Module 4: Services
Summary: Communication
Key points
- Ways of communicating: mobile phone, pay phone, video call, message, walkie-talkie.
- On the phone: This is… / Could I speak to…? / Hold on / Would you like to leave a message?
- Arranging a meeting: Would Thursday suit you? / Why don’t you come round…? / I look forward to seeing you.
- A gerund is a verb + -ing used as a noun.
- Compound nouns: gerund + noun (swimming pool) and noun + gerund (sightseeing).
- Spelling: join ▸ joining, come ▸ coming, chat ▸ chatting, lie ▸ lying.
Rules to remember
Gerund as subject
Chatting online can be fun. Smoking is bad for your health.
After verbs
like, love, enjoy, hate, finish, mind + -ing: She enjoys reading.
After prepositions
Thank you for inviting me. I look forward to meeting you.
Gerund + noun / noun + gerund
a waiting room, a washing machine / window shopping, horse riding.
How to do it
- Is the -ing word a thing’s use (a pool for swimming)? ▸ gerund + noun.
- Is it an activity done with a noun (seeing sights)? ▸ noun + gerund.
- Check the spelling rule before adding -ing.
Example
Thank you for calling. We look forward to seeing you at the reception desk.
Common mistakes
- *I look forward to see you.* ▸ I look forward to seeing you.
- *She enjoys to chat.* ▸ She enjoys chatting.
- *chating, writeing* ▸ chatting, writing.
Key words
Summary written by سكولار for quick revision: it does not replace the lesson and its exercises.