Gerunds – English Grammar Exercises for A2
Choose the best answer (A, B, or C) to complete each sentence. The context of this test is a casual conversation with your friends where you are talking about the sports, subjects, or daily skills you are really good or terribly bad at.
1 I am really good at ______ basketball with my friends after school.
(a) to play
(b) play
(c) playing
2 My brother is terrible at ______ pictures. He can’t even draw a simple tree!
(a) drawing
(b) draw
(c) to draw
3 Are you bad at ______ people’s names when you first meet them?
(a) remember
(b) remembering
(c) to remember
4 She is excellent at ______ difficult math problems quickly.
(a) solveing
(b) solving
(c) to solve
5 I am completely hopeless at ______ dinner. I burn everything!
(a) cooking
(b) cook
(c) to cook
6 He is a nice guy, but he is not very good at ______ French.
(a) speaking
(b) speak
(c) to speak
7 We are brilliant at ______ chess because we practice every single day.
(a) play
(b) to play
(c) playing
8 I am always afraid of ______ mistakes when I speak English.
(a) makeing
(b) to make
(c) making
9 Are you interested in ______ how to surf this summer?
(a) to learn
(b) learning
(c) learn
10 My best friend is great at ______ to my problems when I am sad.
(a) listen
(b) listening
(c) to listen
11 I want to join the track team, but I am really bad at ______ fast.
(a) running
(b) runing
(c) run
12 She is famous in our school for ______ beautifully at the talent show.
(a) to sing
(b) sing
(c) singing
13 Are you keen on ______ in the ocean, or do you prefer the pool?
(a) swiming
(b) swimming
(c) swim
14 I am terrible at ______ in front of a large crowd. I feel so shy!
(a) dancing
(b) danceing
(c) to dance
15 He is quite good at ______ broken computers and old phones.
(a) fix
(b) fixing
(c) to fix
16 I usually get low grades because I am bad at ______ difficult words.
(a) spelling
(b) spell
(c) to spell
17 My sister is very good at ______ photographs of nature.
(a) taking
(b) takeing
(c) to take
18 Are you confident about ______ the driving test tomorrow?
(a) pass
(b) to pass
(c) passing
19 I am totally useless at ______ jokes. Nobody ever laughs!
(a) telling
(b) tell
(c) to tell
20 He loves baseball, but he is really bad at ______ the ball.
(a) catching
(b) to catch
(c) catch
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (c)
Explanation: “Playing” is correct. After the preposition “at” in the phrase “good at”, you must use a gerund (V-ing). (a) “to play” is a common trap because learners often translate directly from their native language. (b) is structurally incorrect.
2 (a)
Explanation: “Drawing” correctly follows the preposition “at” in “terrible at”. (b) “draw” is a bare infinitive. (c) “to draw” is grammatically invalid after a preposition.
3 (b)
Explanation: “Remembering” is the correct gerund form following “bad at”. (a) and (c) are incorrect verb forms for this position.
4 (b)
Explanation: “Solving” is correct. You must drop the ‘e’ from the verb “solve” before adding “-ing”. (a) “solveing” is a basic spelling mistake. (c) “to solve” is a grammatical error.
5 (a)
Explanation: “Cooking” follows the preposition “at” in the phrase “hopeless at” (meaning very bad at). (b) and (c) violate the preposition rule.
6 (a)
Explanation: “Speaking” is correct after “good at”. (b) and (c) are structural errors.
7 (c)
Explanation: “Playing” is the gerund required after “brilliant at” (meaning exceptionally good at). (a) and (b) are incorrect.
8 (c)
Explanation: The phrase “afraid of” ends with the preposition “of”, requiring a gerund. Drop the ‘e’ from “make” to form “making”. (a) “makeing” is a spelling error. (b) “to make” is incorrect.
9 (b)
Explanation: “Learning” is correct after the preposition “in” (interested in). (a) “to learn” is a very common mistake. (c) is a bare verb.
10 (b)
Explanation: “Listening” follows “great at”. (a) and (c) are grammatically invalid.
11 (a)
Explanation: “Running” is correct. Because “run” is a one-syllable verb ending in a consonant-vowel-consonant (C-V-C), you must double the final ‘n’. (b) “runing” is a spelling mistake. (c) “run” is incorrect.
12 (c)
Explanation: Following the preposition “for” (famous for), you must use a gerund. (a) and (b) are structural errors.
13 (b)
Explanation: The phrase “keen on” (meaning enthusiastic about) ends with the preposition “on”, so it takes a gerund. The verb “swim” requires doubling the final ‘m’. (a) “swiming” is a spelling error. (c) is incorrect.
14 (a)
Explanation: “Dancing” is correct. Drop the ‘e’ from “dance” to add “-ing” after “terrible at”. (b) “danceing” is a spelling error. (c) “to dance” is a grammatical mistake.
15 (b)
Explanation: “Fixing” follows the preposition “at”. (a) and (c) are incorrect. (Note: We do not double the ‘x’ in fixing because ‘x’ is an exception to the C-V-C rule).
16 (a)
Explanation: “Spelling” is the correct gerund form following “bad at”. (b) and (c) are incorrect.
17 (a)
Explanation: “Taking” is correct. Drop the ‘e’ from “take” to add “-ing” after “good at”. (b) “takeing” is a common spelling mistake. (c) is grammatically invalid.
18 (c)
Explanation: “Passing” is correct because it directly follows the preposition “about” in “confident about”. (a) and (b) are incorrect.
19 (a)
Explanation: “Telling” is the required gerund after “useless at” (meaning completely bad at). (b) and (c) are incorrect.
20 (a)
Explanation: “Catching” is correct after “bad at”. (b) “to catch” is a frequent learner mistake. (c) “catch” is structurally invalid.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
1 The Preposition Rule for Skills: When you want to talk about your strengths and weaknesses, you will almost always use an adjective followed by a preposition. Any verb that comes after these prepositions MUST be in the Gerund (V-ing) form.
- Strengths: good at, great at, excellent at, brilliant at, famous for…
- Weaknesses: bad at, terrible at, hopeless at, useless at…
- (Example: I am good at singing. / He is bad at cooking.)
2 Other Preposition Combinations: This rule applies to all adjective + preposition phrases used to express feelings or interests:
- interested in (doing something)
- afraid of (doing something)
- keen on (doing something)
- confident about (doing something)
3 The “To V” Trap: Because “I am good at…” translates into some languages without a preposition, learners often mistakenly say “I am good to play” or “I am bad to sing”. Remember that in English, prepositions demand a noun, and a Gerund acts as a noun.
4 Important Spelling Rules for Gerunds:
- Drop the ‘e’: If the verb ends in ‘e’, remove it before adding ‘-ing’ (dance -> dancing, take -> taking, make -> making).
- Double the Consonant: If a one-syllable verb ends in one vowel and one consonant (C-V-C pattern), double the final consonant (run -> running, swim -> swimming). Exception: Do not double w, x, or y (fix -> fixing).