Grammar – Topic 15
Gerunds
I’m sure you have
come across sentences where the verb is in the ‘ing’ form. Perhaps you yourself
might have made those sentences as well.
With the
erratic weather lately, you might have commented, “It was raining the whole
of last night but today the sun is shining so brightly.”
Have you been
at a shopping mall till the time they are about to close? You might have
heard announcements like, “Our store is closing in ten minutes. Please make
your final purchases.”
Have you
received any invitation cards lately? Maybe not, if all invitations are sent
via social media. But you might have seen sentences like, “I’m having a party
on 21 June!”.
|
Do you notice
all the verbs in ‘ing’ form in the sentences above?
raining,
shining, closing, having
All these words
are used as verbs to form different tenses.
Present
continuous tense: is/are/am playing
Past continuous
tense: was/were playing
Present perfect
continuous tense: has been playing
Past perfect
continuous tense: had been playing
Future tense:
is going to play
Do you know
that the ‘ing’ form of verbs are sometimes not used as verbs?
The ‘ing’ form
of verbs in the sentences below are used as nouns. They are known as gerunds.
Gerunds are verbs in the
‘ing’ form that are used as nouns.
A new recreation
hub was opened recently. I was telling my friends about the place.
I went swimming at the rooftop pool.
I love jogging so I jogged around the indoor track.
Reading is my hobby. I went to the library.
Here are 3 ways to use gerunds.
1.
Use gerunds as the subject of a sentence.
Playing golf is my father’s favourite pastime.
Exercising is good for your health.
Notice that the
gerunds can be used by themselves,
Swimming is fun
Cooking is interesting.
Camping is a good way to make friends and pick
up skills.
Gerunds can
also be part of a phrase.
Writing stories is his passion.
Learning English is fun.
Riding horses is exciting.
Helping endangered animals is meaningful.
2.
Use gerunds as the object of a sentence.
My mother
enjoys watching Korean
dramas.
We avoided going to the beach after the oil
spill.
Notice that
gerunds can be used by themselves.
The shy girl
avoids talking.
We love dancing.
Gerunds can
also be part of a phrase.
We enjoy playing in the wave pool.
She loves baking cookies.
Many people
like listening to music.
Gerunds are usually
used after some verbs.
Here is the
list of verbs that are used with gerunds.
admit
|
The suspect
has admitted robbing the jewellery shop.
|
allow
|
The
management of this building do not allow smoking on the premises.
|
avoid
|
Please avoid
smoking in the stairwell.
|
consider
|
I consider
reading a very important activity.
|
continue
|
The netball
team continued training despite the rain.
|
delay
|
If you delay
completing the project, you will face a heavy penalty.
|
deny
|
The young
lady denied stealing the watch.
|
dislike
|
Do all
children dislike eating vegetables?
|
encourage
|
The doctor
encourages eating the right types of food instead of consuming supplements.
|
enjoy
|
I enjoy
listening to classical music.
|
finish
|
Once my
mother finishes doing the laundry, she will cook lunch.
|
imagine
|
Imagine
living in a hotel at the top of the mountain.
|
keep
|
Even if you
fail, keep trying.
|
love
|
We love
walking through the park in autumn.
|
mention
|
Jack
mentioned going to Japan at the end of the year.
|
mind
|
Do you mind staying
in a hotel further from the city if the rest of the city hotels are fully
booked?
|
miss
|
I miss eating
my grandmother’s apple pie.
|
recall
|
We recalled
watching the sunset at our grandmother’s house.
|
recommend
|
The dentist
recommends using this new fluoride toothpaste.
|
remember
|
When the
accident victim woke up from the coma, he could not remember being hit by a lorry.
|
risk
|
He risks
losing all his savings if he invests everything in the ailing business.
|
start
|
Jack starting
doing his homework an hour before dinner.
|
stop
|
You should
stop eating fried food if you want to lead a healthy lifestyle.
|
suggest
|
The guide
suggested continuing with the hike at sunrise.
|
try
|
I tried using
a phone application to learn Korean but I was unable to pick it up.
|
3.
Use gerunds after prepositions.
Why
did you decide against taking the
new job?
We
are thinking about going to
Australia for a holiday.
To
stop the toddler from tumbling down
the stairs, his parents installed a safety gate.
Instead
of reading the newspapers, my
brother decided to play a video game.
Before going to bed, I read a book.
She
managed to make ends meet by taking
on a second job.
Without
reading the instructions, you will
not be able to operate the machine.
accuse of
|
concentrate
on
|
good at
|
reason for
|
advantage of
|
cope with
|
happy about
|
risk of
|
afraid of
|
crazy about
|
hope of
|
sorry for
|
agree with
|
danger of
|
idea of
|
specialise in
|
angry at
|
decide
against
|
insist on
|
succeed in
|
apologise for
|
depend on
|
interested in
|
talk about
|
bad at
|
difficulty in
|
keen on
|
think about
|
believe in
|
disappointed
about
|
look forward
to
|
tired of
|
blame for
|
dream about
|
method of
|
trouble for
|
chance of
|
famous for
|
opportunity
of
|
used to
|
choice
between
|
fed up with
|
possibility
of
|
way of
|
clever at
|
fond of
|
problem of
|
worry about
|
complain
about
|
get used to
|
proud of
|
Here
are 2 tips to help you use gerunds
correctly.
1.
Use the singular form of the verb if there is only one
gerund that is the subject of the sentence.
Gerunds and Subject Verb
Agreement
Riding horses is my hobby.
Going scuba diving has always been my dream.
Owning a condominium is his goal.
Travelling to remote countries has been wonderful.
Having the opportunity to travel to countries
like Mongolia and Russia is my dream.
Reading and writing
are important life skills.
Eating potato chips and drinking soda are bad for
your health.
2.
Replace the phrase with ‘it’ to find out if you should use
an infinitive (base form of a verb) or a gerund after ‘to’.
Often,
we use the infinitive or base form of the verb after ‘to’.
We
were reluctant to leave the theme
park after having such a great time there.
They
have decided to sign up for English
lessons.
The
phrase after ‘to’ in the sentences above cannot be replaced with it.
We
were reluctant to it. They
have decided to it.
We
can also use gerunds after ‘to’.
Teachers
have devoted their lives to helping students learn.
The
young girl is used to walking home from school on her own.
The
phrase after ‘to’ in the sentences above can be replaced with it.
Teachers
have devoted their lives to it.
The
young girl is used to it.
Let’s
Practise
Circle
the number of the correct answer.
1.
Skateboarding
at skateboard parks ______ popular among many teenagers today.
(1)
is
(2)
are
(3)
was
(4)
were
2.
I
was glad that my father has stopped ______ and he is now leading a much
healthier lifestyle.
(1)
smoke
(2)
smokes
(3)
smoking
(4)
smoked
3.
Andrew
was disappointed to ______ out that he had not been selected for the basketball
team.
(1)
find
(2)
finds
(3)
found
(4)
finding
4.
Although
my grandfather had dementia, he could recall ______ football with my brother
and me when we were younger.
(1)
play
(2)
plays
(3)
played
(4)
playing
5.
Riding
horses and milking cows ______ what I did when I visited a farm in Australia
last month.
(1)
is
(2)
are
(3)
was
(4)
were
6.
Her
difficulty in ______ stemmed from her fact that she was suffering from dyslexia.
(1)
read
(2)
reads
(3)
reading
(4)
having
read
7.
Staying
at the beach resort for two weeks ______ one of the best things I had ever
done!
(1)
is
(2)
are
(3)
was
(4)
were
8.
When
the possibility of ______ to Europe for work was given to Jim, he jumped at the
chance to be able to experience life overseas.
(1)
travel
(2)
travels
(3)
travelled
(4)
travelling
9.
My
mother has encouraged me to ______ up cooking classes during the holidays.
(1)
take
(2)
took
(3)
takes
(4)
taking
10. After ______ a month of driving lessons,
he was eager to sit for the driving test.
(1)
take
(2)
took
(3)
takes
(4)
taking
Answers:
1.
1
2.
3
3.
1
4.
4
5.
4
6.
3
7.
3
8.
4
9.
1
10. 4
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