openMind Level 2

Unit 8 Grammar 2

GERUND PHRASES AS
SUBJECT AND OBJECT
 GERUND PHRASES AS
SUBJECT AND OBJECT

Choosing the right

birthday present for
my wife is difficult.

I hate shopping on
my own.
I’m thinking of buying
her a book.

1. How many –ing words can you see?

2. Which is used in the present progressive tense?
 GERUND PHRASES AS
SUBJECT AND OBJECT

Look at these sentence pairs.

Choosing the right

It is really difficult.
present is really difficult.

I hate shopping on my
I hate it.
own.

Are the -ing words The -ing words are

like verbs or nouns? also called gerunds.
 GERUND PHRASES AS
SUBJECT AND OBJECT

Find the main verb in each sentence.

Getting to the office I enjoy meeting new

on Monday morning people.
takes a lot of time.
Watching TV is a waste
Can you imagine living of time.
without a smartphone?

Gerunds can come _b_e_f _ o _r e

_ and
_a _f _
te_ r_ the main verb.
 GERUND PHRASES AS
SUBJECT AND OBJECT

Look at the sentences. What do they have in common?

I’m thinking of I’m not good at

buying her a book. planning big parties.

Some people worry about

choosing the right clothes.

Sometimes the object comes after

p _r _e _p_o_s_i _t _i o
a_ __n (e.g., of, at, about).
 GERUND PHRASES AS
SUBJECT AND OBJECT

Complete the table with the correct form of swim.

Gerunds as subject and object

Swimming in the ocean is much better than
__________
swimming in the pool.
I love __________.
swimming I always go to the pool when I
have some free time.
swimming I’m a better
I’m not very good at __________.
runner.
 GERUND PHRASES AS
SUBJECT AND OBJECT

We form gerunds by adding the -ing ending to verbs:

buy  buying

Gerunds function as nouns. They can be subjects and

objects:
Buying presents online is very convenient.
I like buying presents online.

We also use gerunds as objects after prepositions:

I’m thinking of buying presents online this year.
 GERUND PHRASES AS
SUBJECT AND OBJECT

Put a  or a  next to each sentence.

 1a. Are you thinking of getting married?
 1b. Are you thinking of get married?
 2a. To find comfortable shoes usually takes a lot of
time.
 2b. Finding comfortable shoes usually takes a lot of
time.
 3a. Are you good in remembering names?
 3b. Are you good at remembering names?
 GERUND PHRASES AS
SUBJECT AND OBJECT

1. Complete the questions. Use your own ideas.

Do you like … alone? … is really boring.

Do you agree?

What is your … good at?

2. Work in pairs. Ask and answer the questions.

 GERUND PHRASES AS
SUBJECT AND OBJECT

Grammar wrap-up

Gerunds function as verbs.

True or false? False

We can use gerunds after a

verb with a preposition. True or True
false?