structure · neutral
stop + V-ing (finish an activity) / stop + to + V (pause to do something else)
Band 4-5speakingtask2
'Stop + V-ing' = cease an activity; 'stop to + V' = pause one activity in order to do another action.
Examples
“He stopped smoking last year.”
“She stopped to answer the phone.”
“I stopped chatting and listened when the teacher entered.”
Band 8 sentence
“She stopped to tie her shoe, then carried on running without breaking her pace.”
Collocations
- stop + V-ing
- stop + to + V
Word family
stop doing something verb phrasestop to do something verb phrase
Common mistakes
He stopped to smoke last year.→He stopped smoking last year.
She stopped smoking to talk to her friend.→She stopped to talk to her friend.
Say it for a higher band
5stop to + V (confused use)→6stop + V-ing used inconsistently→7+distinguish stop + V-ing / stop to + V correctly
Synonyms
quit + V-ing
Easily confused
quit + V-ing
“He quit smoking two years ago.”
Related words
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In Gerunds & infinitives
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