1.

Gerunds & Infinitives

Some verbs can be followed immediately by a to-infinitive. However, some verbs are normally
followed by the -ing form, not the to-infinitive.

“Hate, like, love, and prefer” can be followed either by -ing or a to-infinitive. The difference in
meaning is often small. The -ing form emphasizes the verb itself. The to-infinitive puts the
emphasis more on the preference for, or the results of, the action.

Some verbs can be followed by a to-infinitive or the -ing form, but with a change in meaning.

e.g. Working in Tuen Mun means leaving home at 06:00 a.m.

➡️ Because one’s work in Tuen Mun, leaving home at this time is the result or consequence.
e.g. Sam didn’t mean to make his brother sad.

➡️ Making his brother sad is not Sam’s intention.

2. Reported Speech

Reported speech is how we represent the speech of other people or what we ourselves say.
There are two main types of reported speech: direct speech and indirect speech.

Direct speech

Direct speech repeats the exact words the person used, or how we remember their words.

e.g. My brother said, “I have so much homework today“.

My brother said he had so much homework on that day.

Indirect speech

Indirect speech focuses more on the content of what someone said rather than their exact
words.

e.g. My sister said, “I’m sorry“.

My sister apologized.
3. When / While

When

We can use “when” to introduce a single completed event that takes place in the middle of a
longer activity or event. In these cases, we usually use a continuous verb in the main clause to
describe the background event.

e.g. When my mum called me, I was playing in the park.

(completed event) (longer activity)

While

We can use “while” to talk about two longer events or activities happening at the same time. We
can use either simple or continuous verb forms.

e.g. While I was playing in the park, my mum was cooking at home.

(longer activity 1) (longer activity 2)