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1 • Verbs Followed by Gerunds & Infinitives
by Alex
© LangVid Language Training, 2013
Verbs Followed by
Gerunds & Infinitives
In English, if you want to follow a verb with another action, you must use a gerund or infinitive.
EXAMPLE: We resumed talking . (gerund – verb + ing)
I want to see a movie. (infinitive – to + base verb)

There are certain verbs that can only be followed by one or the other, and these verbs must be memorized. Many of these verbs are
listed below.
abhor
acknowledge
admit
advise
allow
anticipate
appreciate
avoid
be worth
can’t help
celebrate
confess
consider
defend
delay
detest
discontinue
discuss
dislike
dispute
dread
endure
enjoy
escape
evade
explain
fancy
fear
feel like
feign
finish
forgive
give up (stop)
keep (continue)
keep on
mention
mind (object to)
miss
necessitate
omit
permit
picture
postpone
practice
prevent
put off
recall
recollect
recommend
report
resent
resist
resume
risk
shirk
shun
suggest
support
tolerate
understand
urge
warrant
agree
appear
arrange
ask
attempt
beg
can/can’t afford
can/can’t wait
care
chance
choose
claim
come
consent
dare
decide
demand
deserve
determine
elect
endeavor
expect
fail
get
grow (up)
guarantee
hesitate
hope
hurry
incline
learn
manage
mean
need
neglect
offer
pay
plan
prepare
pretend
profess
promise
prove
refuse
remain
request
resolve
say
seek
seem
shudder
strive
struggle
swear
tend
threaten
turn out
venture
volunteer
wait
want
wish
would like
yearn
Verbs commonly followed by a gerund
EXAMPLE:

“He misses playing with his friends.”
Verbs commonly followed by an infinitive
EXAMPLE
:
“She threatened to quit if she didn’t get a raise.”

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2 • Verbs Followed by Gerunds & Infinitives
by Alex
© LangVid Language Training, 2013
Verbs followed by a gerund or infinitive with little to no change in meaning:
EXAMPLES:

“It started to rain.”
~OR~
“It started raining.”
begin
can’t bear
can’t stand
continue
hate
like
love
prefer
propose
start
Verbs followed by a gerund or infinitive with a change in meaning:
forget
I forgot to meet him.
(I didn’t meet him because I forgot to do it.)
I forgot meeting him.
(I don’t have the memory of meeting him before.)
go on
He went on to learn English and French.
(He ended one period of time before this.)
He went on learning English and French.
(He continued learning the languages.)
quit
She quit to work here.
(She quit another job in order to work here.)
She quit working here.
(She quit her job here. She doesn’t work here anymore.)
regret
I regret promising to help you.
(I’m sorry that I made the promise.)
I regret to tell you that we can’t hire you.
(I’m telling you now, and I’m sorry.)
remember
She remembered to visit her grandmother.
(She didn’t forget to visit.)
She remembered visiting her grandmother.
(She had memories of this time.)
stop
I stopped to call you.
(I interrupted another action in order to call you.)
I stopped calling you.
(I stopped this activity. Maybe we had a fight.)
try
I tried to open the window.
(I attempted this action but didn’t succeed.)
I tried opening the window.
(This was one option I sampled. Maybe the room was hot.)

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1 • Redundancies
by RebeccaESL
© LearnVid Education, 2014
Redundancies
Redundancies are unnecessary, repetitious words. They may appear before and after the main word. They make your
communication longer, but not better. To improve your English, read through the list of common redundancies below
and mark the ones you are familiar with. You may be surprised at how many you have been using! Omit (leave out)
the repetitive word and start speaking and writing more clearly, accurately, and professionally. Some redundancies are
completely wrong. Some are not wrong, but should only be used if you know why you are using them – for emphasis or
differentiation.
Example of redundancy before the main word:
WRONG r The final conclusion was to close the bakery.
RIGHT a The conclusion was to close the bakery.
Example of redundancy after the main word:
WRONG r The companies merged together last year.
RIGHT a The companies merged last year.
5 MOST COMMON REDUNDANCIES:
WRONG r reply back r Thery replied back yesterday.
RIGHT a reply a They replied yesterday.
WRONG r repeat again r Could you repeat that again, please?
RIGHT a repeat a Could you repeat that, please?
WRONG r return back r Raj returned back yesterday.
RIGHT a return a Raj returned yesterday.
WRONG r cash money r Do you have any cash money?
RIGHT a cash a Do you have any cash?
WRONG r very unique r Your dress is very unique!
RIGHT a unique a Your dress is unique!

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2 • Redundancies
by RebeccaESL
© LearnVid Education, 2014
Redundancies before the word:
absolutely
absolutely certain
absolutely essential
absolutely guaranteed
absolutely necessary
absolutely sure
advance
advance planning
advance preview
advance reservation
advance warning
completely
completely annihilated
completely destroyed
completely eliminated
completely filled
completely finished
completely surrounded
final
final conclusion
final decision
final outcome
final verdict
new
new beginning
new innovation
new invention
past
past experience
past history
past memories
past record
still
still continues
still persists
still remains
Redundancies after the word:
around
circle around
circulate around
back
answer back
repeat back
reply back
return back
retreat back
revert back
forward
advance forward
proceed forward
progress forward
situation
crisis situation
emergency situation
together
assemble together
attach together
cooperate together
collaborate together
connect together
gather together
integrate together
join together
meet together
merge together
possibly
could possibly
may possibly
might possibly

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3 • Redundancies
by RebeccaESL
© LearnVid Education, 2014
WRONG RIGHT
r actual facts a facts
r added bonus a bonus
r all-time record a record
r alternative choice a alternative
r armed gunman a gunman
r ask a question a ask
r assemble together a assemble
r at the present time a at present
r bald-headed a bald
r basic essentials a essentials
r basic fundamentals a fundamentals
r best ever a best
r biography of his/ her life a biography
r bouquet of flowers a bouquet
r brief moment a moment
r classify into groups a classify
r compete with each other a compete
r current trend a trend
r depreciate in value a depreciate
r desirable benefits a benefits
r disappear from sight a disappear
r end result a result
r estimated at about a estmated at
r exact same a same
r face mask a mask
r fall down a fall
r fellow classmates a classmates
r fellow colleagues a colleagues
r first began a began
r foreign imports a imports
r free gift a gift
r frozen ice a ice
r future plans a plans
r general public a public
r grow in size a grow
r hurry up a hurry
r invited guests a guests
r irregardless a regardless
r joint collbaoration a collaboration
r kneel down a kneel
WRONG RIGHT
r lag behind a lag
r lift up a lift
r natural instinct a instinct
r never before a never
r old proverb a proverb
r pair of twins a twins
r period of time a time
r personal friend a friend
r plan ahead a plan
r plan in advance a plan
r postpone till later a postpone
r reason is because a reason is
r reason is why a reason is
r rise up a rise
r round in shape a round
r same identical a same or identical
r serious danger a danger
r small size a small
r soft in texture a soft
r sudden impulse a impulse
r suddenly exploded a exploded
r surrounded on all sides a surrounded
r tall in height a tall
r tiny bit a bit
r true facts a facts
r undergraduate student a undergraduate
r unexpected surprise a surprise
r usual custom a custom
r warn in advance a warn

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1 • IELTS & TOEFL Vocabulary – Adjectives
by RebeccaESL
© LearnVid Education, 2014
IELTS & TOEFL Vocabulary:
142 Adjectives
A list of 142 adjectives to learn for success in the IELTS, TOEFL, or any other English exam. To communicate more
powerfully in English, avoid weak, boring and overly-used words such as ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Instead, choose one of the
thousands of other more specific descriptive adjectives that can energize your language, convey greater meaning, and
boost your IELTS and TOEFL scores.
PEOPLE

Good Bad

helpful unhelpful

friendly unfriendly

generous selfish

kind mean

compassionate wicked

sympathetic evil

reliable unreliable

gentle violent

honest dishonest

loving ruthless

caring uncaring

humble snobbish

receptive rude

understanding manipulative

cheerful angry

patient impatient

trustworthy untrustworthy

loyal disloyal

faithful unfaithful
WEATHER

Good Bad

lovely stormy

sunny cold

warm freezing

pleasant windy

balmy awful

beautiful rainy

summery humid

mild foggy

fine cloudy

clear nasty
EXPERIENCE

Good Bad

amazing boring

exciting unpleasant

positive negative

wonderful difficult

enriching frightening

interesting scary

unique horrible

magnificent terrible

joyful depressing

productive traumatic

relaxing stressful

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2 • IELTS & TOEFL Vocabulary – Adjectives
by RebeccaESL
© LearnVid Education, 2014
OTHER EXAMPLES

Good Bad

a pretty dress a terrible accident

an attractive kitchen an evil plot

a colourful painting a tasteless meal

a splendid meal a horrible day

a terrific show a stupid idea

an amazing concert a dreadful incident

a wonderful holidaya violent
demonstration

a superb actor an exhausting trip

a magnificent collection a bitter employee

an excellent
presentationa vengeful gang

an exceptional teacher a tough customer

an extraordinary
performancea dirty room

a marvelous holidaya dangerous
neighbourhood

a fantastic movie a tiring day

a tremendous honour a difficult exam

an outstanding
musiciana challenging quiz

a fabulous location a notorious criminal

a beautiful woman an illegal activity

a breathtaking
performancean immoral act

a lovely home an isolated place

an exquisite painting a lonely widow

an intelligent professor a frustrating time

a gorgeous view a confusing situation

a safe area a disgusting smell

a proud parent a shocking attack

a well-behaved child a tense mood

a flexible policy a helpless feeling

a fragrant garden a cowardly act

a talented comedian a strict rule

a comfortable bed a careless driver

an optimistic attitude a pessimistic view

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1 • 'The' with Countries, Rivers, etc.
by Alex
© LangVid Language Training, 2013
‘The’ with Countries, Rivers, etc.
Below is a list of countries which use the definite article. In English, we use “the” if a country has a political title in its name, or if it re –
fers a group of islands. There are also countries, such as the Netherlands, which people commonly attach the definite article to even
though it does not follow the two rules above. For bodies of water, we frequently add the definite article to rivers, oceans, and seas.
For single mountains, we don’t typically add the definite article. However , for groups of mountains, we do.

You’ll find many examples of these rules below, as well as a list of other geographical features which use the definite article.
Countries
the Bahamas
the Cayman Islands
the Central African Republic
the Channel Islands
the Comoros
the Czech Republic
the Dominican Republic
the Falkland Islands
the Gambia
the Isle of Man
the Ivory Coast
the Leeward Islands
the Maldives
(the Maldive Islands)
the Marshall Islands
the Netherlands
the Netherlands Antilles
the Philippines
the Solomon Islands
the Turks and Caicos
Islands
the United Arab Emirates
the United Kingdom
(of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland)
the United States
(of America)
the Virgin Islands
Rivers
the Amazon
the Colorado
the Columbia
the Danube
the Don
the Euphrates
the Ganges
the Huang
the Hudson
the Indus
the Jordan
the Lena
the Mackenzie
the Mekong
the Mississippi
the Missouri
the Niger
the Nile
the Ob
the Ohio
the Orinoco
the Po
the Rhine
the Rhone
the Rio Grande
the St. Lawrence
the Seine
the Tagus
the Thames
the Tiber
the Tigris
the Volga
the Yangtze
Gulfs, Oceans,
Seas, Straits
the Adriatic Sea
the Aegean Sea
the Arabian Sea
the Arctic Ocean
the Atlantic (Ocean)
the Baltic (Sea)
the Black Sea
the Caribbean (Sea)
the Caspian (Sea)
the Coral Sea
the Gulf of Aden
the Gulf of Mexico
the Gulf of Oman
Mountain Ranges
the Alps
the Andes
the Appalachians
the Atlas Mountains
the Caucasus
the Himalayas
the Pyrenees
the Rockies
(the Rocky Mountains)
the Urals
Other Features
the equator
the Far East
the Gobi (desert)
the Kalahari (desert)
the Middle East
the Near East
the North Pole
the Occident
the Orient
the Panama Canal
the Sahara (desert)
the South Pole
the Suez Canal
the Tropic of Cancer
the Tropic of Capricorn