Lesson overview:
There is no rule that tells you enjoy takes -ing and want takes to. Students simply have to learn which verbs go where, and lists on their own don't stick. This worksheet gives the patterns a context first. In 2009 Tourism Queensland advertised the best job in the world: six months looking after islands on the Great Barrier Reef, for AU$150,000. Over 34,000 people applied. The sheet opens with a short rewritten version of the advert, full of verb patterns: Do you enjoy swimming? You will need to write a blog. You mustn't mind getting wet. Before reading closely, students guess each form, then check against the advert, which becomes their answer key. A Venn diagram sorts common verbs into -ing, to and both. A table shows four verbs whose meaning changes (I stopped smoking or I stopped to smoke), and a note covers to for purpose. The exercises include filling an empty Venn diagram with twelve more verbs, a cover letter for the island job, prepositions followed by -ing (good at drawing) and -ing as a subject (Learning a language is hard). Students finish by writing an advert for their own dream job.
Add it to a class plan and keep track of what you've taught.
