← Back to C1 General contentsWorkbook · 6A. Help, I need somebody!
Home practice · verb + object + inf/gerund & compound adjectives · answer key included
1 · Verb patterns — choose the best option
She persuaded him ______ the meeting a day early.
They wouldn't let us ______ the building without ID.
Please remember ______ the alarm before you close up.
I stopped ______ him after the third missed reply — it was becoming embarrassing.
I regret ______ you that we can't offer you the role.
He was made ______ in front of the whole team.
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2 · Complete with a compound adjective from the box
- Her advice was drop but ultimately made things a little worse.
- He is so drop that he forgot the meeting he had scheduled himself.
- You need someone drop enough to answer the awkward question in the interview.
- She stayed remarkably drop throughout the whole crisis — no drama, just decisions.
- He gave a drop answer that lost the room by the third minute.
- He prides himself on being drop , but he is really just isolated.
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3 · Rewrite using the structure in brackets
'They allowed us to leave early.' (using 'let')
'The teacher forced him to apologise.' (passive with 'was made to')
'She persuaded me to apply for the promotion.' (passive)
'Would you mind if I opened the window?' (using 'mind + gerund')
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4 · Verb + preposition + gerund
- insist on (doing)drop or tap here…
- apologise for (doing)drop or tap here…
- accuse (someone) of (doing)drop or tap here…
- succeed in (doing)drop or tap here…
- prevent (someone) from (doing)drop or tap here…
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5 · Podcast · Why I stopped saying I'm fine
Listen to an English woman in her thirties on a podcast, reflecting honestly on the small moment she stopped refusing help.
📄 Show transcript
Speaker: I’ve always prided myself on being self-sufficient. That almost reflexive ‘I’m fine, thanks’ when anyone offered help. But then one Tuesday, something shifted. My neighbour, bless her, saw me wrestling a huge box up the stairs and offered to carry it for me. I immediately said, ‘Oh, no, I’m fine, honestly, but thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you so much!’ And then she offered again, seeing me struggle, and again, out of pure habit, I declined. It was only afterwards, replaying the sheer number of ‘thank yous’ in that single sentence, that it hit me: I was clearly *not* fine. That’s when I decided to make a tiny change. Now, when someone asks if I’m okay, or offers help, I pause for one full second before responding. And often, in that second, I realise I actually *do* need a hand. Being self-sufficient is a virtue, yes, but it becomes a problem when it makes you unreachable. I'd inadvertently crossed that line, and I’m determined not to do it again.
- What triggered her to stop saying 'I'm fine'?
- What did she notice about her tone afterwards?
- What is the small change she has made?
- What is her final distinction between 'being self-sufficient' and 'being unreachable'?
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6 · A short reflection (180–220 words)
Write a short first-person reflection titled: "The last thing I refused help with". Use at least three verb + object + inf/gerund patterns and two compound adjectives. End with an honest, unheroic decision — nothing motivational.
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