Gerunds and infinitives

Gerunds and infinitives are used to talk about complex ideas. Gerunds are formed with -ing.
Infinitives are formed with to + a verb. You can use infinitives and gerunds after certain verbs.

Gerund (verb + -ing):

Oscar enjoys cooking dinner for Frank. Oscar enjoys cooking dinner for Frank.

Infinitive (to + verb):

Frank plans to eat out. Frank plans to eat out.

Some verbs can only have gerunds after them, whereas some can only have infinitives. Some verbs can
have either gerunds or infinitives.

These verbs can only have an infinitive after them:

plan plan
We're planning to go to the soccer game. We're planning to go to the soccer game.

want want
We want to see the play in the park this week. We want to see the play in the park this week.

need need
I need to get some money for the concert.
I need to get some money for the concert.

These verbs can only have a gerund after them:

enjoy enjoy
I enjoy listening to music. I enjoy listening to music.

keep keep
Martin kept playing his guitar until midnight. Martin kept playing his guitar until midnight.

think about think about

We're thinking about going to a concert. We're thinking about going to a concert.

These verbs can have a gerund or an infinitive after them:

like like
I like going to musicals. I like going to musicals.
I like to go to musicals. I like to go to musicals.

love love
Joan loves eating in restaurants. Joan loves eating in restaurants.
 Joan loves to eat in restaurants. Joan loves to eat in restaurants.

begin begin
It began to snow. It began to snow.
It began snowing. It began snowing.

Expressing ability

Use the word can with a verb to describe abilities.

John can drive. Jo

Can has two negative forms – can't and cannot. They mean the same thing.
I can't speak Spanish. Ic
I cannot speak Spanish. Ic

Can is usually not stressed in a sentence. Can't is stressed. Listen to the pronunciation of the two words in the sentences.
quickly.
I can play tennis. Ic
I can't play tennis.
Ic

The phrase know how to means you have the knowledge or ability to do something. Add not to make it negative.
I know how to drive. I know how to drive.
I don't know how to swim. I don't know how to sw

You can also use the phrases good at and bad at to describe degrees of ability. These phrases are often used with adver
like really, very and pretty.
Carol is really good at chess. Carol is really good at c
James is pretty bad at computer games. James is pretty bad at

You can use the phrase terrible at to describe extremely low ability.
I'm terrible at driving. I'm terrible at driving.

Language note: The word pretty has two meanings. It can mean that someone is physically attractive; if used as an adverb
adjective after it.

sking about and describing options

Use questions like these to ask what people want to do and what activities are available:

What do you want to do? What do you want to do?

What are we going to do tonight? What are we going to do tonight?
What's going on? What's going on?

Use the phrases there is and there are with and to list events.

There's a new movie at the theater and a lecture at the university. There's a new movie at the theater and a lecture
There are some great movies and plays going on this week. There are some great movies and plays going o
Use can and could to introduce possible activities, and or to present choices.

We can go to the lecture or the movie. We can go to the lecture or the movie.
You could go swimming or you could go hiking. You could go swimming or you could go hiking.

Use a question with what else to ask for more choices.

What else is there to do? What else is there to do?

What else is going on? What else is going on?

SUSAN: Hey, Joe. What are we going to do tonight?

JOE: I know! Let's go to that play downtown.
SUSAN: Nah, it's too far .
JOE: Well, what else is going on?
SUSAN: Well, there's a new movie at the theater. It's 'The Big Cheese' with May Jackson.
JOE: Or we could go to the football game.
SUSAN: I do not enjoy watching football games.
JOE: Oh, yeah. So the movie sounds good.
SUSAN: Great!

Prepositions of time and place

Three prepositions of time and place are in, on and at.

Use in for large areas or periods of time, like countries or years.

Beijing is in China. Beijing is in China.

They came here in 2005. They came here in 2005.

Use on for smaller areas, like streets, and for days and dates.

I live on Main Street. I live on Main Street.

The lecture is on Monday. The lecture is on Monday.
My birthday is on April 17th. My birthday is on April 17th.

Use at for addresses, businesses and buildings; and for precise periods of time.

His house is at 465 Pine Street. His house is at 465 Pine Street.
The concert is at 5 p.m. The concert is at 5 p.m.
The lecture is at the auditorium. The lecture is at the auditorium.

Use in with morning, afternoon and evening. Use at with night, midnight and noon.

In the morning, I'm very tired. In the morning, I'm very tired.
At night, I like to read. At night, I like to read.
The lecture is in on at Tuesday afternoon.

My brother is coming in on at February.

The plane leaves in on at 5:30.

I came to this city in on at October 2011.

I live in on at Second Street.

I lived in on at France for one year.

Asking for help

Use the following questions with Could you to ask for help.
Could you do me a favor? Could you do me a favor?
Could you help me? Could you help me?

You can use these expressions to agree to someone's request for help.
Sure. Sure.
No problem. No problem.
OK. OK.

If you can't help the person, you can apologize with I'm sorry, but and then give a reason.
I'm sorry, but I'm really busy right now. I'm sorry, but I'm really busy right now.
I'm really sorry, but I can't help you. I'm really sorry, but I can't help you.

Reading about events

When you are reading descriptions of events, try to scan through the information quickly and find key
words. Don't spend a lot of time on words that you don't understand. Concentrate on the words you do
understand.

Here are some categories of key words.

Event names:
concert, picnic, lecture, play, musical

Event places:
auditorium, theater, aquarium, concert hall

Times and dates:

on February 6, in the evening, at 5 o'clock

Places:
at Martina's restaurant, in Central Park, on 5th Street
Here are some other possible key words.

admission admission
perform perform
start start
ticket ticket
available available

Proper nouns

We use proper nouns to name things – people, businesses or places, for example. Proper nouns always
begin with a capital letter, which makes them easy to spot. Do not let these nouns confuse you. Look in
their names for words you understand. For example, in Central Park, you see the word park, which you
know. In the following proper nouns, the key words for kinds of places are in bold. Use these words to
help you understand the phrase.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium

The Empire State Building
Harry's Bar and Grill

Look at the paragraph to see how powerful a strategy using key words is. You don't have to read every
word to understand a paragraph. You just need to understand the key words. In the following paragraph,
the key words are in bold.

Concert in the Park

On Saturday, June 23rd, the Springfield Orchestra is going to perform Beethoven's Fifth
Symphony. The concert starts at 3 p.m. in Springfield Park. Admission is $5 for adults and $1 for
children.Tickets are available online at www.springfield.orchestra.com.

Read the questions, then look for key words in the reading text to answer the questions quickly.
Don't worry about words you do not know. Concentrate on the key words that you do understand.
Select the correct answer.

Springdale Week
Picnic in the Park Mozart for May

This weekend, residents of Springdale are going to
enjoy their annual picnic in Hooper Park. The party will
start at 10 in the morning and continue until 7 in the
evening. There will be games for the children and food
for everyone! Admission is free!
The Springfield Orchestra will performThe Magic
Flute in the Smith Concert Hall on Sunday night,
May 3rd. The program begins at 8 p.m. and will
last about three hours. Admission is $10 for adults
and $5 for children.
Adjectives for events

Many adjectives you can use to describe events end in -ing. They come from verbs. For example, the
adjectiverelaxing comes from the verb relax.

interesting interesting
boring boring
relaxing relaxing
exciting exciting
surprising surprising

Here are some other adjectives that describe events.

fun fun
incredible incredible
loud loud
quiet quiet
wonderful wonderful
terrible terrible

One way to remember adjectives is to learn their opposites at the same time.

interesting - boring
relaxing - exciting
loud - quiet
wonderful - terrible
JIM: Hi, Ann! Hey, how was your vacation? You went to New York, right?
ANN: Yeah.
JIM: How was it?
ANN: Oh, I love New York! It's a really exciting city.
JIM: Hmm. It's too big and too loud for me. So, what did you do in New York?
ANN: Well, we went to a musical. That was fun ! And we ate at some really interesting
restaurants. The food was delicious .
JIM: It sounds wonderful .
ANN: And the Museum of Modern Art was incredible !
JIM: That's great! Well, I have a meeting. See you later.
ANN: Bye.

'Why' and 'because'

Use the question word why to ask for a reason. Use the word because to give a reason.

A: Why did you go to Paris? Why did you go to Paris?

B: I went to Paris because it's beautiful! I went to Paris because it's beautiful!

The word because introduces a clause with a reason – because it's beautiful, for example. It is used with
another clause, the main clause, that gives the topic of the sentence – I went to Paris, for example.
Here are some more examples.

Main clause Reason clause

I go to that restaurant because it's cheap, and the food is delicious.
I love surfing because it's exciting.
I go to concerts because I enjoy classical music.

In spoken English, it's common to answer a question using only the clause with because.
The main clause (I went to Paris) is understood.

A: Why did you go to Paris? Why did you go to Paris?

B: Because it's beautiful! Because it's beautiful!

Suggesting activities

There are several ways to make suggestions for activities.

'Let's' + base form of verb

Let's go to the dance performance. Let's go to the dance performance.

'How about' or 'what about' + verb + '-ing'

What about meeting some friends? What about meeting some friends?

'Could' + base form of verb

We could go out for a drink at Harry's Bar. We could go out for a drink at Harry's Bar.
'Why don't we' + base form of verb
Why don't we try a new restaurant? Why don't we try a new restaurant?