Today's tip: remember to do 和 remember doing

Welcome to Daily Tips on Learning English. Today’s tip is on the difference in meaning between “remember doing something” and “remember to do something”.

Let’s take an example. What’s the difference between “I remember locking the door” and “I remember to lock the door”? Well, “remember doing something” means you recall doing something you did in the past, and “remember to do something” means to remember to perform a responsibility, duty or task at the proper time.

So,“I remember locking the door” means in the past, I locked the door, and now, I still recall doing it.There’s still a memory in my mind. I haven’t forgotten what I did. On the other hand,“I remember to lock the door” means at the moment I leave my house, I should lock the door. At that moment, I always remember to lock the door. It’s not my habit to forget to lock the door when I leave my house. Therefore, if you are reminding someone to do something in the future, you say, “Remember to turn off the light.” “Remember to feed the dog.” “Remember to say ‘please’.” On the other hand, if you are telling someone about memory you have or don’t have, you say, for example, “I remember closing the door. Who opened it?” “I don’t remember meeting you before. Are you sure we have met?”

So pay special care when using the verb “remember”, you must choose the right form of the verb you use after it. This has been today’s daily tip on learning English. Tune in tomorrow for another tip.