Complete the manager's instruction to the team.
Your team leader is assigning tasks for a project. She needs someone to finish the report by Friday.
The manager wants him ___ the report before the weekend.
The correct answer is to finish.
After want + object, we use the to-infinitive (not the bare verb): wants him to finish.
Infinitive
Infinitive vs gerund: the #1 verb-pattern confusion. Some verbs take only infinitive (want to go ✅), some only gerund (enjoy going ✅), some both with different meanings (stop to smoke ≠ stop smoking). No logical rule exists — learn by verb.
The infinitive = base verb form used non-finitely. To-infinitive (to go) after certain verbs. Bare infinitive (go) after modals and causatives.
Diagnostic: what's the main verb? Check whether it takes to-infinitive, bare infinitive, or gerund. If unsure, try both and see which sounds natural to native speakers.
Verb
Verb vs noun vs adjective: nouns name things. Adjectives describe. Verbs express what happens or what IS. The test: can it take tense (walked, will walk)? Can it take -ing? Can it follow to as an infinitive (to walk)? Yes to any → verb. English often converts freely between classes (run = noun or verb), so context decides.
A verb = action/state/occurrence word. 5 forms (base, -s, past, past participle, -ing). Carries tense, aspect, mood, voice. The one required element in every sentence.
Diagnostic: does it change for tense (walk → walked)? Can you put to before it (to walk)? Does it take -ing (walking)? → verb.
Complement
Complement vs modifier: a complement is required — remove it and the sentence breaks (She is ___. / We consider him ___. ). A modifier is optional — remove it and the sentence still works (She spoke quietly → She spoke).
A complement completes the meaning of a verb or expression: subject complements follow linking verbs; object complements follow specific transitive verbs like call, elect, consider.
Diagnostic: can the verb survive without this element? No → complement. Yes → modifier or adjunct.
B1 | Intermediate
B1 vs B2: B1 handles standard everyday communication and simple opinions. B2 handles abstract topics, sustained arguments, and nuanced register. If you can chat about your life but struggle to debate an issue or write a formal essay, you're B1.
B1 is the intermediate CEFR level: independent handling of familiar topics, second conditional, basic passive, reported speech, and linking words for cause and contrast.
Diagnostic: can you read a newspaper article on a familiar topic and summarise the argument? Comfortably → B2. Struggle with abstractions → still B1.
Medium
Medium vs Easy: Easy has one obviously correct answer and clearly wrong distractors. Medium has one correct answer but plausible distractors — you need to actually know the rule, not just guess from sound.
The Medium tag filters for A2–B1 challenges with realistic difficulty: one rule per question, plausible alternatives, everyday contexts.
Diagnostic: if you're scoring 90%+ on Easy, move here. If you're below 60% on Medium, go back to Easy for that topic. Target 70–80% accuracy for maximum learning.