📝 Daily Practice
🎯 Lesson Goal
This lesson reviews the use of gerunds and infinitives after verbs, focusing on common verb patterns and preferences. Learners will practice identifying when to use gerunds or infinitives in everyday and professional contexts, improving accuracy and fluency.
🧠 Grammar Focus
Some verbs are followed by a gerund (-ing form), while others are followed by an infinitive (to + base verb). Common gerund patterns include ‘enjoy doing’, ‘avoid doing’, ‘consider doing’, and ‘suggest doing’. Common infinitive patterns include ‘decide to do’, ‘hope to do’, ‘plan to do’, and ‘promise to do’. Gerunds also follow prepositions: ‘She is interested in learning.’ Some verbs can take both forms, sometimes with a difference in meaning. Preference structures also vary: we can say ‘I prefer working at home’ or ‘I would rather work at home.’ Learning these verb patterns improves accuracy and natural fluency.
📖 Short Reading
Last week, Maria decided to improve her English skills by joining a conversation club. She enjoys practicing speaking, especially because it helps her feel more confident. Sometimes, she forgets to bring her notebook, which makes learning harder. Her teacher encourages her to keep trying and suggests practising every day. Maria likes to listen to podcasts and plans to continue studying this way. She hopes to one day start teaching English herself. Being able to explain grammar rules clearly is important to her. She looks forward to working hard and achieving her goals.
✏️ Exercise 1 – Fill in the Blanks
1. She enjoys ____ (practice / to practice / practicing) English every day.
2. They decided ____ (take / taking / to take) an online course.
3. He promised ____ (come / coming / to come) to the meeting later.
4. We discussed ____ (start / starting / to start) a new project next month.
5. Do you want ____ (join / joining / to join) the workshop tomorrow?
6. She avoided ____ (answer / answering / to answer) difficult questions.
7. I forgot ____ (send / sending / to send) the email yesterday.
8. They agreed ____ (meet / meeting / to meet) after work.
🔗 Exercise 2 – Matching
1. enjoy
2. decide
3. avoid
4. promise
5. discuss
6. plan
7. forget (an action not done)
8. forget (a past action)
✅ Exercise 3 – Multiple Choice
1. She wants ____ a new language this year. (learn / to learn / learning)
2. I enjoy ____ in the park during weekends. (run / to run / running)
3. They agreed ____ the project together. (work / to work / working)
4. He recommended ____ the instructions carefully. (read / reading / to read)
5. We forgot ____ the tickets before leaving. (buy / buying / to buy)
6. She avoids ____ late to meetings. (arrive / arriving / to arrive)
7. I would love ____ your new book. (read / reading / to read)
8. They discussed ____ abroad next year. (study / to study / studying)
📝 Writing Practice
1. Write 3–5 sentences about a goal you have and explain whether you decided to do something or enjoy doing it. Use gerunds and infinitives correctly.
📚 Key Vocabulary
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| decide | to choose something |
| improve | to get better |
| enjoy | to like doing something |
| practice | to do something to improve |
| forget | to not remember |
| encourage | to give support |
| suggest | to recommend |
| listen | to give attention with your ears |
| plan | to decide what to do |
| hope | to want something to happen |
| explain | to make clear |
| continue | to keep doing something |
| achieve | to succeed in doing something |
| confident | feeling sure about yourself |
🔎 Answer Key
- exercise_1_fill_blanks: 1.practicing 2.to take 3.to come 4.starting 5.to join 6.answering 7.to send 8.to meet
- exercise_2_matching: 1.enjoy – doing something 2.decide – to do something 3.avoid – doing something 4.promise – to do something 5.discuss – doing something 6.plan – to do something 7.forget (an action not done) – to do something 8.forget (a past action) – doing something
- exercise_3_multiple_choice: 1.to learn 2.running 3.to work 4.reading 5.to buy 6.arriving 7.to read 8.studying
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