The gerund

The forms of the Gerund are:

	Active	Passive
Simple	V-ing	being V3
Perfect	having V3	having been V3

The Gerund is used:

• as a noun E.g. Reading is useful.

• after certain verbs: admit (to), anticipate, appreciate, avoid, consider, continue, delay, deny, discuss, enjoy, escape, excuse, fancy, finish, forgive, go (for activities, e.g. fishing), imagine, involve, keep (=continue), mention, mind, miss, postpone / put off, practise, prevent (from), quit, recall, recollect, remember, report, resent, resist, risk, save, stand, suggest, tolerate, understand, etc). E.g. He avoided answering my question.

• after: like, dislike, enjoy, hate, love, prefer to express general preference. E.g. She likes painting.

But: would like / would love / would prefer + to-infinitive to express specific preference. E.g. I would like to paint your portrait.

• after expressions such as be busy, it’s no use, it’s (no) good, it’s (not) worth, what’s the use of, can’t help, there’s no point (in), can’t stand, have difficulty (in), have trouble, have a hard/difficult time, be/get used to, to be/get accustomed to. E.g. It’s worth seeing this film.

• after verbs + prepositions such as to accuse of; to apologize for, to approve (disapprove) of, to congratulate on, to depend on; to dream of, to decide against, to feel like, to forgive for, to give up; to insist on, to look forward to, to object to, rely on, to stop from, to succeed in, to suspect of, to thank for, to think about / of, warn against, What about…? How about…?. E.g. He accused her of stealing the old woman’s jewels.

• after: spend, waste, lose (time, money, etc.) E.g. We wasted a lot of time trying to find a parking space. He lost $10 000 investing in unsuccessful companies.

• after adjectives + prepositions such as afraid of, capable (incapable) of, disappointed at, engaged in, excited about, fond of, good (brilliant, hopeless) at, guilty of, indignant at, interested in, keen on, pleased (displeased) at, proud of, responsible for, tired of, sure of, surprised at E.g. He was found guilty of lying in court.

• after the preposition ‘to’ with verbs and expressions such as look forward to, be used to, get round to, object to, in addition to, prefer doing smth to doing smth else, etc. E.g. She objects to working on Saturdays.

1. Choose the correct preposition and fill in the gaps with the gerund of the verb in brackets.

1. He is ill. He is complaining with / about …. (have) a headache. 2. Marcus went out instead for / of …. (do) his work. 3. Tracy was very excited with / about …. (go) to the party. 4. I hope you have a good excuse of/about … (be) so late. 5. Sam is interested in / for… (take up) English lessons. 6. You can’t stop him to / from ….. (take) the job if he wants to. 7. Susie ran because she was worried about / of … (miss) the bus. 8. Thank you to / for …. ( help) me with my homework. 9. She felt tired because she wasn’t used to /with …. (work) so hard. 10. His boss blamed him for / of …. (lose) the deal. 11. I am in charge in / of …. (make) the Christmas deliveries. 12. We are thinking of / on ….. (buy) a new car next month. 13. Sandra apologized for / about …. (ruin) the performance. 14. Ian was talking with / about ….. (open) a shop in York.

2. Write the correct preposition and put the correct form of the verb in brackets.

1. After a long time we eventually succeeded ……………. a flat. (find) 2. I’ve been thinking ………… for a new job. (look) 3. His parents don’t approve ………….. out so late. (stay) 4. I wonder what prevented him …………….. to the party. (come) 5. I’m getting hungry. I’m looking forward …………. dinner. (have) 6. I don’t feel ……………. today. (study) 7. Forgive me ………….. you but I must ask you a question. (interrupt) 8. The arrested man was suspected …………. into a house. (break) 9. Have you ever thought ………….. married? (get) 10. I’ve always dreamed ………… on a small island in the Pacific. (live) 11. The cold water didn’t stop them ………. a swim. (have) 12. Have you ever been accused …………… a crime? (commit) 13. She apologized …………. so rude to me. (be) 14. We have decided ………… a new car. (buy)

3. Replace the Ukrainian phrases by suitable English equivalent in the correct form.

1. I hate (коли на мене чекають). 2. I remember (що йому показували цей документ). 3. She doesn’t like (коли їй читають). 4. They don’t mind (щоб їм допомогли). 5. He is never tired of (коли йому розповідають про пригоди). 6. He can’t stand (коли йому нагадають про це). 7. She is busy (їй перекладають зараз дуже важливий документ). 8. I insist on (щоб мені розповіли все). 9. She thanked for (що її проінформували). 10. He is used to (коли йому все пояснюють).

4. Change direct speech into reported speech. Begin each sentence in the way shown.

1. ‘I’ll drive you to the station. I insist,’ Tom said to Ann. Tom insisted ………………………. 2. ‘I hear you passed your examinations. Congratulations!’ Jim said to you. Jim congratulated …………………. 3. ‘It was nice of you to visit me. Thank you,’ Mrs. Dent said to Sue. Mrs. Dent thanked ………………… 4. ‘Don’t stay at the hotel near the airport,’ I said to Jack. I warned ……………………….. . 5. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t phone you earlier,’ Mary said to you. Mary apologized ……… not ……………… 6. ‘You didn’t pay attention to what I said,’ the teacher said to the boy. The teacher accused ……………… 7. ‘You’re always late,’ Ann said to me. Ann complained ……………………. 8. ‘I didn’t take the money,’ she said. She denied …………………… . 9. ‘ Let’s visit Jane,’ Kate said to us. Kate suggested …………… . 10. ‘I’m the cleverest of all,’ Nick said. Nick boasted ……………….. . 11. ‘Yes, I lied to her,’ Helen said. Helen admitted …………….. .

5. Fill in the gaps with the correct prepositions.

1. Nothing could prevent her …. buying it on the spot. 2. Are you thinking ….. leaving already? 3. I’m responsible …. bringing you back safe and sound. 4. They insisted … visiting all the rooms. 5. At last I succeeded …. parking my car in the parking place. 6. What are your reasons to accuse her …. taking the papers? 7. Everything depends …. being on the spot. 8. I thanked him …. lending me the car. 9. Much depends …. getting him to listen to us. 10. She was engaged …. sorting out apples. 11. She only succeeded …. entirely blocking the way to the entrance to the bus. 12. She showed no intention …. leaving. 13. There seemed to be no point …. staying. 14. He saw no harm …. having a drink or two from time to time. 15.You can do harm …. interfering. 16. He didn’t object …. being examined and the doctor went all over him …. finding any trace of injuries. 17. We suspected her … not telling us all she knew but we could not very well accuse her …. hiding facts knowing ourselves what those facts were. 18. I was not used … driving a big car through crowded streets. 19. She got the invitation …. meeting Ann at a party and …. talking about books. 20. He could find out everything …. phoning.