REMEMBER/FORGET/REGRET + TO DO = the action is FUTURE or pending: "Remember TO send the report" (you have not sent it yet). REMEMBER/FORGET/REGRET + DOING = the action is already PAST: "I remember sending the report" (I sent it and I recall doing so). The difference is the temporal direction: TO = forward, -ING = backward.
REMEMBER + TO + INFINITIVE: to remember that you need to do something (the action has NOT happened yet). "Remember to attach the invoice" (you have not attached it yet). FORGET + TO + INFINITIVE: to forget to do something (the action has NOT been done). "I forgot to send the confirmation email" (I did not send it). REGRET + TO + INFINITIVE: to regret when delivering bad news (formal use, almost always in present tense). "I regret to inform you that your application has been unsuccessful." This use of REGRET + TO is highly formal and used mainly in business letters/communications to deliver negative news. TEMPORAL PATTERN: TO + INFINITIVE points to the FUTURE of the sentence — the action has NOT occurred at the moment of remembering, forgetting, or regretting.
Please remember to complete the mandatory compliance training module before the end of the quarter, as failure to do so will result in your access to internal systems being temporarily suspended.
The assistant director forgot to forward the revised agenda to the external participants before the meeting, which meant that several attendees arrived without having prepared the items discussed in the new version.
I regret to inform you that the funding committee has reviewed your proposal in detail and has determined that it does not meet the eligibility criteria required for consideration in the current grant cycle.
REMEMBER + -ING: to have the memory of having done something (the action ALREADY occurred in the past). "I remember presenting this proposal to the board three years ago" (I recall doing it). FORGET + -ING: to have no memory of having done something (the action occurred but is not remembered). "I'll never forget signing the contract in Madrid" (it happened, and the memory is lasting). "I forgot telling him" (I told him, but I forgot that I had). REGRET + -ING: to be sorry about something that already happened. "I regret not investing earlier." "We regret announcing the changes without sufficient prior consultation." TEMPORAL PATTERN: -ING points to the PAST — the action has ALREADY occurred when the subject remembers, forgets, or regrets having done it.
I clearly remember discussing this specific contingency with the risk management team at the quarterly review meeting in March, and I am therefore surprised to hear that no mitigation plan was subsequently developed.
The founding partner will never forget launching the company's first product with a team of just four people working from a small rented office, at a time when the business model was still largely unproven.
The board acknowledged that it regretted not implementing more robust financial controls at an earlier stage, a decision which it now recognized had contributed to the scale of the losses sustained during the crisis period.
Common mistake
THE MOST CRITICAL ERROR — REVERSING THE TEMPORAL DIRECTION: "Remember TO lock the door" = remember to do it (you have NOT done it yet). "I remember LOCKING the door" = I recall having locked it (I already did). "I forgot TO call him" = I did not call him. "I forgot CALLING him" = I called him but forgot that I had. "I regret TO tell you..." = I am about to give bad news (formal). "I regret TELLING you..." = I am sorry I told you (I already told you). THE DANGER WITH REGRET + TO vs REGRET + ING: both are common in professional English and the distinction is very useful: "I regret to inform you that..." = I am about to deliver bad news. "I regret announcing the layoffs the way we did" = I am sorry about how we announced the layoffs.
Trick to remember it
TIME ARROW: TO + infinitive points FORWARD (action has not yet occurred). -ING points BACKWARD (action has already occurred). "Remember TO call him" = future (call him, you have not done it yet). "I remember CALLING him" = past (I recall having called him). TRICK: if you can naturally add "yesterday" or "before" = -ING (past). If you can add "later" or "tomorrow" = TO (future). "I remember signing the contract YESTERDAY" = ING. "Remember to sign the contract TOMORROW" = TO. REGRET + TO: almost exclusively "I regret to inform/tell/advise/announce" = bad news formula in formal communication.
Quick rule
TO + infinitive = FUTURE/PENDING action (has not occurred): remember to do it, forget to do it, regret to inform. -ING = PAST action (already occurred): remember doing it, forget doing it, regret doing it. "Remember TO send" = send it (pending). "I remember SENDING" = I recall having sent it (already sent). Points to the future = TO. Points to the past = ING.
Did you know?
The distinction between REMEMBER/FORGET/REGRET + TO vs + ING is one of the most celebrated in English pedagogy because it is a perfect example of how GRAMMAR can radically change MEANING. The sentences "I forgot to tell him" vs "I forgot telling him" sound identical to a non-native ear, but mean completely different things: in the first, you never told him anything; in the second, you did tell him but did not remember having done so. Grammarians such as Geoffrey Leech and Jan Svartvik (authors of the influential "A Communicative Grammar of English") identified these verbs as "aspectual verbs" because the choice of complement (infinitive vs gerund) encodes the temporal aspect of the action. It is a case where morphology (a simple -ING ending versus TO) communicates a temporal difference that in many other languages can only be expressed with additional words.
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
The director of finance clearly _____ the risk assessment concerns to the board at the March meeting, as the minutes confirm that a full discussion took place and that the report was reviewed in detail.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
I regret _____ you that the committee has made its final decision regarding the project proposal and is not in a position to consider further revisions to the scope or budget at this stage of the evaluation process.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
TO + infinitive = FUTURE/PENDING action (has not occurred): remember to do it, forget to do it, regret to inform. -ING = PAST action (already occurred): remember doing it, forget doing it, regret doing it. "Remember TO send" = send it (pending). "I remember SENDING" = I recall having sent it (already sent). Points to the future = TO. Points to the past = ING.
THE MOST CRITICAL ERROR — REVERSING THE TEMPORAL DIRECTION: "Remember TO lock the door" = remember to do it (you have NOT done it yet). "I remember LOCKING the door" = I recall having locked it (I already did). "I forgot TO call him" = I did not call him. "I forgot CALLING him" = I called him but forgot that I had. "I regret TO tell you..." = I am about to give bad news (formal). "I regret TELLING you..." = I am sorry I told you (I already told you). THE DANGER WITH REGRET + TO vs REGRET + ING: both are common in professional English and the distinction is very useful: "I regret to inform you that..." = I am about to deliver bad news. "I regret announcing the layoffs the way we did" = I am sorry about how we announced the layoffs.
TIME ARROW: TO + infinitive points FORWARD (action has not yet occurred). -ING points BACKWARD (action has already occurred). "Remember TO call him" = future (call him, you have not done it yet). "I remember CALLING him" = past (I recall having called him). TRICK: if you can naturally add "yesterday" or "before" = -ING (past). If you can add "later" or "tomorrow" = TO (future). "I remember signing the contract YESTERDAY" = ING. "Remember to sign the contract TOMORROW" = TO. REGRET + TO: almost exclusively "I regret to inform/tell/advise/announce" = bad news formula in formal communication.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy