Page 135 - Basic English Usage
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stop
If you stop doing something, you don’t do it any more.
| really must stop smoking.
If you stop to do something, you pause (in the middle of something else)
in order to do it.
Every hour | stop work to have a little rest.
goon
If you go on doing something, you continue — you do it more.
She went on talking about her illnesses until everybody went to
sleep.
\f you go on to do something, you do it next — you stop one thing and
start another.
She stopped talking about her illnesses and went on te tell us about
all her other problems.
regret
You regret doing something in the past — you are sorry that you did it.
| don't regret telling her what | thought, even if it made her angry.
The expression / regret to say/tell you/announce etc means ‘I’m sorry
that |havetosay ...’.
British Rail regret to announce that the 13.15 train for Cardiff will
leave approximately thirty-seven minutes late. This delay is due to the
late running of the train.
allow
After allow, we use ... -ing in active clauses if there is no object. If
there is an object, we use an infinitive.
We don't allow smoking in the lecture room.
We don't allow people to smoke in the lecture room. ,
see, watch and hear
If you saw, watched or heard something happening, it was happening:
you saw or heard it while it was going on. If you saw, watched or heard
something happen, it happened: you saw or heard a complete action.
Note the infinitive without to: see 179.
(For the difference between it was happening and it happened, see
242.)
| looked out of the window and saw Mary crossing the road.
( = She was in the middle of crossing the road.)
| saw Mary step off the pavement, cross the road and disappear into
the post office.