House Fire and Paragliding Adventure: Two Unforgettable Experiences
My Most Frightening Experience
Last year, I went to my *grandparents’* house because my parents were at work. I had to sleep there. The weather was terrible, raining with thunderstorms. As my grandparents and I were eating dinner, a bolt of lightning hit a tree that was just under the kitchen window. The tree caught fire immediately. Since the kitchen curtain was flying outside because of the wind, it soon caught fire too, and in a split second, flames were dancing all around the kitchen. We could not escape through the kitchen. My grandparents hugged me and protected me in the corner, praying that someone would notice the fire and come to rescue us. We were very frightened. My grandmother and I searched for the telephone, but unfortunately, we could not find it since it had been burnt. The neighbors saw the house burning and called the police and firemen. They came immediately. While firemen tried to stop the fire, the broom cupboard fell on my grandfather’s head. He fell unconscious. My grandmother and I started crying for my grandfather. About half an hour later, the firemen stopped the fire and came into the house to save us. The police called my parents and an ambulance for my grandfather. Finally, it was all over. This was my most frightening experience, and I wish that it will also be my last one. I never felt so scared in my life.
By Darren Zammit
An Unforgettable Holiday in Tandil and Mar del Plata
Two months ago, I went with my family on holiday to Tandil and Mar del Plata. We went in our own car, so the trip was quite good. First of all, we visited Tandil, and as we didn’t have a place to stay, we decided to rent a small cottage near *The Centinela*. This is a wonderful place where you can go walking until you reach the top of the hill. But if you don’t want to walk, you can choose to go by chairlifts. From there, you can have a fantastic view and, if you like it, take photos. We stayed in Tandil for five days, and we visited the most famous places like *The Calvario*, *The Dique*, *Independence Park*, and *The Movediza*. In comparison to Mar del Plata, Tandil is a better place to spend your holiday, but I had the surprise of my life visiting the Mar del Plata’s cliff. When we arrived, there were people paragliding, and I said to my husband, ‘I want to do this,’ and he replied, ‘You are crazy, no way you’ll do this.’ However, he finally agreed, and I jumped from the side of the cliff, wearing a kind of parachute, and I felt I could fly! At the moment, I was nervous, but then I relaxed and enjoyed the great view of the sea under me and the people that watched me… Obviously, I wasn’t alone; I was with a paragliding instructor! However, this was the best experience of my whole life.
Grammar Notes: Infinitives, Gerunds, and ‘Used To’
Plain Infinitive
- After modal verbs
- After *had better*/*would rather*
- After the verbs *make* and *let*
Gerund (-ing)
- As the subject in a sentence
- After prepositions
- After phrasal verbs
- After expressions: *it’s no use/worth*, *get used to*, *be used to*
- After *avoid*, *finish*, *suggest*, *recommend*, *fancy*, *feel*, *mind*, *postpone*, *deserves*, *involves*, *consider*, *go*
To Infinitive
- Infinitive of purpose (to indicate purpose)
- After adjectives
- After *advise*, *learn*, *expect*, *want*, *wish*, *decide*, *choose*, *go on*, *fail*, *plan*, *allow*, *hope*
Verbs Followed by -ing or To with a Change in Meaning
- *Start*, *begin*, *try*, *see* can be followed by -ing or to with little or no change in meaning.
- *Like*, *love*, *dislike*: -ing for general situations, to for specific occasions or conditional situations.
- *Stop*: -ing to indicate stopping an action you’ve been doing, to to indicate stopping in order to do something else.
- *Try*: -ing to indicate experimenting, to to indicate making an effort.
- *Mean*: -ing to indicate that something involves something else, to to indicate intention.
- *Remember*, *forget*, *regret*: -ing to refer to the past, to to refer to something you have to do.
- *Need*, *want*: -ing to indicate that something needs to be done for a person, + to to indicate a person’s need or want.
- Verbs of senses: -ing or to (e.g., *smell*)
‘Used To’
- *Used to* + infinitive: To describe past habits (e.g., “I used to play soccer.”)
- *Be used to* + -ing: To describe being accustomed to something (e.g., “I am used to waking up early.”)
- *Get used to* + -ing: To describe becoming accustomed to something (e.g., “I am getting used to the new schedule.”)