Primary English | Gerunds and Infinitives for Tutors — Four Verb Groups, Three Two-Meaning Verbs, Four Errors

2026-11-11

Tutor lesson-prep guides · Primary English

A pupil writes I enjoy to read because the idea that the first verb decides the second verb form has never been installed. This lesson installs one step: name the verb, then choose -ing or to.

Objectives — Pupils can: (1) add -ing automatically after enjoy, finish, mind and keep and say that the action is already happening or done; (2) add to plus the base verb after want, hope, decide and plan and say that the action is not done yet; (3) explain that stop doing ends the action itself while stop to do pauses in order to start another action, and write one sentence of each.

01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)

If any of these fails, fix it before the lesson starts.

Skill	Quick check	Pass mark
Present simple	What form of go follows he?	goes, add s for third person singular
Spelling -ing	How do you spell make plus -ing?	making, drop the e then add ing
After to	Does the verb after to stay in the base form or the past?	Base form, as in to go

02 Lesson flow (45 minutes)

Time	Stage	Tutor does	Student does
0-5 min	Faulty sentence	Write I enjoy to read and ask what feels wrong	Circle the odd word
5-13 min	Two columns	Build an -ing column and a to column of four verbs each	Copy the eight verbs into two columns
13-31 min	Three scripts	Run the -ing group, the to group and the two-meaning verbs, pausing after each	Repeat the key line after each script
31-38 min	Four item types	Model one multiple choice, one correction, one two-meaning item and one gap text	Do one of each alone
38-43 min	Error contrast	Put the four common errors on the board sentence by sentence	Fix each sentence and give the reason
43-45 min	Exit check	Collect three answers and mark them on the spot	Work alone

03 Teaching script (read it out)

Scene 1: Script one: the -ing group is already happening

Listen to enjoy: I enjoy reading. When you enjoy it, the reading is already happening. So enjoy always takes -ing. Finish, mind and keep belong to the same family: finish doing means it is done, mind doing means you object to doing it, keep doing means you never stop. After these four verbs, to is always wrong.

What form always follows enjoy?

Scene 2: Script two: the to group is not done yet

Want works the other way. I want to read means I have not read it yet. Something not done takes to plus the base verb. Hope, decide and plan work the same way: hope to go, decide to stay, plan to visit. Ask yourself one question: has this happened yet? If not, use to.

Which form follows a verb when the action has not happened yet?

Scene 3: Script three: one verb, two meanings

Stop is the exam favourite. I stopped talking means the talking ended. I stopped to talk means I paused in order to talk. Doing ends the action that follows; to do pauses in order to start it. Remember and try behave the same way: remember doing is to recall having done it, remember to do is to recall that you must do it.

In stop doing and stop to do, which action ends?

04 Question types and worked steps

Type	Example	Steps	Answer
Multiple choice	I enjoy ___ (read) comics.	Check the first verb: enjoy is in the -ing group, so change the verb to -ing	reading
Correction	She finished to do her homework.	Finished belongs to the -ing group, so replace to do with doing	She finished doing her homework.
Two meanings	Write two sentences: he paused in order to drink water.	Decide whether the drinking ends or starts: stopping the drinking is stop drinking, pausing to drink is stop to drink	He stopped to drink water.
Gap text	I want ___ (join) the club, and I enjoy ___ (play) badminton.	Want points to something not done, so to join; enjoy is already happening, so playing	to join; playing

Sanity check (teach this): Reasonableness check: ask once whether the action has happened. Done or happening takes -ing; not done, wanted or decided takes to plus the base verb. I enjoy to read fails twice, because enjoy is in the -ing group and the reading is what the speaker is enjoying. A pupil who cannot tell the two stop sentences apart has memorised answers, not the rule, so send it back.

05 Independent practice (3 questions)

Question	Answer	What to watch
Multiple choice	Do you mind ___ (close) the door?	Mind is in the -ing group, so closing
Correction	They plan visiting the museum.	Plan is in the to group, so plan to visit
Two meanings	She paused in order to look at the poster.	The pausing starts a new action, so stop to look at the poster
Gap text	He kept ___ (ask) questions, so I decided ___ (answer) him.	Kept takes asking; decided takes to answer

06 Common mistakes and what to say

Mistake	Student writes	Say this
To after every verb	I enjoy to read books.	Enjoy always takes -ing: enjoy reading. You have treated enjoy like want.
Ing after every verb	I want going home.	Want points to something not done, so to go. You want to go home, but you are not home yet.
Two stop meanings mixed	He stopped to smoke, meaning he gave up smoking.	Stop to smoke means he paused in order to smoke. To say he gave up, write He stopped smoking.
Past tense after to	She decided to went home.	To always takes the base form: to go. The past is already shown by decided.

07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)

P5 English paper, Section A verb forms — Section A A1, items 1 to 6: name the verb group before writing the form
P5 English paper, Section A adjectives — Section A A2, items 1 to 4: rewrite each sentence with I enjoy or I want
Primary English chapter index — Full chapter list: tenses, verb patterns, reading strategies and writing steps

08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)

Question	Answer	Decision
I enjoy ___ (swim).	swimming	to swim means the -ing group is not installed; reteach script one
She hopes ___ (win) the race.	to win	winning means the not-done signal is missing; reteach script two
He stopped ___ (rest) after two hours.	to rest	resting means the two stop meanings are mixed; reteach script three with two sentences each

09 Tutor FAQ

Why not just memorise the eight verbs?

A list only covers gap fills. This lesson installs one test: has the action happened yet? Once that test works, unseen verbs such as avoid and suggest follow the same logic because both describe things already happening.

Should Primary 5 pupils learn stop to do?

Yes, but only to the point of telling the two sentences apart. It is the most common two-meaning item in school papers and the base of Secondary 1 verb patterns.

What if a pupil misspells the -ing form?

Keep the two problems apart. A pattern error is this lesson goal; a spelling slip gets one correction and goes on the board for the pupil to fix alone, without eating teaching time.

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A TutorZone lesson-prep guide. Written by the TutorZone team; questions and lesson flow are original and are not taken from any school or publisher material.