English Advanced Grammar Exercises – Nouns and noun phrases 2: gerunds

A. Match the sentence beginnings to the correct endings.

a   in a city is finding somewhere to park.

b   carefully about what you told me.

c   the house.

d   you again at the party next week.

e   free music downloads is the cost to musicians.

f   for this job?

g   on the icon.

h   but I know Mum won’t let me go to the concert.

i   my computer from viruses.

j   by plane or train is the price.

B. Write instructions with ‘NO ……………’ or ‘…………… ALLOWED’ to match the signs. Use gerunds formed from the verbs in the box.

C. Complete the sentences, using compound nouns made with one word from box A and one word from box B.

1   At 7 o’clock the family sat round the ………………… to have dinner.

2   I had to take my clothes to the launderette because our ………………… is broken.

3   My grandfather is 93, but he can still walk without a ………………… .

4   I only left the car for ten minutes, but when I got back there was a ………………… stuck to the windscreen.

5   I bought myself some new ………………… this morning – I’ve decided to start doing more exercise!

6   My cousins live in a big house with its own open-air ………………… in the garden.

7   The gym isn’t accepting more new members, but I’ve put my name down on the ………………… .

8   To open a bank account, you need a passport, …………………, or other form of identification.

9   Don’t talk when you’ve got ………………… in your mouth – it’s very rude.

10   Your flight leaves from Gate 7. Here’s your passport and ………………… . Enjoy your flight.

D. Use any of the words from Exercise C (or other words you choose yourself) to make compound nouns with gerunds.

swimming lesson      ………………………

………………………         ………………………

………………………         ………………………

………………………         ………………………  

E. Rewrite the underlined words in each sentence so that they have a similar meaning, using a form of the verb in brackets and a gerund.

1   Don’t drive through the city between 6 and 7 – that’s the rush hour. (avoid)

      ……………………………………..

2   She said she hadn’t done anything wrong. (deny)

      ……………………………………..

3   Do you want to go out for a drink after work? (feel)

      ……………………………………..

4   My dad thought he might buy a new car soon. (consider)

      ……………………………………..

5   Why has Joe gone already? He didn’t say he had to leave early. (mention)

      ……………………………………..

6   Bill’s idea was that we could go for a walk along the river. (suggest)

      ……………………………………..

7   When you’ve written all the reports, let me see them to make sure they’re OK. (finish)

      ……………………………………..

8   After the police questioned her for an hour, the woman finally said that she’d stolen the books. (admit)

      ……………………………………..

9   I really hate it when I have to walk to work in the rain. (can’t stand)

      ……………………………………..

10   Can you open the window for me? (mind)

        ……………………………………..

F. Complete six or more of these sentences so that they are true for you. Include at least one gerund in each sentence.

1   Typical ways of greeting people in my culture are ……………………………………… .

2   I’m really looking forward to ……………………………………… .

3   One thing I really like doing is ……………………………………… .

4   Something I can’t stand other people doing is ……………………………………… .

5   Two things I’ve always really enjoyed doing are ……………………………………… .

6   The household job I always try to avoid doing is the ……………………………………… .

7   Two things I get nervous about are ……………………………………… .

8   Something I am more fond of now than in the past is ……………………………………… .

9   An unusual habit I have is ……………………………………… .

10   Two things I spend a lot of time doing are ……………………………………… .

G. Circle the correct option.

1   …………. is not recommended unless you know each other very well.

      a Hug     b Hugging     c To hug

2   …………. the best way to greet someone can make communication difficult.

      a No knowing

      b Not know

      c Not knowing

3   Can you recommend something …………. stopping birds from eating my seeds?

      a to     b by     c for

4 Would you mind …………. me that magazine?

      a passing     b pass     c to pass

5   She denied …………. who had stolen the money.

      a that she knew

      b her knowing

      c to know