Gerund as the adveribial modifier

№	Adverbial Modifier	Questions	Conjunctions/ prepositions/ particles	Examples
1	Of time	When?	Prepositions: on after in before since Conjunctions: while when on the verge once	One day, on returning to his hotel, he found a note waiting for him. At first he couldn’t understand. Only after thinking it over, he hit upon the explanation. I had had a lot of thoughts before leaving the job. When reading Stuart always uses glasses. While walking in the garden they found someone’s lost book. On the verge of leaving Sam heard a telephone call.
2	Of reason/cause	Why? For what reason?	Prepositions: because of through for from for fear of on account of owing to	We lost ourselves through not knowing the way. (literary style) I couldn’t sleep for worrying about my future. Mary walked carefully for fear of breaking the precious vase. The accident happened owing to bad driving.
3	Of attendant circumstances (may have additional meaning of manner)	No identifying questions	Prepositions: without in by	The door opened without having been knocked on. They danced without speaking. The days were spent in packing. She frightened her father by bursting into tears.
4	Of manner	How? In what manner?	Prepositions: without by	You will achieve a lot by telling the truth. Paula left the room without looking at Steve. John began learning the new language by watching TV.
5	Of comparison	No identifying questions	Conjunctions: than	For me swimming is better than lying in the sun.
6	Of concession	No identifying questions	Prepositions: in spite of despite Conjunction: though	I don’t ask any questions in spite of there being a lot of questions to ask. Though knowing much more that his friends, Joseph never showed any arrogance.
7	Of condition	In what case? On what condition?	Prepositions: without but for in case of	You will never learn to speak English without speaking a lot. But for meeting John I would have never known real London. In case of being kept at the customs, phone us immediately.
8	Of purpose (rare use)	What for? For what purpose?	Preposition: for	They took her to the police station for questioning.
9	Of exception	Except what?	Prepositions: except (for) but for apart from aside from besides	Your English is decent apart from spelling. The boy enjoys everything except doing his homework.

TASK 11. Sort out the sentences given below according to different types of adverbial modifies expressed by the gerund. The first one is done for you.

	Adverbial Modifier	Number of Sentences
1	Time
2	Reason
3	Manner/attendant circumstances	1,
4	Concession
5	Purpose
6	Condition
7	Exception
8	Comparison

1. Without looking up I apologized to the man I bumped into and went on my way.

2. In sending me to university my parents made a sacrifice; they couldn’t really afford it.

3. A week later I returned from school and found the house empty, my mother being at the shops.

4. It must be great to get anything you want just by asking!

5. The servants left without Peter having seen them go.

6. On returning home from school the boy noticed a small jade statuette on the living-room shelf.

7. The cigarette burned down to Den’s fingers and he threw it over the banister without putting it out.

8. We strolled back to the camp, it being then about twenty minutes to six.

9. Barbara took her temperature and, upon finding it was a hundred point four, went back to bed again.

10. The little boy showed his boredom by refusing to find any interest in the game.

11. That being understood, the conference was over.

12. It was quiet in the woods except for our breaking twigs.

13. We talked in whispers for fear for disturbing the child.

14. When laughing she half closed her eyes and a dimple danced on her cheek.

15. I was to walk over to my grandmother's before going on home.

16. Though rapidly balding Mr. Stout took more care of his hair than usual.

17. I though that working on the farm was much better for me than staying in the hot city all summer.

18. Except for his breathing I wouldn’t have known that he was there.

19. We use thermometer for measuring temperature.

TASK 12. Fill in the correct prepositions or conjunctions for the gerunds used as adverbial modifiers. There may be more than one option.

1. _______ checking into his room, Derek left the motel and arrived at the airport in time to go on duty.

2. Louise had many little things to do ______ sitting idly in her house _______waiting to be taken out by her new boy-friend.

3. Thomas hardly looked at her _______ talking.

4. Fred had scarcely ever drunk tea at all ________ knowing Gwen.

5. Clare looked at Jim steadily ________ answering.

6. _______ knowing what was there, he took the paper out and walked to the window.

7. I never thought they would have left ________ saying good-bye to me.

8. You can't escape your fate ________ running away.

9. The boy hoped to get his things from his bedroom _________ his parents seeing him.

10. Bob turned the car round ________ stopping and came straight back to the house.

11. Mr. Fulton made the journey to town and back twice a day and usually passed the time _________ falling into a light nap.

12. He poured milk into a jar from a carton in the refrigerator then drank some of it himself _________ putting the carton back.

13. ________ arriving in the apartment, I found out they were planning a little party for me.

14. They walked to the house _________ speaking to each other.

15. I thought that the telegram would be better ________ trying to explain the situation over the phone.

TASK 13. Translate into English using either infinitive or gerund with the right preposition or conjunction.