General English Lower Intermediate Level
Lesson 12

1. Watch the video

Expression to work on

I know a lot of people here, but I only have a few close friends

I keep in touch with friends by texting emailing and using social networking sites like Facebook. For me a friend is someone a can trust and depend on but also someone who makes me laugh. Today we are asking people about their friends

I’ve got a nice circle of friends. There are not too many, but I like to keep in touch with both old friends and new friends

I’ve got a small circle of close friends

I have a few close friends here

I’ve got a lot of close friends, I met them through college, I actually meet over here with three friends, and we all live together

I,ve got lots of friends

I don’t although like to have lots of close friends, I like to have really close friends

I do have few close friends

I am quite lucky to have quite a lot of close friends

I have a number of close friends

How do you keep in touch with them?

I keep in touch in all sorts of ways: telephone, email, Sometimes I may call around their house

The things we have in common is that we all do a similar kind of work, so we network in that kind of work, email, telephone

I am on Facebook; I go see them, but mostly texting and using social networking sites like Facebook

Mainly, at the moment through Facebook, I am always on Facebook

Using mobile phone, I sent text messages

We live all over the place so the internet is the major way how we do it, networking sites

Normally, through the internet, but I like to write letters very often

What do you look for in a friend?

In a friend I look for something trustworthy, I guess something creative like myself, somebody who likes going out

Honesty, if they are not honest with me, they cannot be my friends

Reliable and loyal fun and easy going I guess

Sense of humor I think

Manners like a personality like to have the same interests as me

Mostly people who can make me laugh or they can share experiences as me

Loyalty, honesty, creativity

Someone I can relate to, someone I can feel comfortable with, someone I can be myself with, someone who is easy to talk to

They have to be funny, they have to be kind and sincere, they have to be honest, they have to be this tall, otherwise is ok I can assimilate to.

2. Questions to speak about

1. Do you have close friends?
2. How do you keep in touch with them?
3. What do you look for in a friend?
4. What do you like doing together with your friends?

Activity 1

Sunny - the video blogger

Help me find a job!

Meet Sunny. She's a vlogger from China. What's a vlogger? It's a video blogger, someone who makes… video blogs! Are there famous vloggers in your country?

Sunny is looking for a job. But she's having problems finding the right job for her.

Let's have a look at her vlog. While you watch, try to catch the answers to these questions.

1. What subject did she study at university?
2. Which musical instrument does she play?
3. Which sport does she dislike?

Watch the video and complete the activity

Activity 2

What comes after the verb?

Love, like, hope…

In her vlog, Sunny used a lot of different verbs like try, enjoy, hate, hope and like. But what came after them? How much can you remember?

In this game, you’re going to match the beginnings and endings of her sentences.

Try the activity

Grammar

In all the sentences, the first verb was followed by either:

• A gerund (base verb-ing: looking, singing, swimming)
• An infinitive with 'to' (to + base verb: to study, to be)

Gerunds and infinitives can be confusing in English, because they look like verbs, but they sometimes work like nouns. Some learners of English find it difficult to decide when to use a gerund after a verb, and when to use an infinitive with 'to'.

So, which should you use, and when? Don't worry, you're going to find out in this unit. We'll start with a counting exercise. Have another look at Sunny's vlog (or read the transcript) and answer these questions:

• How many verbs followed by gerunds are there? (example: tried looking)
• How many verbs followed by infinitives are there? (example: decided to study)

So, Sunny used seven verb-gerund combinations:

• tried looking
• like doing
• love dancing
• like travelling
• enjoy singing and performing
• hate swimming
• learn juggling

She used five verb-infinitive combinations:  

• decided to study
• try to keep 
• hate to be 
• tried to learn
• hope to be

Activity 3

Gerund or infinitive?

I've tried looking for a job everywhere…

In the video you heard all about Sunny and her search for a job. Can you remember what Sunny said she really, really likes doing? And another thing she always tries to do?

Read the text and complete the activity

Grammar notes

When we use two verbs together, the second verb usually changes its form to either a gerund or an infinitive. Gerunds and infinitives combine the meaning of a verb with the grammar of a noun.

Sunny said: I really, really like travelling – here, the verb like is followed by a gerund: travelling.

Sunny also said she decided to study drama – the verb decided here is followed by an infinitive: to study.

Gerunds are made by changing a verb to an –ing form.

• play – playing
• watch ­ watching
• run – running
• swim – swimming

Infinitives are made of to + the base form of the verb.

• to play
• to watch
• to run
• to swim

But we need to learn which form comes after each verb. Some verbs can only be followed by a gerund, and some only by an infinitive. Others can be followed by either.

See how many you already know in the next activity.

Activity 4

More gerunds and infinitives

Do gerunds and infinitives change the meaning – or not?

Now we know that some verbs – like consider, recommend and enjoy – are followed by gerunds. Some other verbs – like decide, hope and learn – need an infinitive after them.

But did you know that there are some other verbs which can be followed by gerunds or infinitives without changing the meaning of the sentence?

And there are some other verbs that can be followed by gerunds or infinitives, but this can change the meaning.

For example:

• Mary stopped eating at six. (Mary was eating, and at six o’clock she stopped.)
• Mary stopped to eat at six. (Mary was doing something, and at six o’clock she stopped what she was doing and started to eat.)