gerunds

[mraimida]

wat's the difference between
i stopped writing the poem bec i felt tired .
&
i stopped to write the poem bec i have many ideas in my mind

[jlinger]

I stopped writing means I am no longer writing.
I stopped to write means I stopped (whatever I was doing) in order that I might write.

"I saw the accident so I stopped writing so I could run to help."
"I saw the accident so I stopped to write down his licence number."