verbe en"ing"

[mamour]

hi Thomas and everybody!!!
Why the second verb("It's hard to stop thinking or to get over smoking...)is in ING and not in the infinitiv?why we don't say it's hard to stop to think or get over to smoke ? thank you for your help!!

[John Doe]

You speak except present progressive context?

[mamour]

yes I do! it's not: I'm eating but to get over smoking

[Bettina]

Hi Mamour,
don't worries about! Thomas will explain us with details and examples. We would be conversant with this case soon...
We wouldn't get along if we don't get it.

[mamour]

hi Bettina!!excuse me but my english is not as good as yours!!what do you means by we wouldn't get along if we don't get it?

[Bettina]

Hello Mamour,
it's nonsense to say that I speak better as you. I only try to find new words. If I do mistakes, Thomas or members who speak very well will correct me.

comprendre - get it
ne pas progresser - not get along

(Nous ne pourrons pas progresser si nous ne comprenons pas!)

I don't know if this sentence is correct . I tried. . .

[mamour]

seen like that,that seems good!!

[Freddyben]

(Nous ne pourrons pas progresser si nous ne comprenons pas!)

Hi Bettina, here is my proposition for this sentence:

We will not improve ourselves if we don't understand (don't get it).

[Freddyben]

(Nous ne pourrons pas progresser si nous ne comprenons pas!)

Hi Bettina, here is my proposition for this sentence:

We will not improve ourselves if we don't understand (don't get it).

Sorry I meant : we will not be able to improve ourselves if we don't understand (don't get it) !

[mamour]

I'm lookig forward Thomas for answering to my question

[Bettina]

It's very kind. I always can count of you, Freddyben. Thanks
Your are absolutely right Mamour about Thomas.

[mamour]

I think I have the answer to my question!!! Say me if I'm right!!enfrançais:en fait çà correspond àarrêter de I stopped smoking:j'ai arrété de fumer...arreter de faire quelque chose
that's it or not?

[mamour]

ou plutot:DE manger,DE parler D'écrire...

[Freddyben]

I'm gonna answer stupidly but I think it just sounds better to say "I stopped smoking" than "I stopped to smoke" and I reckon both are correct  fundamentally.
What sure is that it definitly stands for : "J'ai arrêté de fumer" but still wait for Thomas' answer.

[Thomas]

Ok, well you guys are right about the French (of course ) but the sentences "I stopped smoking" and "I stopped to smoke" have very different meanings.

In English, when you put a verb in the -ing form, it is often acting like a noun (unless you are using a progressive tense). This is the case with "I stopped smoking" -- the verb "smoking" is the direct object of the verb; in other words, it's "what" you stopped. (I stopped X. What did you stop? X -- so X is the direct object). So for example...

I stopped eating. (j'ai arrêté de manger)
I started running. (j'ai commencé à courir)

However, if you use the "to" form of a verb in English, sometimes it takes on the meaning of "for the purpose of [verb]" -- for example, if you say "I stopped to smoke" it means that you stopped whatever you were doing for the purpose of smoking. Another way to word it would be to say "I stopped in order to smoke." Here are some examples of that usage...

I stopped to eat. (je me suis arrêté pour manger)
I read a book to learn about trains. (j'ai lu un livre pour apprendre au sujet des trains) [perhaps my French is not correct here, as I find the word "about" difficult to translate in some contexts, but you can see the use of "pour" still]
I jumped to celebrate. (j'ai sauté pour célébrer)

Just remember that "to" in English sometimes indicates the reason, and you will be ok I think Is that clear?