The correct answers are play and playing.
After verbs of perception (like hear, see, watch, feel), we can use an object followed by either a bare infinitive (play) or an -ing form/gerund (playing).
We never use the to-infinitive (to play) after an active verb of perception!
Note on meaning: Using "play" (bare infinitive) suggests you heard the entire completed action from start to finish. Using "playing" (-ing form) emphasizes the ongoing, continuous nature of the action. Both are completely correct here!
Verb
- walk → walk / walks / walked / walked / walking (5 forms, regular)
- go → go / goes / went / gone / going (5 forms, irregular)
- be → am/is/are/was/were/be/being/been (8 forms)
- can → can / could (modal: only 2 forms, no -s, no -ing)
A verb is the one word class every English sentence requires. Carries tense (when), aspect (duration), mood (attitude), and voice (active/passive). Regular verbs add -ed; ~200 irregular verbs have unpredictable past forms.
Key insight: fix your verbs and most grammar problems disappear. Wrong tense, wrong agreement, wrong form — verb errors account for the majority of grammatical mistakes.
Gerund
- ✅ I enjoy reading. — ❌ I enjoy to read.
- ✅ She's good at swimming. — ❌ She's good at to swim.
- ✅ He avoids making eye contact. — gerund after avoid
- ✅ Running is good exercise. — gerund as subject
A gerund is the -ing form of a verb functioning as a noun. It follows verbs like enjoy, avoid, finish, mind and ALL prepositions. Never use an infinitive where a gerund is required.
Rule: after a preposition (at, in, of, about, without) → always gerund. After enjoy, avoid, finish, mind, suggest, deny → always gerund.
Infinitive
- ✅ I want to go. — to-infinitive after want
- ✅ She can swim. — bare infinitive after modal
- ✅ Let me help. — bare infinitive after let
- ❌ I enjoy to read. — wrong (enjoy takes gerund, not infinitive)
The infinitive has two forms: to-infinitive (to go) after verbs like want, decide, plan, hope; bare infinitive (go) after modals and causatives (let, make, help).
Rule: after want, need, decide, plan, hope, expect, agree, refuse → to-infinitive. After can, will, must, let, make → bare infinitive. After enjoy, avoid, finish → gerund, NOT infinitive.
Participle
- ✅ a broken window — past participle as adjective
- ✅ the running water — present participle as adjective
- ✅ I have eaten. — past participle in perfect tense
- ✅ She is sleeping. — present participle in progressive tense
- ❌ I have went. — wrong (past tense, not past participle: use gone)
A participle is a verb form that also works as an adjective. Present (-ing): running, sleeping. Past (-ed or irregular): broken, written, gone. Used in progressive tenses, perfect tenses, passive voice, and as modifiers.
Trap: don't confuse past tense (went) with past participle (gone). After have/has/had → always past participle.
Object
- Sam fed the dogs. — direct object (what was fed)
- She sent him a present. — indirect object (who received it)
- She waited for Lucy. — prepositional object (after preposition)
- I gave her a book. — indirect + direct object together
An object is what a verb acts on or directs its action toward. Direct = the thing affected. Indirect = the recipient. Prepositional = after a preposition.
Test: Verb + what/whom? = direct object. Verb + to/for whom? = indirect object. After a preposition? = prepositional object.
B1 | Intermediate
- ✅ If I had more time, I would travel more. — second conditional
- ✅ The bridge was built in 1920. — passive voice
- ✅ She said she was tired. — reported speech with backshift
- ✅ Although it rained, we enjoyed the trip. — complex sentence with concession
These are B1 patterns — the CEFR intermediate level. At B1 you link ideas, use passive voice, handle reported speech, and manage second conditional — enough for travel, work basics, and everyday independence.
Marker: if you can explain why something happened and follow a news story, you're B1.
Medium
- If I were you, I would apologise. — one rule (second conditional), but distractors like was tempt you
- Answers require active thought, not instant pattern recognition
- Vocabulary and context are realistic, not artificially simplified
- Usually tests one rule, but the wrong answers are plausible
Medium marks middle-difficulty challenges: A2–B1, one rule tested, but with realistic distractors that require genuine understanding.
Use "Medium" when Easy feels too obvious but Hard feels overwhelming. This is where most productive learning happens — the sweet spot of difficulty.