To-infinitive or -ing form with a change in meaning
Some verbs can be followed by a to-infinitive or the -ing form, but with a change in meaning:
go on need remember try mean regret stop want
So, what is the difference in meaning between the following:
- I want to sell my products on your website.
- I want selling my products on your website.
"Want" can be used to form a concealed passive construction when it means "to need something". This passive construction doesn't need a form of BE but it needs a form of gerund-participle verb. And as always, passives don't take an object, so "selling my products" isn't a correct construction. It should be
My products want(=need) selling(=to be sold) on your website.
But as a rule, want takes to-infinitive when it's used to express a desire.
I want to sell my products on your website.
To put it simply, the first sentence means you want to sell your products on his website. The second sentence means you don't speak English natively.
If what you want is a verb, the verb should be infinitive: "I want to ---."
A few verbs (as noted, "try" and "remember") can take the gerund, but "want" is not one of those.
