Gerund and Infinitive: change of meaning

1.1 Some verbs can be followed by the Gerund or the Infinitive with no difference in meaning: attempt, begin, bother, can’t bear, can’t stand, cease, continue, deserve, fear, hate, intend, like=(enjoy), love, prefer, start. 

Examples

I can’t stand to hear/hearing loud noise. 

He started to write/writing his new novel.

1.2 Some verbs can be followed by the Gerund or the Infinitive, but there is a difference in meaning.

Changes in meaning.

Verb	Gerund	Infinitive
remember/ forget	focuses on something that needs to be done	refers to a past action
stop	ends an action completely	stop one action to do another
try	do something as an experiment	make an effort to do something difficult
regret	feel sorry about something you did/didn’t do in the past	say sorry that something has/hasn’t happened in a formal situation

Examples

I remember to call my mom every day. (Action needs to be done)

I remember calling him yesterday. (Memory of a past action)

I’ll never forget meeting him. (Memory of a past action)

Don’t forget to lock the door. (Action needs to be done)

He stopped to buy some milk. (Paused some action to do another)

He stopped buying milk. (Stopped the action completely)

Try using the new app. (Experiment)

We tried to persuade her to take part in the conference. (Putting efforts)

I really regret not learning to play any musical instrument. (Past)

We regret to inform you about the flight cancellation. (Saying sorry)