It's no use It's no good...

— It's no use worrying about it. There's nothing you can do.

— It's no good trying to persuade me. You won't succeed.

There's no point in ...

— There's no point in buying a car if you don't want to drive it.

— There was no point in waiting, so we went.

It's (not) worth...

— My house is only a short walk from here. It's not worth taking a taxi.

— It was so late when we got home, it wasn't worth going

to bed.

— Do you think this book is worth reading?

— You should go and see the film. It's really worth seeing.

(Have) difficulty...

— I had difficulty finding a place to live, (not "to find")

— Did you have any difficulty getting a visa?

— People often have great difficulty reading my writing.

Remember that we say "difficulty" (not "difficulties"):

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— I'm sure you'll have no difficulty passing the exami­nation.

You can also say "(have) difficulty in -ing":

— He's shy. He has difficulty in talking to people he doesn't know well.

A waste of money/time...

— It's a waste of time reading that book. It's rubbish.

— It's a waste of money buying things you don't need.

Go -ing

We use go -ing for a number of activities (especially sports):

go boating	go hiking	go shopping
go bowling	go hunting	go sightseeing
go camping	go jogging	go skating
go riding	go mountain climbing	go skiing
go dancing	go running	go swimming
go fishing	go sailing	go window shopping

— How often do you go swimming?

— I'm going skiing next week.

— I have to go shopping this morning.

— Let's go sightseeing tomorrow.

— We went camping at the weekend.

Infinitive or -ing?

After the verbs below, we can use the -ing form or the infinitive normally without much difference of meaning.

begin can't bear like hate start

continue can't stand love prefer intend

— He began looking/to look for a job six months ago.

— I like smimming/to swim in the sea.

— She prefers working/to work at night.

Like

In British English, we often use like +-ing form to say that we "enjoy" something.

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— I like going to the cinema. (= I enjoy it.)

— I don't like driving, (= I don't enjoy it.)

We use like+ to infinitive to say that we choose to do something because we think it is a good idea.

— I like to go to the dentist's for a check-up every 6 months. (= I think it is a good thing to do, although I may not en­joy it.)

— I like to wash my hair twice a week. (This doesn't mean that I enjoy it; it means that I think it is a good thing to do.)

— Tom likes to do the washing-up immediately after the meal.

After the verbs below we can use the -ing form or the infinitive with a different meaning.

remember forget try stop go on regret

1. Remember/forget doing and remember/forget to do

We use remember/forget + -ing form when we remember or forget something after we do it.

— I remember going to the 1972 Olympics. (I went there and now I remember this.)

— Have you forgotten giving me the money? (You gave me the money.)

We use remember/forget + to infinitive when we remember or forget something before we have to do it.

— Please remember to post the letter. (= don't forget to post it.)

— I remembered to go to the chemist's for you. Here's your medicine. (I remembered, then I went there.)

— Don't forget to give me the money.

2. Try doing and try to do

We use try + -ing form to mean "make an experiment" — do something and see what happens.

— "The car won't start." "Why don't we try pushing it?"

— "I can't find anywhere to live." "Why don't you try put­ting an advertisement in the newspaper?" (= do this to see if it helps you to find a place to live)

We use try + to infinitive to mean "make an effort" — see if you can do something.

— I tried to push the car up the hill, but I couldn't move it.

— I was very tired. I tried to keep my eyes open but I couldn't.