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 professional or academic environment where you are reporting to your manager or teacher that you have completed a specific assignment or task.
1 I have just finished ______ the weekly sales report.
(a) writing
(b) to write
(c) write
2 Please let me know when you finish ______ the data.
(a) analyze
(b) analyzing
(c) to analyze
3 Have you finished ______ your homework yet?
(a) doing
(b) do
(c) to do
4 I finished ______ all the important emails an hour ago.
(a) send
(b) sending
(c) to send
5 The engineering team hasn’t finished ______ the new software.
(a) testing
(b) test
(c) to test
6 I am happy to report that we finished ______ the inventory.
(a) checking
(b) check
(c) to check
7 She finished ______ the contract and printed it for the client.
(a) type
(b) to type
(c) typing
8 We need to finish ______ the budget by 5 PM today.
(a) calculating
(b) calculate
(c) to calculate
9 After I finish ______ this book, I will return it to the school library.
(a) to read
(b) reading
(c) read
10 The IT department finished ______ the broken computers yesterday.
(a) repairing
(b) repair
(c) to repair
11 Let’s take a short break when we finish ______ these heavy boxes.
(a) to pack
(b) pack
(c) packing
12 I apologize for the delay, but I just finished ______ the logo design.
(a) updateing
(b) to update
(c) updating
13 Are you close to finishing ______ the presentation slides?
(a) to create
(b) creating
(c) create
14 He finally finished ______ the meeting room for the big presentation.
(a) to clean
(b) clean
(c) cleaning
15 They finished ______ the new marketing plan late last night.
(a) discuss
(b) discussing
(c) to discuss
16 She will leave the office immediately after she finishes ______ the files.
(a) organized
(b) to organize
(c) organizing
17 I just finished ______ with the angry client on the phone.
(a) to speak
(b) speaking
(c) speak
18 We finished ______ the office just in time for the company party.
(a) decorateing
(b) to decorate
(c) decorating
19 He finished ______ the article and submitted it to the chief editor.
(a) editing
(b) edit
(c) to edit
20 The chef has finished ______ the special menu for tonight’s event.
(a) preparing
(b) prepareing
(c) to prepare
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (a)
Explanation: “Writing” is correct. The verb “finish” MUST be followed by a gerund (V-ing) because it represents the end of an ongoing process. (b) “to write” is a very common learner mistake. (c) “write” is a structural error.
2 (b)
Explanation: “Analyzing” follows the verb “finish”. You must drop the ‘e’ from “analyze” before adding “-ing”. (a) is a bare verb. (c) “to analyze” is grammatically invalid here.
3 (a)
Explanation: “Doing” is the correct gerund form following “finished”. (c) “to do” is a frequent mistake. (b) is structurally incorrect.
4 (b)
Explanation: “Sending” is correct after “finished”. (a) and (c) violate the grammar rule for the verb “finish”.
5 (a)
Explanation: “Testing” is correct. Even in a negative sentence (“hasn’t finished”), the verb “finish” still requires a gerund object. (b) and (c) are incorrect.
6 (a)
Explanation: “Checking” is the correct gerund form. (b) “check” is a bare infinitive. (c) “to check” is a grammatical mistake.
7 (c)
Explanation: “Typing” correctly follows “finished”. You must drop the ‘e’ from “type” to form “typing”. (a) and (b) are structural errors.
8 (a)
Explanation: “Calculating” is correct after “finish”. Drop the ‘e’ from “calculate”. (b) and (c) are incorrect.
9 (b)
Explanation: “Reading” is the required gerund after “finish”. (a) “to read” is a very common trap. (c) is a bare verb.
10 (a)
Explanation: “Repairing” is correct. (b) and (c) are grammatically invalid.
11 (c)
Explanation: “Packing” is the correct gerund form following “finish”. (a) “to pack” is a common error. (b) is structurally incorrect.
12 (c)
Explanation: “Updating” is correct. You must drop the ‘e’ from “update” to add “-ing”. (a) “updateing” is a basic spelling mistake. (b) is grammatically incorrect.
13 (b)
Explanation: “Creating” correctly follows the preposition “to” + the gerund “finishing”. Remember, drop the ‘e’ from “create”. (a) and (c) are incorrect forms.
14 (c)
Explanation: “Cleaning” is correct after “finished”. (a) “to clean” is a frequent learner mistake. (b) is structurally invalid.
15 (b)
Explanation: “Discussing” is the required gerund after “finished”. (a) and (c) are incorrect.
16 (c)
Explanation: “Organizing” is correct. Drop the ‘e’ from “organize” to add “-ing”. (a) “organized” is past tense, which cannot act as an object. (b) “to organize” is incorrect.
17 (b)
Explanation: “Speaking” follows the verb “finished”. (a) “to speak” is a common error because learners often translate directly from their native language. (c) is a bare verb.
18 (c)
Explanation: “Decorating” is correct. You must drop the ‘e’ from “decorate”. (a) “decorateing” is a spelling error. (b) is a grammatical mistake.
19 (a)
Explanation: “Editing” is the correct gerund form following “finished”. (b) and (c) are incorrect.
20 (a)
Explanation: “Preparing” is correct. Drop the ‘e’ from “prepare”. (b) “prepareing” is a common spelling mistake. (c) “to prepare” is structurally invalid.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
1 The “Finish” Rule: When you want to report that a task or action is fully complete, you use the verb finish. In English, “finish” MUST ALWAYS be followed by a Gerund (V-ing). It is never followed by an infinitive (“to do”).
- Correct: I finished reading the report.
- Incorrect: I finished to read the report.
2 Why V-ing? The verb “finish” implies that an action was an ongoing process that took time, and you are now bringing that specific process to an end. The V-ing form acts as a noun representing that entire process.
3 Spelling Rules for Gerunds:
- Drop the ‘e’: If a verb ends in an ‘e’, you must remove it before adding ‘-ing’ (type -> typing, prepare -> preparing, update -> updating).
- Do not drop other vowels: If the verb ends in other letters or a vowel team, just add ‘-ing’ (read -> reading, speak -> speaking).