Forget to do vs forget doing - English In A Minute

Hi everyone, James from BBC Learning English here.

Today, we're going to look at the difference

between 'forget to do' and 'forget doing'.

Take a look at these examples:

'I forgot to lock the door.'

'I forgot locking the door.'

Notice the difference in the way that I said

these examples.

When we use the verb 'forget' followed by the

infinitive with ‘to', it means that 'you

were supposed to do something, but you didn't

actually do it.'

So, I was supposed to lock the door, but I didn't.

However, when you we use the verb 'forget' followed by

an –ing verb, it means that 'you did do

something, but you have no memory of it'.

So I did lock the door, but I don't recall it.

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