Study the rules, look at the examples, then do the exercises.
Very often in English, one verb is followed by a second verb: I want to go, I enjoy going. The big question at B1 is simple to ask but hard to master: does the second verb take the -ing form (the gerund) or the to form (the to-infinitive)? English does not choose randomly — the first verb decides.
Here is the core idea in one line: some verbs are always followed by a gerund (enjoy, avoid, finish), other verbs are always followed by a to-infinitive (want, decide, hope), and after a preposition we always use the gerund.
The gerund is the base verb + -ing; it behaves like a noun. The to-infinitive is to + the base verb. Both let you put a second verb into your sentence, but they are not interchangeable — the first verb (or a preposition) chooses one of them.
| Form | How to build it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Gerund | verb + -ing (acts like a noun) | swimming, reading, going, being |
| To-infinitive | to + base verb | to swim, to read, to go, to be |
These common verbs are always followed by the -ing form. Learn them as a group and the choice becomes automatic.
| Verb | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| enjoy | I enjoy reading at night. | keyif almak |
| avoid | She avoids driving in the city. | kaçınmak |
| finish | We finished painting the room. | bitirmek |
| mind | Do you mind waiting here? | sakınca görmek |
| suggest | He suggested taking a break. | önermek |
| keep | They kept talking during the film. | -meye devam etmek |
This second group is always followed by to + base verb. Many of them talk about plans, wishes and promises.
| Verb | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| want | I want to travel more. | istemek |
| decide | She decided to join the club. | karar vermek |
| hope | We hope to see you soon. | ummak |
| promise | He promised to help me. | söz vermek |
| agree | They agreed to meet at six. | kabul etmek |
| learn | I learned to swim at eight. | öğrenmek |
This is one of the most useful rules in the whole unit: when a verb comes straight after a preposition (at, in, of, about, on, for...), it must be the gerund. Adjectives and nouns are often linked to a fixed preposition, so learn them together.
| Expression | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| good at + -ing | She is good at drawing. | -de iyi olmak |
| interested in + -ing | I'm interested in learning Spanish. | -e ilgi duymak |
| think about + -ing | We're thinking about starting a band. | -i düşünmek |
| before / after + -ing | Wash your hands before eating. | -den önce/sonra |
When you want to explain why you do something, use to + verb. It answers the question "What for?" — and it is much more natural than "for + -ing" here.
A few verbs can take either form — but the meaning changes completely. These are classic B1 exam traps, so read each row carefully.
| Verb | + gerund | + to-infinitive |
|---|---|---|
| stop | stop doing = end the activity (He stopped eating snacks.) | stop to do = pause in order to do (He stopped to eat a snack.) |
| remember | remember doing = a memory (I remember locking it.) | remember to do = don't forget (Remember to lock it!) |
| forget | forget doing = forget a memory (I'll never forget seeing it.) | forget to do = fail to do it (I forgot to call.) |
These are the errors B1 students make most often with gerunds and infinitives. Check your own writing against this list.
| Wrong ✗ | Right ✓ | Why? |
|---|---|---|
| I enjoy to read books. | I enjoy reading books. | enjoy always takes the gerund. |
| She avoided to answer. | She avoided answering. | avoid always takes the gerund. |
| I'm interested in to learn art. | I'm interested in learning art. | after a preposition, use the gerund. |
| We decided going home. | We decided to go home. | decide always takes the to-infinitive. |
| I went there for buy a ticket. | I went there to buy a ticket. | purpose = to + verb, not "for + verb". |
Two friends talk about a new hobby. Read it twice and notice how the second verb changes form after each first verb or preposition.
Choose the correct answer. — 10 questions, each one is marked instantly. Questions get harder as you go.
Learn the words, then use them in your own sentences about your life.
Write 8 sentences about your habits, hobbies and goals. Use at least 8 of the words above.
Sentence starters (you can begin with these):
Değerlendirme öğretmenin tarafından yapılacak. (Your teacher will review your task.)
Read the text, then answer the questions.
Good readers prepare before they start. Before you read, think about these three questions (you do not need to write the answers):
Words to spot (from the Speaking section): habit · routine · avoid · give up · take up · improve · goal · manage
Two years ago, Emre was not a healthy person. He spent every evening watching television, and he never thought about exercising. He enjoyed eating fast food, but he avoided walking anywhere if he could take the bus. His friends often suggested joining a gym; however, he always kept finding excuses.
In those days, Emre's life followed the same pattern from morning until night. As soon as he came home from school, he dropped his bag by the door and reached straight for his phone. He loved scrolling through social media for hours, watching funny videos and chatting with his classmates online. At the weekend, he often played video games until very late, so he felt sleepy and slow during his lessons on Monday. His parents worried about his health, but Emre simply told them that all teenagers lived in the same way.
When winter came, Emre got ill. The doctor advised him to change his lifestyle, so he finally decided to do something. Although he wanted to give up after the first week, he promised himself to continue for one month, because he was tired of feeling weak.
Telling his friends about his plan was not easy at all. Some of them laughed and said that he would quit within a few days, while others promised to support him. One of his classmates offered to send him a message every morning to make sure he was awake. During the first week, getting out of his warm bed in the cold felt almost impossible, and more than once Emre wanted to stay under the blanket. Even so, the memory of feeling weak and ill in the winter pushed him to put on his trainers and step outside into the fresh air.
Emre started small. Every morning he went out to run for twenty minutes before school. He also stopped eating sugar, which was the most difficult change of all. While he was getting fitter, he discovered that he was quite good at swimming, so he began going to the pool twice a week.
School soon became an important part of his new routine. Emre decided to join the sports club, and he started spending his lunch breaks in the gym instead of sitting in the canteen with a snack. He also began sharing his progress on social media, not to show off, but to keep himself honest and motivated. Every week he posted a short video about his training, and slowly the number of his followers grew. Some classmates who used to tease him now asked him for advice, and a few of them even started running with him after lessons.
Changing what he ate was just as important as moving more. Instead of buying crisps and fizzy drinks on the way home, Emre started preparing simple snacks like fruit and yoghurt. He learned that skipping breakfast made him tired by the middle of the morning, so he never left the house without eating something healthy. Cooking was a new skill for him, and he enjoyed trying easy recipes with his mother at the weekend. Little by little, choosing good food became a normal habit rather than a hard decision.
The journey was not always smooth, however. One winter, Emre hurt his ankle during a football game and could not run for three weeks. At first he felt frustrated and afraid of losing all his progress. Instead of giving up, he used the time to rest, to read about training, and to plan his next goals. When his ankle finally healed, he returned to exercise slowly and carefully, and he was proud that a small problem had not stopped him completely.
The changes were not only in his body. Emre noticed that he slept much better, felt calmer before exams, and found it easier to concentrate on his homework. Sport had become a useful way of dealing with stress, and whenever he felt worried about school, he went for a run to clear his mind. His teachers said that he seemed more confident in class, and his marks slowly improved. For Emre, being active and being happy at school were now closely connected.
Now, Emre is a different person. He loves exercising, and he cannot imagine returning to his old habits. He still remembers feeling tired and unhealthy, and he never wants to feel like that again. Last month he even managed to run a half-marathon with a classmate.
'The hardest part was starting,' Emre says. 'I kept telling myself that I would begin tomorrow. However, once you start, you learn to enjoy it. Now I exercise not to lose weight, but because it makes me happy.'
These days, Emre trains with a classmate called Deniz, and together they plan longer routes for the weekend. Their next goal is to take part in a city race in the spring, so they keep training throughout the year. Whenever younger students ask him how to begin, Emre always gives the same simple advice. 'Do not wait for the perfect moment,' he tells them with a smile. 'Choose one small habit, keep going for a month, and let everything else follow.' He truly believes that anyone can change, as long as they are willing to start and patient enough to keep trying.
Choose the correct answer.
Are these sentences true or false, according to the text?
Complete each sentence with ONE word from the text. Mind the form (gerund or to-infinitive).
Write your answer in your own words. These questions are not marked automatically.
1. What made Emre finally decide to change his lifestyle?
2. Which change was the most difficult for Emre, and what new sport did he take up?
3. Why does Emre exercise now? Do you think his new attitude is a good one?
Find these connectors in the text — each one appears at least once: and, but, so, because, when, while, however, although, also. (You will use these same connectors in the Writing section.) Note them down, then check.
Speak with the unit's grammar, then drill it in the Practice Lab.
Read this conversation aloud two times — first as A, then as B. Notice every gerund and every to-infinitive in bold; you will use the same patterns in your own speaking in a moment.
Answer these questions out loud in full sentences. There is no single correct answer — the goal is to use the right verb pattern each time. (Sesli cevap ver; önemli olan doğru yapıyı kurman.)
Write down your spoken answers as a short dialogue or 5-6 sentences and submit them to your teacher — if you like. (Write your answers and submit them for feedback — optional.) Use at least three different verb patterns from this unit.
Değerlendirme öğretmenin tarafından yapılacak. (Your teacher will review your speaking task.)
10 quick questions on gerunds and infinitives. Each one is marked instantly, and the questions get harder as you go.
Write and submit your paragraph; your teacher will review it.
A list of short, separate sentences is not real writing. What connects your ideas is linking words. At A2 you used and, but, so, because. At B1 you add four more powerful connectors: also, when, while, although and however. These let you show contrast, background events and extra information like a confident writer.
| Connector | Use it to... | Example |
|---|---|---|
| and | add information | I enjoy running, and I have started swimming too. |
| but | show a small contrast | I wanted to give up, but I kept going. |
| so | show a result | I'm good at cooking, so I decided to take a class. |
| because | give a reason | I exercise because it makes me happy. |
| also | add an extra point | I have learned to swim. I have also taken up cycling. |
| when | say at what past time | When I was a child, I avoided doing sport. |
| while | two things at the same time | While I was studying, I decided to get fit. |
| although | show a strong contrast | Although it was hard, I managed to continue. |
| however | contrast between two sentences | I planned to stop. However, I kept practising. |
See the difference — the same facts, written two ways:
| Separate sentences ✗ | Connected, fluent writing ✓ |
|---|---|
| I decided to get fit. I enjoyed watching television. It was hard. I kept going. I run every day now. | I decided to get fit, although I enjoyed watching television. It was hard, but I kept going, so now I run every day. |
A "habits and goals" paragraph has three parts. The skeleton stays the same every time — you change the content, not the structure:
| Part | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Opening | A general topic sentence about what you enjoy doing | I enjoy keeping active, and I have several hobbies. |
| 2. Body | Habits and decisions. Use gerunds after enjoy/avoid/keep, to-infinitives after decide/want/plan, and link with connectors. | Last year I decided to take up running. Although it was hard, I kept training. |
| 3. Closing | A goal for the future, with a to-infinitive | In the future, I hope to run a marathon. |
Write about your habits, hobbies and goals. Use gerunds and to-infinitives accurately.
Değerlendirme öğretmenin tarafından yapılacak. (Your teacher will evaluate your writing.)
Mixed questions from the whole unit, then check what you can do.
14 questions: grammar + vocabulary + reading + practice. Each question is marked instantly.
Tick what you can do now. Honest answers help your teacher.
İşaretlemediğin madde varsa ilgili bölüme dönüp tekrar çalış — soldaki menüden her bölüme geri dönebilirsin.
Oturum kontrol ediliyor...