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 environment where you are writing short emails to clients, partners, or colleagues to express your gratitude and appreciation.
1 Dear Mr. Smith, thank you for ______ our office yesterday.
(a) visiting
(b) to visit
(c) visit
2 Thank you so much for ______ the important documents so quickly.
(a) send
(b) sending
(c) to send
3 We really appreciate you ______ the time to meet with our team.
(a) to take
(b) take
(c) taking
4 Thank you for ______ us with the new marketing project.
(a) helping
(b) to help
(c) help
5 Thanks for ______ our invitation to the annual business conference.
(a) accepting
(b) accept
(c) to accept
6 Dear Sarah, thank you for ______ to my email so fast.
(a) reply
(b) replying
(c) to reply
7 I want to thank you for ______ the meeting room for us.
(a) booking
(b) book
(c) to book
8 Thank you for ______ your excellent ideas during the presentation.
(a) to share
(b) share
(c) sharing
9 We appreciate you ______ the technical problem to us immediately.
(a) reporting
(b) to report
(c) report
10 Thank you for ______ patient while we fixed the issue with your account.
(a) be
(b) being
(c) to be
11 Thank you for not ______ the contract before reading the new terms.
(a) signing
(b) sign
(c) to sign
12 We are very grateful to you for ______ the updated project schedule.
(a) provide
(b) to provide
(c) providing
13 Thank you for ______ us the opportunity to work with your wonderful company.
(a) giving
(b) give
(c) to give
14 Thank you for ______ me about the sudden changes in the deadline.
(a) telling
(b) tell
(c) to tell
15 Besides thanking you, I also apologize for ______ late to the online meeting.
(a) to be
(b) be
(c) being
16 Thank you for your hard work. I look forward to ______ you again next week.
(a) to see
(b) seeing
(c) see
17 Thank you for ______ the extra mile to satisfy our most important clients.
(a) going
(b) go
(c) to go
18 We appreciate you ______ the new software before the official launch.
(a) to test
(b) testing
(c) test
19 Thank you for ______ our team even when the project was very difficult.
(a) support
(b) supporting
(c) to support
20 Finally, thank you for ______ our trusted partner for the last five years.
(a) being
(b) be
(c) to be
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (a)
Explanation: “Visiting” is correct. The word “for” is a preposition, and any verb that directly follows a preposition must be in the gerund (V-ing) form. (b) “to visit” and (c) “visit” are grammatically incorrect in this structure.
2 (b)
Explanation: “Sending” is the correct gerund form following the preposition “for”. (a) is a bare verb. (c) “to send” is a very common learner mistake when translating directly from their native language.
3 (c)
Explanation: “Taking” is correct. You must drop the ‘e’ from the verb “take” before adding “-ing”. (a) and (b) are structural errors.
4 (a)
Explanation: “Helping” correctly follows the preposition “for” in the phrase “Thank you for”. (b) and (c) are incorrect forms.
5 (a)
Explanation: “Accepting” is the required gerund form after “for”. (b) is a bare verb. (c) is an infinitive, which cannot follow a preposition.
6 (b)
Explanation: “Replying” is correct. Keep the ‘y’ and just add “-ing” to the verb “reply”. (a) and (c) violate the preposition rule.
7 (a)
Explanation: “Booking” is the correct gerund. (b) “book” is a bare infinitive. (c) “to book” is grammatically invalid after a preposition.
8 (c)
Explanation: “Sharing” is correct. Drop the ‘e’ from “share” to form “sharing”. (a) and (b) are incorrect.
9 (a)
Explanation: “Reporting” correctly follows the preposition “for” (implied in the appreciation structure or directly following ‘you’). (b) and (c) are structural errors.
10 (b)
Explanation: “Being” is the gerund form of the verb “to be”. It acts as the noun following “for”. (a) “be” is a bare verb. (c) “to be” is a common grammatical mistake.
11 (a)
Explanation: “Signing” is correct. To make a gerund negative, you simply put “not” before the V-ing form (“not signing”). (b) and (c) are grammatically incorrect.
12 (c)
Explanation: “Providing” is correct. Drop the ‘e’ from “provide”. (a) and (b) are incorrect after the preposition “for”.
13 (a)
Explanation: “Giving” is correct. Drop the ‘e’ from “give”. (b) and (c) are incorrect.
14 (a)
Explanation: “Telling” is the required gerund after “for”. (b) is a bare verb. (c) is an infinitive.
15 (c)
Explanation: “Being” is correct. Just like “thank you for”, the phrase “apologize for” ends with a preposition and must be followed by a gerund. (a) and (b) are incorrect.
16 (b)
Explanation: THIS IS A TRICKY ONE. In the professional phrase “look forward to”, the word “to” is a PREPOSITION, not an infinitive marker. Therefore, it MUST be followed by a gerund (“seeing”). (a) “to see” is one of the most common mistakes made in business emails. (c) is a bare verb.
17 (a)
Explanation: “Going” correctly follows the preposition “for”. (b) and (c) are incorrect forms.
18 (b)
Explanation: “Testing” is the correct gerund form. (a) and (c) are grammatically invalid.
19 (b)
Explanation: “Supporting” is the required gerund after “for”. (a) is a bare verb. (c) is an infinitive.
20 (a)
Explanation: “Being” acts as the noun representing the state of being a partner, correctly following the preposition “for”. (b) and (c) are structural errors.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- The Golden Rule of Email Gratitude: The most common way to express thanks in English is “Thank you for + V-ing”. Because “for” is a preposition, the action that follows it MUST be a Gerund.
- Correct: Thank you for helping me.
- Incorrect: Thank you for help me. / Thank you for to help me.
- Applying the Rule to Other Phrases: This preposition rule applies to other very common business email phrases as well:
- Apologize for + V-ing: I apologize for sending this late.
- Look forward to + V-ing: This is a special case! The “to” here is a preposition. I look forward to hearing from you. (Do not write I look forward to hear from you).
- Negative Actions: If you want to thank someone for not doing something, simply put the word “not” directly in front of the gerund.
- Example: Thank you for not cancelling the meeting.
- Spelling Reminders: * Drop the silent ‘e’ before adding ‘-ing’ (share -> sharing, give -> giving, provide -> providing).
- Do not change the ‘y’ when adding ‘-ing’ (reply -> replying).