VOA一分钟英语：Regret doing 和 regret to do 区别是什么？

动词 “regret” 表示 “对过去的行为或事情感到难过”，后面既可以接动词 -ing，即 “regret doing”，也可以接不定式 “to do”，即 “regret to do”。搭配 “regret doing” 和 “regret to do” 的意思一样吗？想说 “后悔做了某事”，应该用哪一个？

Do we use 'regret' with an 'ing' verb or with 'to' plus infinitive? Watch this video to find out – you won't regret it.

'Regret' is a verb. It means 'to feel bad about a past action or situation'.

We often use it to talk about mistakes we have made and feel bad about. It can be followed by a noun: You'll regret that.

Most commonly, we use 'regret' plus 'ing':

I regret staying up so late last night. Now I'm tired.

'Regret' plus 'to' plus infinitive is only really used to make announcements of bad news. It's often found in formal letters, for example:

We regret to inform you that your job application has not been successful.

Well, I don't regret any of this and I hope you don't regret learning about 'regret'. See you.

用法总结

动词 “regret” 的意思是 “后悔；遗憾”，用来表达对过去的行为或处境感到难过。

“Regret doing” 的意思是 “后悔做了某事”。
I regret buying that – it was expensive and doesn't work properly.
She regrets not studying for her exam. She failed.

“Regret to do” 的意思是 “遗憾地（通知，告诉）”，常用于正式场合中，用来对坏消息表示遗憾或惋惜。
We regret to inform you that there has been an accident.
We regret to inform you that the 21:25 flight to London has been cancelled.