Construction | Learn English and use English chat at English, baby!

Along with dentists and tax collectors, construction workers must have one of the most hated professions. What they do is essential, but it’s also pretty annoying. Whether it’s waking us up early, delaying traffic or forcing us to take a detour, construction disturbs our day-to-day lives in countless ways. On the other hand, without the hard work of construction workers, our cities would fall apart!

Summer is the worst season when it comes to construction. Most construction work is done then, when it’s more likely that the work won’t get delayed by bad weather. Ella and Jeff are both fed up with all the construction happening in their city right now. Find out how they’re managing to grin and bear it.

Ella: So there’s been tons of construction by my house, and it’s causing me to take so many different detours, it’s loud, it’s annoying, I just…I can’t stand it.

Jeff: I think I’m on the same page with you. Since I’ve lived here, there’s been constant construction. In the winter, in the summer…usually in the summer.

Ella: It feels like it’s never-ending. Is it even worth it to file a complaint, I mean what do you do?

Jeff: I think that’s just how cities work. It’s beyond me. But we need to have some upkeep, make improvements. And we have to sacrifice our daily schedules because of it.

Ella: So, what do you do to just kinda tolerate it and not let it get to you?

Jeff: It’s frustrating, but I just try to grin and bear it. I try to take detours, but it seems to be everywhere. And everybody else is thinking the same thing, so you take a detour and it ends up becoming the same deal. Although I’ve always wanted to use a jackhammer.

Ella: What do you want to do with a jackhammer?

Jeff: You know, construction stuff, like go get a big gut, hang it over the top of the jackhammer…

Ella: Sounds a little unpleasant.

Jeff: Be a pro at it.

There has been a lot of construction happening near Ella’s house recently, and she is getting fed up with all the noise and traffic it’s been causing. She is so annoyed, she is even considering filing a complaint with the city. But Jeff doesn’t think that will help. Construction is just one of those things we all have to learn to live with.

Sometimes construction work causes traffic delays. So Jeff tries to take detours in order to avoid it. But detours don’t work when everyone else has the same idea. You still end up sitting in traffic, just on a different road.

Is there a lot of construction where you live? How do you deal with it?

Gerunds vs. Infinitives

Jeff says that when there is a lot of construction, he tries to take detours, or he tries to grin and bear it. The verb try is often followed by an infinitive, or a verb with to.

Try can also be followed by a gerund, or verb with “ing”. For example, Jeff could say that he tries taking detours and he tries grinning and bearing it.

Some other verbs can only be followed by a either a gerund or an infinitive. You can say, “I want to file a complaint” but not “I want filing a complaint.” And you can say “I suggest taking a detour” but not “I suggest to take a detour.”

Which is correct, “We forgot to feed the dog this morning” or “We forgot feeding the dog this morning”?