《大学英语·精读》第一册第九课中有这么一句话:They are trying to find out whether there is something about the way we teach language to children which in fact prevents children from learning sooner. 他们正试图查明,在我们教孩子们学习语言的方法中是不是有什么东西实际上却妨碍了他们学习的速度。其中try to do something 表示"试图做某事"。英语中有些词后面既可接动名词又可接不定式,但表示的意义却不同。下面笔者将这一类结构进行归纳:

　　1. try doing sth., try to do sth.:

　　try doing sth.意为"试试做某事",指为了达到某种目的而去试着做某事 (=make the experiment of...).try to do sth.意为"试图或力图去做某事"(=make an attempt or effort to do sth.)

　　Try cleaning it with water. 试试用水将它洗干净。

　　I tried sending her flowers, but it didn't have any effect. 我试着给她送花,然而没有什么结果。

　　He tried to write every word neatly and correctly.他试图把每一个单词都写得既清楚又正确。

　　I once tried to learn Japanese.我曾经一度试图学习日语。

　　2. go on doing sth., go on to do sth.:

　　go on doing sth.意为继续做一直正做的事情,指继续不断地干同一件事情。go on to do sth.意为干完一件事后继续干另外一件事,指两件事连着做。

　　He went on talking about his accident for hours. 一连几个小时他滔滔不绝地讲他的那次事故。

　　He went on smoking. 他继续抽着烟。

　　Having read Lesson One, I went on to read Lesson Two. 我读完第一课后,继续读第二课。

　　He welcomed the new students and then went on to explain the college regulations.他对新生表示了欢迎,接下去就解释了学院的规章制度。

　　3. regret doing sth., regret to do sth.:

　　regret doing sth.意为对已经发生的事情感到遗憾,对已做过的事情感到后悔,"做某事"在先,"遗憾、后悔"在后,也可用regret having done sth. 加以强调。regret to do sth.意为对正在或将要做的事情感到遗憾或抱歉,后面常跟表示"说"、"告知"等意思的动词。regret + to have done sth.也可以表示对做过的事情感到后悔。

　　I regret going there. 我后悔到那里去了。

　　They regret not having followed their teacher's advice. 他们后悔没有听从他们老师的劝告。

　　I regret to inform / to tell you that we are unable to offer you employment. 我怀着歉意通知你,我们不能雇你。

　　I regret to have done such a thing.我因做了那种事情而感到遗憾。

　　4. remember doing sth., remember to do sth.:

　　remember doing sth.记得做某事。"做某事"在"记得"之前,意为曾经做过某事、现在(或说话时)还记得、还能想起。remember doing sth.有时也写成remember having done sth.,后者更加强调"曾经做过某事",强调"做某事"这一动作在remember之前发生。如果表达"记得某人曾经做过某事",也可以用remember sb. /

　　sb. 's doing sth.这一结构.remember to do sth.记着去做某事。"做某事"在"记着"之后,意为心里想着别忘了去做某事。

　　I remember seeing him once somewhere.我记得在哪里见过他一面。

　　He remembered having shut the door. (He remembered shutting the door.)他记得曾经关上了门.

　　Remember to meet me tonight.记着今天晚上去接我。

　　Do you remember me/my asking you the same question?你不记得我曾经问过你同样的问题吗?

　　5. forget doing sth., forget to do sth.:

　　forget doing sth.忘记曾做过某事。指曾做过某事,但把这回事儿给忘了,不记得曾经做过了。forget to do sth.忘记了要去做某事。指没有做某事,给忘掉了。

　　I shall never forget meeting the Queen. 我永远不会忘记拜见女王那一幕。

　　I forgot shutting the door. 我(关了门,却)把关上了门这件事忘了。

　　Don't forget to shut the door. 别忘了把门关上。

　　She always forgets to return my books. 她总是忘了把书还给我。

　　6. mean doing sth., mean to do sth.:

　　mean doing sth. 意味着做某事。mean to do sth. 打算做某事,想要做某事。

　　To raise wages means increasing purchasing power. 提高工资就意味着增加购买力。

　　To talk to him always means starting an argument. 跟他谈话就意味着一场争论开始了。

　　I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude to you. 对不起,我无意对你无礼。

　　I mean to go, and nothing is going to stop me. 我打算走,什么也不能阻止我。

　　7. stop doing sth. , stop to do sth.:

　　stop后接动名词,该动名词为stop的宾语,意为"停止做某事"。stop后接不定式,该不定式为stop的目的状语,意为"停止正在进行的动作去做某事"。这结构中,stop之后的宾语没有表达出来,暗含于上下文之中,通过上下文完全可以了解所停止的动作是什么。

　　The teacher said, "Stop talking and listen to me."老师说:"别说话,听我说。"

　　We stop (in order) to talk. 我们停下来以便谈话。

　　I really must stop smoking. 我一定得戒烟了。

　　Every half an hour I stopped (my work) to smoke. 我每隔半小时就停下来吸烟。

　　8. afraid of doing sth. , afraid to do sth.:

　　afraid of doing sth. 用于表示某人害怕发生某种事情,着重强调担心或不情愿。而afraid to do sth. 则表示因惧怕而不敢去做某事。例如:

　　She was afraid of waking her husband up. 她怕吵醒了她的丈夫。(可能因为丈夫生病或需要更多的睡眠)

　　She was afraid to wake her husband up. 她不敢吵醒她的丈夫。(可能因为她害怕他会生气)

　　He is afraid of losing his job. 他害怕丢掉自己的工作。

　　She is afraid to tell the manager what she thinks of him. 她不敢告诉经理自己对他的看法。

　　(文/刘军　英语辅导报大学教师版04~05学年第17、18期;版权归英语辅导报社所有，独家网络合作伙伴新浪教育，未经许可，不得以任何形式进行转载。)