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ESL Lesson Plan · CEFR C1

Perfect Infinitives and Perfect Gerunds ESL Lesson Plan (C1, 60 Minutes)

A complete 60-minute C1 lesson on Perfect Infinitives and Perfect Gerunds, built round the theme "The Missing Painting".

  • CEFR C1
  • 60 minutes
  • Teenagers and adults
  • Grammar
  • Perfect Tenses
  • Perfect Infinitives and Perfect Gerunds

About this lesson

Who it is for. Advanced students who are accurate with perfect tenses but rarely use perfect infinitives (seems to have left, is said to have been stolen) or perfect gerunds (denied having taken), so their reporting sounds simple and repetitive.

Everything the lesson needs is on this page: the language analysis, the timed stages with the teacher's own words and instruction-checking questions, the differentiation, the printable handouts and the answer key.

At a glance

Level
CEFR C1 (Advanced)
Learners
Teenagers and adults
Length
60 minutes. For 45 minutes, run only "Press conference" of the two tasks in "Freer practice" and cut "Feedback and wrap-up" to board-based error correction.
Skills
Speaking
Language focus
Grammar: Perfect Infinitives and Perfect Gerunds (to have done / having done)
Framework
PPP (presentation, practice, production)
Materials
Handout 1 (the scene), Handout 2 (model news article for analysis), Handout 3 (practice), Handout 4 (case file and role cards for the press conference).
Preparation
About 10 minutes: print Handouts 1 to 4, one per learner, and read the language analysis. The answer key is for you, not the class.

Aims

Main aim. To develop students' use of perfect infinitives and perfect gerunds to speculate, report and refer to earlier events, especially in news-style reporting.

Learning outcome. By the end of the lesson, students can write and present a short news report about a mystery using at least six perfect infinitive or gerund forms.

  • Subsidiary aim. To develop collaborative speaking (a press conference role-play) and formal written reporting.

Language analysis

What to know before the lesson: the meaning, form and pronunciation of the target language, and the problems learners usually have with it.

Form and use

StructureFormExampleUse
Perfect infinitive after seem / appear / happen / claim / pretendto have + past participleThe thief seems to have entered through the roof.Refers to an action earlier than the main verb
Passive perfect infinitive after reporting passivesbe said / thought / believed / reported + to have been + ppThe painting is believed to have been stolen at night.Objective, distanced reporting of past events
Perfect gerund after deny / admit / regret / remember / forgive and prepositionshaving + past participleThe guard denied having seen anything. He was praised for having raised the alarm.Emphasises that the action is earlier and completed
Passive perfect gerundhaving been + ppShe was proud of having been chosen.Passive, earlier action
Perfect infinitive after would like / would love / would ratherwould like + to have + ppI would like to have seen his face!Past wish that did not happen

Accuracy points

  • After deny, admit, regret, the simple gerund is often possible too (He denied taking it); the perfect gerund makes the time order explicit and sounds more formal.
  • Not: He is said to steal the painting yesterday. → He is said to have stolen the painting yesterday.
  • Not: It is said him to have ... → He is said to have ... / It is said that he has ...

Pronunciation

  • to have is weak: /tə həv/ or /tu‿əv/: seems to have left /siːmz tə həv left/.
  • having been /ˈhævɪŋ bɪn/.

Concept-checking questions

  • The thief seems to have entered through the roof. Did the thief enter before now? (Yes.) · Are we sure? (No; it seems so.)
  • The guard denied having seen anything. What did the guard say? (I didn't see anything.) · Did the seeing (or not seeing) happen before the denial? (Yes.)

Anticipated problems and solutions

ProblemSolution
Using the simple infinitive for a past action (He seems to leave).Timeline: main verb now, perfect infinitive earlier.
Wrong form after reporting passives (is said to steal).Board the two patterns and transformation practice.
Overloading sentences with passives.Discuss clarity in feedback; one or two per paragraph is enough.
The press conference stalls.Give question cards to journalists.

Board plan

Left: verbsCentre: patternsRight: meaning
seem · appear · claim · pretend · happen · be said / thought / believed / reported · deny · admit · regret · remember
S + seem + to have + pp · S + is said + to have been + pp · deny / admit + having + pp · prep + having (been) + pp · would like + to have + pp
earlier action than the main verb · distance / not proven (news) · past wish that didn't happen

CEFR C1 · 60 minutes · Teenagers and adults

Procedure: Perfect Infinitives and Perfect Gerunds, step by step

Warm-up5 minutes · Whole class, pairs

Aim: To introduce the topic and engage students.

Give out Handout 1. Read the description of the scene and the headline.

Ask: "What happened? What do you think the guard did, or didn't do?" Pairs speculate for 2 minutes. Take ideas.

Presentation20 minutes · Individual, groups, whole class

Aim: To present perfect infinitives and perfect gerunds in a news article and clarify their form, meaning and use.

Part A: Reading (5 minutes)

Give out Handout 2. Say: "Read the news article. Was your guess right? What do the police think happened?"

Pairs compare their ideas with the article.

Part B: Analysis (7 minutes)

Say: "In groups, answer the analysis questions under the article."

ICQs: "How many structures do you look for?" (Three types.) "Do you also explain why?" (Yes, question 4.)

Monitor and help.

Part C: Clarification (8 minutes)

Feedback. Build the patterns in the centre of the board.

Draw a timeline for The thief seems to have entered through the roof: seems = now; to have entered = earlier. Ask the CCQs from the Language analysis.

Discuss: "Why does the writer say is believed to have been stolen and not was stolen?" (Distance; not yet proven.) "What's the difference between He denied taking it and He denied having taken it?" (Very little; the second is more formal and stresses the earlier time.)

Highlight would like to have seen (a past wish that didn't happen).

Pronunciation: drill weak forms: seems to have left /siːmz tə həv left/; having been /ˈhævɪŋ bɪn/.

Controlled practice10 minutes · Individual, then pairs, then whole class

Aim: To practise the forms accurately.

Give out Handout 3. Say: "Exercise A: rewrite the sentences using the words given. Six minutes."

Pairs check. Feedback as a class.

Exercise B: pairs rewrite the two sentences in news style. Two pairs share.

Freer practice18 minutes · Groups of four or five

Aim: To use the structures fluently in a press conference role-play and a short news report.

Give each group the case file and role cards (Handout 4): Museum Director, Head of Security, Police Inspector, and one or two Journalists. Students read their cards (3 minutes).

Press conference (8 minutes). Journalists ask questions; officials answer using their cards and their own speculation. Encourage today's structures: "The thieves appear to have used a van." "Mr Silva denies having seen anything."

ICQs: "Who asks the questions?" (The journalists.) "Can officials invent details?" (Yes, if they fit the case file.)

News report (7 minutes). Each group writes a 100-word news report about the press conference using at least four structures from today. One group reads its report aloud.

Monitor and note language use.

Feedback and wrap-up7 minutes · Whole class

Aim: To give feedback and consolidate.

Board the most effective sentences from the reports and one or two with errors. Students correct the errors.

Ask: "Where would you see these structures?" (News, reports, formal writing.)

Set the homework.

Homework Write a 220-word news report on an unsolved mystery (real or invented) using at least six of today's structures.

PPP (presentation, practice, production). Stage times add up to 60 minutes.

Differentiation

Support
Give a pattern card with the five structures and an example of each. Assign weaker students the Journalist role, with question cards to read.
Stretch
Stronger students use the continuous perfect infinitive: The thieves appear to have been planning this for months. They write the follow-up article a week later, using would like to have and regret having.

Adapting the lesson

ForWhat to change
A large class (40 or more)Keep the pairwork in "Freer practice" in fixed pairs rather than a mingle, and take feedback from four or five pairs instead of the whole room. Run "Press conference" once, with two pairs reporting, rather than hearing every pair. Monitor one half of the room during "Controlled practice" and the other half during "Freer practice".
A class with no photocopierPut the exercises from Handout 3: Practice on the board for learners to copy into their notebooks, and read any text aloud twice instead of printing it. Handout 4: Case File and Role Cards works read out from the front: learners note what they need rather than holding a card. The board plan above is this lesson's minimum - with that on the board, it runs on no paper at all.
An online classSend Handouts 1 to 4 in the chat before the lesson and put the board plan on a shared slide. Use breakout rooms for "Press conference" and visit each room once. Have learners type the controlled answers in the chat, so you see every answer at once instead of nominating.
A different age groupWith teenagers at this level, cut the academic framing and keep the examples in their own world; the forms do not change. With adults in a work context, swap the lesson's texts for ones from their own field and keep the analysis as it stands.

Checking learning

The group report includes at least four perfect infinitive or gerund forms used accurately. 7 out of 8 or better on Handout 3, Exercise A. Students can explain why reporters use distancing structures.

Teacher's reflection

Did the article make the structures noticeable? Did students use the structures naturally in the press conference?

Handout 1: The Scene

Look at the scene. What happened?

The National Art Gallery, 7 am. In Room 4, an empty golden frame hangs on the wall. Above it, a skylight in the roof is broken. Glass is on the floor. There is a ladder against the wall that does not belong to the gallery. The alarm is silent. A security guard stands in the doorway, holding a cup of tea, looking shocked.

Headline: PRICELESS PAINTING VANISHES OVERNIGHT

Discuss: What do you think happened? What might the guard have done (or not done)?

Handout 2: Model News Article

MASTERPIECE STOLEN IN DARING ROOFTOP RAID

A painting worth $3 million is believed to have been stolen from the National Art Gallery in the early hours of Monday morning. The thieves appear to have entered through a skylight in the roof, and they are thought to have used a ladder to climb down into Room 4.

The gallery's alarm system seems to have been switched off at 1.12 am. Police say whoever did this is likely to have known the security code. The night guard, Mr Silva, has denied having seen anything unusual and admitted having fallen asleep at around midnight. He has not been accused of any crime.

A delivery van is reported to have been seen near the gallery at 1 am. The thieves appear to have been planning the raid for months.

The gallery director said she regretted not having upgraded the alarm last year. "I would like to have seen this coming," she told reporters.

Analysis questions

  • Find four examples of be + said / thought / believed / reported + to have (been) + pp. ______________________________
  • Find two examples of seem / appear + to have + pp. ______________________________
  • Find three examples of having + pp. Which verbs come before them? ______________________________
  • Why does the writer avoid saying Mr Silva didn't see anything or Thieves stole the painting? ______________________________
  • What does I would like to have seen this coming mean? Did she see it coming? ______________________________

Handout 3: Practice

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

A. Rewrite the sentences using the words given.

B. Rewrite these two sentences in a more distanced, news-report style. People say the mayor took the money. / We think the fire started in the kitchen.

  • People believe that the thief worked alone. (is believed) → ______________________________
  • It seems that he has left the country. (seems) → ______________________________
  • He said he hadn't taken the money. (denied) → ______________________________
  • It is reported that the bridge was damaged in the storm. (is reported) → ______________________________
  • She admitted that she had lied. (having) → ______________________________
  • It appears that the company has lost millions. (appears) → ______________________________
  • I wish I had been there to see it. (would like) → ______________________________
  • They were happy that they had been chosen. (having been) → ______________________________

Handout 4: Case File and Role Cards

Case file

Museum Director

You are embarrassed. You want to protect the museum's reputation. You believe the thieves were professionals and had help from inside. You regret not upgrading the alarm last year.

Head of Security

You defend your team. You say Mr Silva has worked for you for 15 years and is honest. You think the alarm was switched off by someone who knew the code.

Police Inspector

You are careful and do not want to say too much. You can say: two people probably entered through the roof; they probably used the van; they may have been planning this for months. A cleaner is being questioned.

Journalists

Ask difficult questions. Find out: How did the thieves get in? Who switched off the alarm? Did the guard really fall asleep? Has anyone been arrested? Does the museum regret anything?

  • Painting: Woman at the Window (1890), valued at $3 million.
  • Last seen: 10 pm on Sunday by the night guard, Mr Silva.
  • Discovered missing: 7 am on Monday.
  • Clues: broken skylight; ladder; alarm switched off at 1.12 am; muddy footprints of two different sizes; a delivery van seen nearby at 1 am; Mr Silva says he fell asleep at about midnight.

Answer Key

Handout 2

Handout 3, Exercise A

Common errors to watch for

  • is believed to have been stolen; are thought to have used; is reported to have been seen; (also: is likely to have known)
  • appear to have entered; seems to have been switched off (also: appear to have been planning)
  • denied having seen; admitted having fallen; regretted not having upgraded
  • The facts are not yet proven; the writer avoids accusing people and keeps a distance.
  • She wishes she had predicted it. No, she didn't.
  • The thief is believed to have worked alone.
  • He seems to have left the country.
  • He denied having taken the money.
  • The bridge is reported to have been damaged in the storm.
  • She admitted having lied.
  • The company appears to have lost millions.
  • I would like to have been there to see it.
  • They were happy about / at having been chosen.
ErrorCorrection
He is said to have leaving.He is said to have left.
It is said him to be rich.He is said to be rich.
The thief is believed to escape yesterday.The thief is believed to have escaped yesterday.
He denied to have taken it.He denied having taken it.

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About this lesson plan

Written by RCF English to the RCF English international standard: levelled by the CEFR, original throughout, and suitable for classrooms in any country. Last reviewed 22 September 2026.

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