GERUNDIO

The Gerund is used like a noun:               
     1.   As the subject of a sentence.                       

Smoking is bad for you.
                                                                                                                                                                      Swimming is very good for your back.

  


     2.   After some verbs and expressions.         

   Do you like watching horror films?
                                                                                                                                                                      I finished reading that book last week.

  

 3.   After prepositions.                                      

   She is very good at painting.
                                                                                                                                                                      We’re tired of waiting for him.


The Gerund is formed by adding  -ing  to the infinitive form:     

   go – going
                                                                                                                                                             
stay – staying
                                                                                                                                                          
   smoke – smoking
                                                                                                                                                          
   get – getting








A)      Write down the gerunds of these verbs.

1. do .........................               
2.   ride ...............................  
3.   run  .......................                       
4. 
   
5. play  ..................... 
6.    try .............................                      
7. ly ........................                            
8.    swim .......................
9. travel  ....................            
10.    write ...........................               
11.      stop ......................                 
12.    lie  ........................

B)      Fill in the gaps with the gerunds from  A.

1. She likes .............................  every morning before breakfast.

2. After .................................. my homework, I usually watch TV.

3. I enjoy ..............................  on the beach.

4. My little daughter doesn’t like ........................... with other children.

5. ............................... is a fast way of ................................. . 
6. You can go from London to Paris in just one hour.

6. She likes sport,  especially .............................. 
7. horses and ................................... .

7. After ............................... several times, I finally passed my exams.

8.  Lisa thought about ............................. all the way from London to Edinburgh.

9. .................................  at the shoulder in this motorway can be dangerous.

10. I think she is very bad at  ............................... ; 
11. I’m reading one of her short stories and I don’t like it at all.

1.  Gerund as subject of a sentence

·         Gerunds can be subjects of sentences ( or objects ):       Smoking makes me feel sick.         Living abroad can be very difficult.


C)      Rewrite these sentences, starting with a gerund. You may need to change some words.

1. A good way of keeping fit is to swim every day.                   
2. .........................

2. It takes a long time to learn a foreign language.                    
3.  ............................................................
4. 
   

3. Clean the machine more often; that will solve your problems.                ...................................................................

4. Grow your own food. It’s less expensive.              .........................................

5. Give up smoking; it will make you feel ..........................

6. It is cheaper to go by rail than by air.                     ..............................................................

7. You are not allowed to smoke in here.                   ..................................................................................

8. It’s not very pleasant to be in hospital.                    ......................................................................................

9. It’s very difficult to windsurf ..................................................................................

10. It’s more difficult to speak a foreign language than to read it.   .............................................................................................................

11. It is forbidden to walk on the grass.                        ....................................................

12. One thing I can’t do is swim on my ...........................................................................

13. It’s difficult to be polite to someone you don’t like.    ..................................................