Close menu
2

Unit 2: English In A Minute
Give us a minute and we'll teach you English

Select a unit

  1. 1English In A Minute
  2. 2English In A Minute
  3. 3English In A Minute

Session 40

Have you ever wondered when to use 'forget to do' and when to use 'forget doing'? Watch James explain in this English In A Minute.

Wayiitiwwan marii boqonnaa kana keessaa

1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950515253545556575859606162636465666768697071

Wayitii marii qabxii 40

0 / 3

  • 0 / 3
    Activity 1
  1. Activity 1

Activity 1

Forget to do vs Forget doing

Let James teach you when we say 'forget to do' and 'forget doing' in this English In A Minute.

Vidiyoo daawwadhuuti shaakala kana xumuri

Barreeffama agarsiisiBarreeffama dhoksi

James

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.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the BBC Learning English channel. Bye everyone!

Forget to do vs Forget doing

Forget to do

We use the verb forget followed by the infinitive with ‘to’ to mean that you were supposed to do something, but you didn’t actually do it.

  • I forgot to feed the cat. He's really hungry.
  • I forget to call my wife. She's upset.

Forget doing

We use the verb forget followed by an –ing verb to means that you did do something, but you have no memory of it.

  • I had forgotten going to Paris until I saw the photos.
  • I had forgotten calling my wife until she reminded me.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

To do

Try our quiz to see how well you've learned today's language.

English In A Minute Quiz

3 Questions

Test your understanding of this lesson with our quiz!

Baga gammadde! Qormaata xumurteetta
Excellent!Great job!Carraa badaa!Qabxii argatte:
x / y

Downloads

You can download a PDF document for this episode here.

More

We hope you enjoyed English in a Minute. You can find more episodes here. 

Wiirtuu gadi-buufatan

Qabiyyee koorsiiwwan dhihoo kanaa