Useful English #2 - remember/forget

I was teaching in Hiroshima last week and one of my students said...

"Last Wednesday I forgot going to the dentist"

What he wanted to say was "I forgot to go to the dentist"

The difference may seem small, if you think about 'like' ( I like to ski / I like skiing ), but with forget and remember the meaning of the sentence changes completely.

forget to (do...) = forget a plan you have eg. "I always forget to buy milk at the supermarket"

forget (doing...) = forget something that you have already done in the past eg. "I forget meeting him before" = I have met him before but now I don't remember that event

also with remember the same applies...

remember to (do...) = remember a plan you have eg. "I always remember to take my key to work"

remember (doing...) = remember something that you have already done in the past eg. "I remember seeing her for the first time" = I remember the first time I saw her

This is often used in the past, as in my student's example "I forgot to go to the dentist" = "I didn't remember to go to the dentist"

I hope this makes sense...