Work, gerunds and infinitives

1. English file
Intermediate
Unit 8A – Gerunds and infinitives

2. • Lead in work idioms – pictures (10 mins)
• Speaking practice – discussing work (10 mins)
• Vocabulary building – work vocabulary (15 mins)
• Pronunciation focus – word stress (10 mins)
• Speaking practice – a worker in my family (10 mins)
• Game / filler (10 mins) 65
• Grammar – gerunds and infinitives – highlighting (10 mins)
• Jobs personality quiz – which job? – discussion (10 mins)
• Grammar – gerunds and infinitives – presentation (5 mins)
• Grammar – gerunds and infinitives – exercises (15 mins)
• Writing practice – sentences practising grammar (10 mins)
• Discussing sentences – asking follow up questions (5 mins)
• Vocabulary from the class quiz (5 mins)
• Extra speaking – personalised work situations (10 mins)

4. • What factors do you consider when looking for a job?
• How important is job security to you? Would you give
up a higher salary for a more secure job?
• What skills do you think are most important in the
workplace? Are these skills different for different
types of jobs?
• How would you balance work and personal life?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of
working from home? Do you think remote work is here
to stay?

5. 2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

9. got promoted
work shifts
was sacked
was made redundant
resign
retire
set up
do
applied for
run

10. unemployed
self-employed
freelance
temporary
part-time

11. in of
for
at
in

12. scientist
lawyer
musician
pharmacist
farmer
translator

13. application
retirement
employment
qualification
resignation

15. 1. a running = in charge of, managing
b running = as a sport
2. a was fired = lost her job
b fired = shot

16. 3. a work = it’s my job.
b doesn’t work = is broken
4. a market = the number of people who want to buy sth
b market = an open area for shopping
5. a company = business
b good company = a nice person to be with

20. A chef's hat has 100 pleats. Apparently, it's meant to
represent the 100 ways you can cook _____________!
A) An egg B) potatoes C) bread
an egg

21. Queen Elizabeth II was a trained ________. When she
was 16, the Queen joined the British employment agency
at the Labour Exchange and learned the basics of it.
A) mechanic B) plumber C) nurse
mechanic

22. The average office worker spends ___ minutes
a day looking for lost files and other items.
A) 15 B) 35 C) 50
50

23. According to this study, ___% of employees become
more productive when they have relaxed dress codes.
A) 21 B) 41 C) 61
61

24. London Fashion Week generates over £100m of
orders and over _________ hours of digital content
watched in the UK from more than 100 countries.
A) 3200 B) 32,000 C) 320,000
32,000

25. Younger workers in the United States are
injured at _____ the rate of older workers.
A) twice B) 3 times C) 4 times
twice

26. • I’m good at talking with people.
• She wants to change jobs.
• Working with children is extremely demanding.
• These days it’s difficult to find a stable job.
• He enjoys having a physical job
• They’d like to have a job with more responsibility.
• We went to the job centre to look for vacancies.
After prepositions
After certain verbs
As the subject of a sentence
After adjectives
After certain verbs
After certain verbs
To say why we do something

28. helping
not earning
listening
making
Taking
to work
managing

29. expressing
to follow
to be
improvising
Doing
solving
to understand
to calculate

34. the gerund (ing)
to + infinitive
to + infinitive
the gerund (ing)
the gerund (ing)

41. to retire
commuting
not to worry
to lock
not to buy
leave
wear
not to make
doing

48. Talking about you
• You are going to answer some questions
about your experiences with jobs/work.
• You will take it in turns to answer a
question.
• The other person should ask TWO follow up
questions about what they have said.
• You will do this twice each.

49. Think about a time when....
• You applied for a job but didn’t get it
- Ask 2 follow up questions about what they said
• You worked with a friend or family member?
- Ask 2 follow up questions about what they said
• You made a mistake at work
- Ask 2 follow up questions about what they said
• You did something really well at work
- Ask 2 follow up questions about what they said

51. 1. apply 6. permanent
2. salary 7. qualifications
3. redundant 8. resign
4. experience 9. responsible
5. overtime 10. temporary

52. To cut corners To get your
foot in the
door
Think
outside
the box
Rock the
boat

53. Cut corners
“Cutting corners on case studies will result in careless errors.”
To do something the easiest or quickest way, usually poorly.
Think outside the box
“Stop looking at past examples and think outside the box.”
To go beyond a normal idea usually in a unusual or creative way
Get your foot in the door
“A coffee meeting can help you get your foot in the door with
prospective clients.”
to enter an organization or industry
Rock the boat
“The team is finally working well together. A new hire may
rock the boat.”
to disturb a situation

56. • Lead in pictures showing Dragons den success stories (5 mins)
• Reading introduction – Dragons Den (10 mins)
• Speaking practice – discussing dragon’s den (10 mins)
• Discussion Dragon ideas – Would they be successful? (10 mins)
• Split reading – different Dragon ideas sharing information (5 mins)
• Discussion – which product would you buy and why? (5 mins)
• Game / filler (10 mins) 65
• Listening practice (1) Dragons Den product - comprehension (5 mins)
• Listening practice (2) Dragons Den product - comprehension (5 mins)
• Listening practice (3) Dragons Den product - comprehension (5 mins)
• Listening practice (4) Dragons Den product - pitching (5 mins)
• Speaking practice – Pitching a new product to the group (10 mins)
• Vocabulary from the class quiz (5 mins)

62. 1. They are five multi-millionaires who have made their fortunes
through business.
2. In the ‘Den’, the room where the programme is filmed
3. The contestants present their product to the ‘Dragons’ in three
minutes. The Dragons ask them questions and decide whether or
not to invest in the contestants’ businesses. If they decide not to
invest, they say ‘I’m out.’

63. • Have you ever seen the TV show Dragon's Den? What do
you think of it?
• What do you think are the most important qualities for a
successful entrepreneur?
• Do you think it's a good idea for entrepreneurs to pitch
their ideas to investors? Why or why not?
• What can entrepreneurs learn from watching Dragon's
Den?
• How important is marketing for a new business?
• What advice would you give to someone who wants to start
their own business?

71. 1. The product the Dragons invested in and has been successful:
Slappie watches
2. The product the Dragons didn’t invest in and has been a failure:
Tingatang
3. The product the Dragons didn’t invest in, but has been very
successful: Tangle Teezer

73. The founders of brewery and pub chain BrewDog got on to the show
and pitched the business to the Dragons, asking for a £100,000
investment in return for 20% of the business. Sadly they were
turned down. That 20% would now be worth £ _______ million
A) 3.6 B) 36 C) 360
360

74. Pasta Evangelists didn’t do well during the pitch, Dragon Jenny
Campbell savagely said: “I like it because it’s a good lesson on how
not to run and set-up a business. This is pasta le disaster and I’m
out.” Touker Suleyman branded them “_________”. The business is
now worth £200million and turns over £14 million in revenue a year.
A) delusional B) unprepared C) amateurs
delusional

75. In 2007, the Tangle Teezer hairbrush was pitched to the Dragons.
Shaun Palfrey wanted £80,000 for 15 per cent of the business,
They called the idea “____________” and said it “won’t make any
money”. How wrong they were, the company is now worth £65million
and is loved by celebrities and the public alike.
A) Just a brush B) Just a fad C) Just a waste of plastic
just a brush

76. Rachel Lowe invented the Destination London board game and
took her idea into the Den in 2004. She asked for £75,000,
which sadly she didn’t get. Hamley’s launched the product and it
became its best selling game that year – out selling __________.
A) Monopoly B) Cluedo C) Operation
Monopoly

77. Natalie Ellis appeared on the show in 2008 pitching her idea the Road
Refresher Bowl. It’s a non-spill portable bowl for dogs, ideal for taking
out in the car for long walks and trips. She is now a millionaire and
___________even said (s)he bought one of the bowls for their dog.
A) Obama
B) Beyonce
C) Musk
Obama

78. In 2016, brothers Harry and Charlie Thuillier went on the show asking
for investment in their luxury ice cream brand. They wanted £60,000
but the Dragons said it was too risky. The ice cream is now stocked in
over _______ stores including Co-op, Holland & Barrett and Waitrose.
A) 500
B) 1000
C) 1300
1,300

81. 1. F (Joe applied without telling Jake.)
2. F (They worked very hard and practised a lot.)
3. T
4. F (They practised their pitch the night before and they
prepared the furniture they needed.)
5. T
6. F (They were the first contestants.)
7. T
8. F (Contestants aren’t allowed to meet the Dragons before they
go on.)

82. They were offered a job, not
investment in their business.

83. 1. He smiled at her to help himself to relax, but she just stared at
him to make him feel nervous.
2. Jake forgot his first words, which he never usually does.
3. Four of the Dragons said, ‘I’m out,’ to show that they weren’t
interested in investing.
4. Peter is incredibly tall – more than two metres – which makes him
scary.
5. Peter owns a big chain of camera shops called Jessops.
6. Peter offered them a job, which has never happened on Dragons’
Den before.

84. Joe and Jake decided not to accept the jobs,
because it wasn’t a good time and they were
enjoying running their own business.
Yes, they think it was the right decision, and
they don’t regret it.

85. A. 4
B. 2
C. 1
D. 5
E. 3

93. Talking about you
• You are going to answer some questions
about your experiences with jobs/work.
• You will take it in turns to answer a
question.
• The other person should ask TWO follow up
questions about what they have said.
• You will do this twice each.

94. Think about a time when....
• You applied for a job but didn’t get it
- Ask 2 follow up questions about what they said
• You worked with a friend or family member?
- Ask 2 follow up questions about what they said
• You made a mistake at work
- Ask 2 follow up questions about what they said
• You did something really well at work
- Ask 2 follow up questions about what they said

96. What would you do if.........
• An interviewer asked you to do something silly
in an interview?
• You had to lie in order to get your dream job?
• You could earn a lot of money in a job you
disliked?
• Someone offered to finance your own business
idea?

97. • You are going to act out some scenes on
different topics.
• Student (A) will need to ask for some
information.
• Student (B) will have the information to
give.

98. Scene one “You are at the job
agency”
• Student (A) You want to ask about new jobs.
• Student (B) You work at the job agency and have
many jobs that are new today.
• You can talk about jobs, duties, salaries and places.
• Ask questions, give information and try to find
your partner a suitable job.

99. Scene two “You are in an interview”
• Student (A) You have an interview for your dream
job. So imagine you’re applying for that.
• Student (B) You like the candidate and want to
know why they want to work for you and what they
know the company.
• You can talk about duties, abilities, salaries and
previous experience.
• Ask questions, give information and try to find out
what they know about your company