GETTING UP EARLY: MY ENGLISH PAGES

Getting Up Early

Oct 24 2016

Intro

Are you a morning person? A morning person is someone who feels good in the mornings. This kind of person can wake up at the crack of dawn and feel energized. In fact, they might not even need to set an alarm clock. Some people wake up naturally when the sun comes up. A morning person might use their mornings to exercise, write, meditate, or work on a life goal.

And then, there’s the night owl. A night owl is a person who likes to stay up late and sleep in the next morning. This kind of person feels best at night. In the morning, they feel cranky and out of it. Sometimes, a night owl wants to become a morning person. This can be difficult! It takes a few weeks (and maybe, lots of caffeine) to get used to getting up early.

Kelsey and Gary got up early today. Listen to this English lesson to discover who is a morning person… and who is not!

Dialogue

Gary: Kelsey, it’s going to be a great day.
Kelsey:  No, it’s not. It’s so early.
Gary:  I know, it’s Saturday! It’s great! It’s 6 o’clock in the morning.
Kelsey:  Why couldn’t I have just slept in?
Gary:  Well, you know that getting up early is one of the best things you can do, right?
Kelsey:  I don’t buy it. I’m so cranky, I’m exhausted andout of it. I don’t understand this getting up at the crack of dawn thing.
Gary:  Well, it takes a little while to get used to. You setyour sleep cycle to wake up at the same time every day, like, every day. You can’t sleep in on the weekends.
Kelsey:  Really?
Gary:  You wake up, you’ll feel more alert. You’re going to be energized for the day to go and do things. You know, OK, at this time I’m waking up, and I’m going to go do stuff. So, you’re not going to be cranky because you’re used to it. It’s your normal routine now.
Kelsey:  OK, but do you have to have caffeine in order to be this energized?
Gary:  Some people do, yes. I do not. I don’t drink any caffeine.
Kelsey:  So, this is just natural.
Gary:  Yeah, I’m ready to go.
Kelsey:  Wow. Well, I can try it, but I’m honestly pretty nervous about it.
Gary:  Would you call yourself a morning person?
Kelsey:  No, I like to sleep in. Getting up early is hard.
Gary:  So, maybe you should stay up really, really late then, and wake up late. Maybe, that would be better for you.
Kelsey:  I guess. I mean, that’s what I do now.
Gary:  Would that affect work?
Kelsey:  I don’t know. I’ll try it for a few days, and I’ll let you know.
Gary:  Cool.
Kelsey:  OK.

Discussion

Poor Kelsey! It’s 6 AM! Gary wants her to become amorning person, and she’s not feeling very happy about it. In fact, she’s exhausted. She’s out of it. All she really wants to do is to sleep in a little longer. Getting up at the crack of dawn is not something Kelsey can get used to doing.

Poor Gary! It’s 6 AM! He’s energized and ready for the day, but Kelsey is being cranky. Gary’s sleep cycle is setto wake him up early, even on the weekends because he likes to use his mornings to go do stuff. He doesn’t even need caffeine to feel awake. Gary’s problem now, though, is making Kelsey love mornings too. Maybe, she can try getting up early for a few days?

Are you a morning person? How often do you wake up at the crack of dawn?

Grammar Point

Gerunds and Infinitives

It’s the weekend, and Kelsey isn’t too happy about getting up early. She tells Gary, “I don’t understand thisgetting up at the crack of dawn thing.” Kelsey uses agerund.

Gerunds and infinitives are both verbal forms that act as nouns. Gerunds end in -ing, such as swimming, walking, or laughing. Infinitives are the basic verb form with the particle to, as in to swim, to walk, or to laugh.

Sometimes, it can be difficult to know whether it’s best to use a gerund or an infinitive in a sentence. Here are a few rules:

Both gerunds and infinitives can follow verbs, as in, “I don’t like losing,” or, “I don’t like to lose.” They can also both be the subject of a sentence, as in, “Catching a chicken is difficult,” or, “To catch a chicken is difficult.”

Also, only gerunds follow prepositions. For example, it’s correct to say, “I can’t leave a painting without finishing it,” but it’s not correct to say, “I can’t leave a painting without to finish it.”

Although many verbs can be followed by a gerund or an infinitive, this is not true for all verbs. The verb that Kelsey uses, for example, is special. Only a gerund can follow understand. “I don’t understand this getting up at the crack of dawn thing.” Other verbs that must be followed by gerunds include advise, enjoy, and suggest.

Which is correct, “I stopped to smoke last week,” or, “I stopped smoking last week”?

Quiz

1. It’s __, and Gary and Kelsey are up early.
   
   •  a weekday
   •  the weekend
   •  a holiday
   •  a test day
2. What does Kelsey usually do in the mornings?
   
   •  She gets up early.
   •  She drinks lots of caffeine.
   •  She sleeps in.
   •  She does morning exercises.
3. Why do people drink caffeine?
   
   •  To feel cranky.
   •  To feel out of it.
   •  To sleep in.
   •  To feel energized.
4. Which sentence INCORRECTLY uses a gerund or infinitive?
   
   •  It’s starting to rain.
   •  He prefers to sleep in on the weekends.
   •  My fridge needs cleaning.
   •  She misses to live in the city.