S3 English | Gerunds and Infinitives: Verb Patterns, Meaning Shifts, Fixed Expressions Tutor Prep Guide

2026-11-14

Tutor lesson-prep guides · Secondary English

One student writes I enjoy to read, another writes I want going home. Both are wrong for opposite reasons: one is a memorised pattern that never works, the other confuses wanting to do something with having done it. This lesson keeps three rules, the -ing form names an activity, to names a purpose or a next step, and drills one verb set until the choice is automatic.

Objectives — By the end students can: (1) explain the split, where the -ing form treats an action as a thing while to plus base form points at a purpose or a future step; (2) explain the difference between stop, remember, forget and try with each form, and write one sentence for each meaning; (3) complete twelve pattern questions, stating for each one which group the first verb belongs to rather than guessing by ear.

01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)

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

Skill	Quick check	Pass mark
Participle and gerund	In Swimming is fun, is swimming a gerund or a participle?	A gerund, because it works as the subject and means the activity
Base form after to	Does the verb after to take -s or -ed?	No, always the base form, as in to go and to study
Transitive verbs	Can enjoy stand without an object?	No, enjoy always needs an object, which is why it takes -ing

02 Lesson flow (45 minutes)

Time	Stage	Tutor does	Student does
0 to 5 min	Two wrong sentences	Write I enjoy to read and I want going home, ask only which is wrong and why	Point at the error and try to explain it
5 to 15 min	The -ing and to split	Show -ing as an activity and to as a purpose or future step, two examples each way	Sort six verbs into the -ing group and the to group
15 to 26 min	Four verbs whose meaning changes	Model stop, remember, forget and try in both forms with one everyday example each	Write two sentences each for stop and remember
26 to 38 min	Fixed patterns	List enjoy, mind, finish and avoid with -ing, and want, hope, decide and plan with to	Do twelve pattern questions and write the reason for each
38 to 43 min	Subject swap check	Change the subject to He or They and confirm the verb form does not move	Self-check two answers with the swap
43 to 45 min	Exit check	Collect three questions: one pattern, one meaning pair, one sentence written from scratch	Answer and hand in

03 Teaching script (read it out)

Scene 1: The split: an activity against a purpose

The -ing form turns an action into a noun, so it names the activity itself: Swimming keeps me fit, I enjoy reading. To plus the base form points at doing something: I want to read, She decided to leave. Which one a verb takes depends on whether it talks about liking the activity or about intending the next step. Students who ask themselves one question, is the next word a thing or a step, get it right most of the time.

Ask students to state the difference between I like swimming and I like to swim in one sentence

Scene 2: Four verbs whose meaning changes: stop, remember, forget, try

Stop smoking means quitting, stop to smoke means pausing in order to smoke. Remember doing means recalling a past action, remember to do means not forgetting a future one. Forget runs the same way but reversed. Try doing tests an option, try to do makes an effort. Do not explain these with rules, use a timeline: the -ing form points at something already happening or done, to points forward.

Ask students to say when each of remember locking the door and remember to lock the door happens

Scene 3: Fixed patterns: two columns on the board

The -ing column holds enjoy, mind, finish, avoid, practise and suggest. The to column holds want, hope, decide, plan, promise and refuse. Write only the English verbs and have students supply the examples. The patterns are memory work, but one clue links the -ing group: those verbs talk about something imagined, repeated or already done, since finishing and avoiding both assume the action is settled.

Students sort twelve verbs into the two columns and explain any verb they place wrongly

04 Question types and worked steps

Type	Example	Steps	Answer
Choose the form	I enjoy ___ (read) before bed.	Check which column enjoy sits in, apply -ing, write the answer	reading
Tell the meanings apart	He stopped ___ (talk) when the teacher came in.	Decide whether he paused to do something else or quit talking, then choose	talking
Correct the error	She wants going to the library.	Find the main verb want, apply to plus base form, rewrite	She wants to go to the library.
Join two sentences	I finished my homework. Then I went out.	Use finish with -ing, drop the repeated subject, keep the order	After finishing my homework, I went out.

Sanity check (teach this): After every answer, swap the subject for He and check that the verb form does not move: He enjoys reading keeps reading, He wants to go keeps to go. If the form changes when the subject changes, the student has mistaken the gerund for a continuous tense. Then run the timeline test, past or ongoing takes -ing, not yet done takes to, and only accept answers that pass both.

05 Independent practice (3 questions)

Question	Answer	What to watch
Would you mind ___ (open) the window?	opening	Mind takes -ing, never to open
They decided ___ (move) to a bigger flat.	to move	Decide takes to plus the base form
I will never forget ___ (see) the sea for the first time.	seeing	A past experience, so the -ing form

06 Common mistakes and what to say

Mistake	Student writes	Say this
Using to after an -ing verb	I enjoy to read comics.	Enjoy always takes -ing because it talks about enjoying the activity itself, so write enjoy reading.
Using -ing after a to verb	She wants going home.	Want points at a step not yet taken, so it needs to plus the base form: wants to go.
Mixing the two meanings of stop	He stopped to smoke, meant as quitting.	Stop to smoke means pausing in order to smoke. Quitting is stop smoking, where -ing names the activity given up.
Adding a tense after to	He decided to went out.	The verb after to never changes form, so decided to go out is the only correct version.

07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)

Relative clauses review, questions 1 to 4 — Relative clauses and gerunds often appear in the same question, so practise the patterns first
Reported speech practice, questions 5 and 6 — Reported speech changes tenses, which contrasts neatly with the fixed form after to
Secondary English subject index, choose two chapters — Choose by school progress and report back next lesson

08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)

Question	Answer	Decision
I suggest ___ (take) a taxi.	taking	Suggest takes -ing
Remember ___ (bring) your book tomorrow.	to bring	A future action needs to
He promised ___ (help) us.	to help	Promise takes to plus the base form

09 Tutor FAQ

How should students remember the verbs that take both forms?

Keep only four pairs: stop, remember, forget and try. Verbs such as like, love, hate, begin and start take both with almost no difference, so they are not worth the lesson time.

Do S3 students need being or having done?

No. Perfect gerunds belong to senior years. Adding them now blurs the simple -ing and to split that exam questions actually test.

Are the patterns pure memorisation?

Mostly not. The -ing group tends to describe something finished, repeated or imagined, while the to group describes something planned or hoped for, which covers nearly all of the list.

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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.