Gerunds – English Grammar Exercises for A2
Choose the best answer (A, B, or C) to complete each sentence. The context of this test is posting a status update or texting your family/friends to share that you have just started a new soft skills course.
1 Guess what? I just started ______ a new communication skills course today!
(a) taking
(b) to taking
(c) take
2 I really enjoy ______ new people from different cities in my online class.
(a) meet
(b) meeting
(c) to meet
3 This morning, we began ______ about the importance of body language.
(a) learning
(b) learn
(c) learned
4 I am so excited about ______ my public speaking skills this month.
(a) to improve
(b) improve
(c) improving
5 The teacher told us to keep ______ even when we feel nervous or shy.
(a) practicing
(b) practice
(c) to practice
6 In our first lesson, we practiced ______ clear and confident speeches.
(a) give
(b) giving
(c) to give
7 I am not very good at ______ to others, so this soft skills course is perfect for me.
(a) listening
(b) listen
(c) to listen
8 Hey Mom, how about ______ me practice my presentation tonight after dinner?
(a) to help
(b) help
(c) helping
9 Instead of ______ quiet, I am finally learning to speak up in group discussions.
(a) being
(b) be
(c) to be
10 I need to finish ______ my speech draft before I can go out with you guys.
(a) writing
(b) write
(c) to write
11 My instructor suggested ______ a daily journal to track our personal progress.
(a) keep
(b) to keep
(c) keeping
12 It feels strange, but I am getting used to ______ in front of a camera.
(a) speaking
(b) speak
(c) to speak
13 We actually spend a lot of time ______ our teamwork skills in small breakout rooms.
(a) develop
(b) developing
(c) to develop
14 Are any of you interested in ______ a soft skills club with me after this course?
(a) joining
(b) join
(c) to join
15 I am already looking forward to ______ my certificate next month!
(a) to get
(b) get
(c) getting
16 The teacher praised me for not ______ up during the difficult negotiation game.
(a) giving
(b) give
(c) to give
17 By the end of the day, I was completely tired of ______ but very happy with myself.
(a) to study
(b) studying
(c) study
18 You cannot improve your confidence without ______ out of your comfort zone.
(a) stepping
(b) step
(c) to step
19 I absolutely love ______ role-play activities to practice real-life situations.
(a) doing
(b) do
(c) to doing
20 Smiling naturally and ______ eye contact are the first two things we mastered today.
(a) make
(b) making
(c) to make
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (a)
Explanation: “Taking” is correct. After the verb “start,” we usually use a gerund (V-ing) to emphasize a newly initiated process or habit. (b) “to taking” is structurally incorrect. (c) “take” is an invalid bare infinitive.
2 (b)
Explanation: “Meeting” is correct. The verb “enjoy” must always be followed by a gerund. (c) “to meet” is a common trap caused by word-for-word translation. (a) is a structural error.
3 (a)
Explanation: “Learning” is grammatically correct. Similar to “start,” we use a gerund after “begin” to describe starting an ongoing process. (b) and (c) are incorrect verb forms.
4 (c)
Explanation: “Improving” comes immediately after the preposition “about” (in the phrase “excited about”). Any verb following a preposition must be a gerund. (a) and (b) are basic grammatical errors.
5 (a)
Explanation: “Practicing” is correct. The verb “keep” (when it means to continue doing something) must be followed by a gerund. (c) “to practice” is a very common learner mistake. (b) is incorrect.
6 (b)
Explanation: “Giving” is correct. The verb “practice” ALWAYS takes a gerund because you are actively engaged in a process. Drop the ‘e’ from “give” to form “giving”. (c) “to give” is a serious error. (a) is structurally invalid.
7 (a)
Explanation: “Listening” correctly follows the preposition “at” (good at). (b) and (c) violate the preposition rule.
8 (c)
Explanation: “Helping” is correct. The phrase for making suggestions, “How about…?”, ends with the preposition “about”, requiring a V-ing form. (a) and (b) are structurally incorrect.
9 (a)
Explanation: “Being” is correct because it follows the preposition “of” in the phrase “Instead of”. (b) and (c) are grammatically invalid after a preposition.
10 (a)
Explanation: The verb “finish” requires a gerund object to represent an ongoing process that has just concluded. (c) “to write” is a common error. (b) is a bare verb.
11 (c)
Explanation: The verb “suggest” must be followed by a gerund when proposing an action or idea. (b) “to keep” is a frequent cognitive error. (a) is incorrect.
12 (a)
Explanation: THIS IS A TRICKY ONE. In the phrase “get used to” (meaning to become accustomed to something), the word “to” is a PREPOSITION. Therefore, it must be followed by a gerund (“speaking”). (c) “to speak” is a classic mistake at this level. (b) is a bare verb.
13 (b)
Explanation: The correct structure is “spend time + V-ing”. (a) and (c) are grammatical errors.
14 (a)
Explanation: “Joining” directly follows the preposition “in” (interested in). (b) and (c) break the preposition rule.
15 (c)
Explanation: ANOTHER TRICKY ONE. The phrase “look forward to” (expecting something eagerly) contains the preposition “to”, so it requires a gerund (“getting”). Because “get” is a one-syllable verb ending in a consonant-vowel-consonant (C-V-C), you must double the ‘t’. (b) “get” is a common error. (a) is invalid.
16 (a)
Explanation: Following the preposition “for”, you must use a gerund. To make it negative, simply place the word “not” right before the V-ing (“not giving”). (b) and (c) are incorrect.
17 (b)
Explanation: “Studying” correctly follows the preposition “of” (tired of). Just add “-ing” to the base verb; do not drop the ‘y’. (a) and (c) are structurally incorrect.
18 (a)
Explanation: The preposition “without” must be followed by a gerund. The verb “step” follows the C-V-C rule, so you must double the ‘p’ to make “stepping”. (b) and (c) are basic grammatical mistakes.
19 (a)
Explanation: After the verb “love” (which expresses a preference), we use a gerund to describe a hobby, habit, or recurring activity. (c) “to doing” incorrectly combines an infinitive marker with a gerund. (b) is a bare verb.
20 (b)
Explanation: Parallel structure. The subjects of this sentence are connected by the conjunction “and”. Since the first part is a gerund (“Smiling”), the second part must also be a gerund (“making”) to keep the sentence balanced and grammatically consistent. Drop the ‘e’ from “make”. (a) and (c) are incorrect.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Process Focus: When you want to talk about a new habit, course, or training process, use a Gerund (V-ing) after verbs such as: start, begin, practice, keep, finish.
- Example: I practice giving speeches.
- The Preposition Rule: This is an absolute rule in English grammar: Whenever a verb is placed immediately after a preposition (about, in, at, of, for, without, instead of…), it MUST take the V-ing form.
- The “To” Exceptions: Usually, the word “to” is paired with a base verb to form an infinitive (to go, to play). However, in professional communication or personal updates, there are two highly common phrases where “to” acts as a PREPOSITION, thereby requiring a Gerund:
- Look forward to + V-ing: Eagerly expecting something (I look forward to getting my certificate).
- Get/Be used to + V-ing: Becoming or being accustomed to something (I am used to speaking in public).
- Parallelism: When listing multiple activities separated by “and” or “or,” you must keep the grammatical forms identical. If the first activity uses a Gerund, the subsequent activities must also use a Gerund to maintain balance (Smiling and making eye contact…).