings.
Help is more flexible: ‘She helped me find the page’ and ‘She helped me to find the page’ can both be natural. Teach these through full examples, not a single artificial rule that every verb requires to.
| Verb | Natural model | Typical pattern |
|---|---|---|
| let | Let Maya read the next page. | let + person + base verb |
| make | The joke made Ben laugh. | make + person + base verb |
| help | Maya helped Ben find the page. | help + person + base verb |
| help | Maya helped Ben to find the page. | help + person + to-infinitive |
| ask | Maya asked Ben to read aloud. | ask + person + to-infinitive |
| tell | The teacher told Maya to wait. | tell + person + to-infinitive |
12. -ing does not always describe an activity happening right now
A child who has just studied the present continuous may read ‘Reading helps me relax’ and wonder where the auxiliary am/is/are is. Here reading names an activity as a subject rather than forming ‘I am reading’. The spelling -ing appears in more than one grammatical construction.
Similarly, ‘I enjoy swimming’ does not necessarily mean the speaker is swimming at this moment. The full sentence describes enjoyment of that activity. This is an important connection to Vol 60: verb time and aspect without treating the topics as the same lesson.
13. A reading passage with near-miss meanings
Read this original story: ‘Tricia was walking home when she stopped to look at a notice. She remembered reading a similar notice last week. The notice reminded her to return her borrowed book. She tried to find it inside her bag, then tried checking a separate pocket. When she located the book, she decided to return it the following day.’
| Question | Supported answer | Key expression |
|---|---|---|
| Why did Tricia stop walking? | To look at the notice. | stopped to look |
| What did she remember? | Reading a similar notice last week. | remembered reading |
| What did the notice prompt her to do? | Return the borrowed book. | reminded her to return |
| What did she attempt first? | To find the book in her bag. | tried to find |
| What method did she test later? | Checking a separate pocket. | tried checking |
| What did she decide? | To return the book the following day. | decided to return |
| Had she returned it already? | Not established; she only decided to do so. | decision is not completion |
Ask the child to identify what is stated and what remains future. The story does not establish the book’s actual return, so ‘Tricia returned the book’ would add a new event not supported by the paragraph.
14. A useful family writing repair
First draft: ‘I enjoyed to read at the library. I decided going to the shelves. I stopped reading a sign while I was walking, and I remembered bring my card.’ The author seems to mean that the child enjoyed reading, chose to visit the shelves, paused a walk to read a sign, and successfully remembered their card.
Revised for that intended meaning: ‘I enjoyed reading at the library. I decided to go to the shelves. While walking, I stopped to read a sign, and I remembered to bring my card.’ Each verb pattern now supports the intended event.
But parents should confirm the story before correcting stopped reading. If the child meant the sign-reading activity ended, ‘I stopped reading the sign’ might be correct. A grammar correction that changes the event is not an improvement.
15. Use verb partners like meaningful vocabulary entries
| Record field | Example | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Base verb | stop | Common action |
| Pattern A | stop reading | Activity that ends |
| Pattern B | stop to read | Purpose of pausing another action |
| Scene A | Tricia closed the book. | Clarifies the event |
| Scene B | Tricia paused her walk at a notice. | Shows the contrast |
| Independent prompt | What did the character stop doing? | Tests real understanding |
For verbs that take only one common pattern, the record can be simpler: enjoy reading, meaning, one natural example and a fresh prompt. A large table of grammar terms is not required for every word.
16. A five-card contrast game
- Write stop, remember, try, enjoy and decide on separate paper cards.
- Choose one scene where a child pauses, plans or recalls an earlier action.
- Make two natural expressions with a verb that allows both patterns.
- Ask what changed between the two events.
- Choose a verb such as enjoy that conventionally favours -ing in the intended use.
- Invite a new scene without the original word cards visible.
- Return later through a short story and ask the child to identify the pattern’s meaning.
A younger learner can work with only enjoy reading versus decide to read. A more confident reader may enjoy comparing stop, remember, forget and try, where the form can change the described event.
17. Multilingual children deserve examples, not blame
Different languages organise action complements in different ways. A child may understand the distinction between an intention and an enjoyable activity without knowing which English verb takes -ing or to. Ask for an explanation through a familiar scene, then model the natural English combination.
Literal translation can sometimes produce ‘enjoy to read’ or ‘decide going’ even though the child knows exactly what happened. Show the new English pattern respectfully, repeat it in meaningful sentences and encourage the child to use it independently later.
18. Choose a task that fits the learner
| Learning stage | Useful starting contrast | Next challenge |
|---|---|---|
| Young listener | Enjoy reading versus decide to read in spoken play | Recognise activity and decision |
| Beginning reader | Read short sentences with enjoy + -ing | Use one natural phrase |
| Growing primary learner | Stop reading versus stop to read | Explain two different events |
| Confident primary reader | Remember, forget and try with both patterns | Track time and purpose |
| Older learner | Go on, mean and complex verb complements | Interpret subtle differences in a paragraph |
These are illustrative stages, not rigid ages. A child may already explain a verb’s meaning orally but still require word-reading or writing instruction to produce the form independently.
19. A flexible ten-minute home routine
- Two minutes: read one short scene with a meaningful action.
- Three minutes: compare a to-infinitive and an -ing form where the verb permits both.
- Two minutes: match each sentence to a different picture.
- Two minutes: change the event and let the child choose the natural verb pattern.
- One minute: revisit one word partnership from an earlier lesson.
The timings are a convenience, not an experimentally prescribed dose. A short, accurate language conversation during family reading can be sufficient for one distinction.
20. How parents recognise progress
- The child uses enjoy reading and decide to read naturally.
- They explain why stopped reading and stopped to read describe different events.
- They distinguish remembering an earlier action from remembering to perform one.
- They recognise try doing as testing a method in an appropriate context.
- They avoid using a fixed to-infinitive or -ing form after every verb.
- They use help, let and make with appropriate object patterns.
- They can preserve the intended meaning when correcting an unfamiliar sentence.
- They apply the pattern in a different story without copying the first example.
21. Mistakes parents should avoid
- Teaching all -ing forms as actions happening now: some name activities.
- Teaching to as a guarantee of the future: infinitives serve many grammatical roles.
- Changing the form without checking the story: the meaning may reverse.
- Marking all like + to forms wrong: many are natural.
- Requiring to after make or let: teach the conventional active patterns.
- Assuming every verb allows both forms: some strongly prefer one.
- Memorising twenty abstract rules at once: teach a few meaningful verb partners.
- Correcting multilingual transfer with embarrassment: model natural English supportively.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between stop reading and stop to read?
Stop reading means the reading activity ceased. Stop to read means another activity was paused for the purpose of reading.
Should children say enjoy reading or enjoy to read?
Enjoy reading is the normal standard English construction for enjoying the activity. Enjoy is conventionally followed by an -ing form in this use.
Why do we say decide to go instead of decide going?
Decide commonly takes a to-infinitive when naming an intended action: ‘She decided to go’. Learn the full phrase rather than apply a generic rule from other verbs.
What is the difference between remember doing and remember to do?
Remember doing recalls an earlier experience; remember to do keeps a planned or necessary action in mind and, in an affirmative past account, commonly indicates that it was performed.
Can like be followed by both -ing and to?
Yes. Both often occur naturally. The difference in emphasis can depend on context; one isn’t categorically wrong.
Why is let me to go unusual?
In the ordinary active construction, let takes an object followed by the base verb without to: ‘Let me go’.
Does tried doing always mean the attempt succeeded?
No. It often presents a method that was tested; the result still depends on what the story says.
How can parents correct the form without changing meaning?
Ask which event actually happened, then model the phrase that expresses it. If the original wording could mean two different things, request clarification rather than inventing the event.
Evidence and parent reading
The Cambridge Dictionary explanation of verb patterns distinguishes verbs followed by to-infinitives, -ing forms or either form, and identifies verbs whose meaning changes. Its stop + -ing versus to-infinitive guide gives the core contrast. Cambridge also provides a verb-pattern overview. The library scene and exercises here are original learning illustrations, not a fixed research-tested programme.
One two-sentence challenge for tonight
Ask your child to imagine somebody reading and then stopping. Then imagine somebody walking and stopping in order to read. Which sentence belongs to each: ‘She stopped reading’ or ‘She stopped to read’? When the child can explain the difference in a new setting, the verb forms have become meaningful vocabulary.
Related guides: Vol 3: Natural English Word Partnerships · Vol 17: Paragraph Relationships · Vol 40: Phrasal Verbs · Vol 46: Cause, Purpose and Result · Vol 53: Make, Do, Take and Have · Vol 60: Verb Time and Aspect · Vocabulary in Real English Hub.