Cooking is my favorite thing to do.

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Gerund as Subject, Object

Intermediate

Previously, we used a person, place, or thing as the subject of the sentence. With gerunds, you will be able to focus on actions.

Exercise 1

Sentence Practice

Reading is her favorite hobby.
I love reading.
Studying online is very convenient.
I like studying English.
Writing is more difficult than reading.

Grammar Focus

Gerund

Gerund is a verb form that allows verbs to function as nouns.

Cigarettes are bad for your health.
Smoking cigarettes is bad for your health.

In sentence 1, the subject is a noun ('cigarettes'). In sentence 2, the subject is a gerund verb phrase ('smoking cigarettes').

How do we form gerunds?

Gerunds take the same -ing ending as the present participle:

I am eating. → Eating too much is unhealthy.
She is singing. → She likes singing.

How do we use gerunds?

We use gerunds as:

subjects: Hiking is good for your health.
objects: He enjoys hiking.
subject complements: My favorite activity is hiking.
objects of prepositions: I asked him about hiking up Mt. Everest.

This lesson covers the first two functions.

Exercise 2

Dialogue Practice

Read the dialogues aloud with your tutor.

	Police Officer Texting while driving is dangerous. I'm giving you a ticket.
	Andrei I'm so sorry. Please don't give me a ticket. I hate getting tickets!

	Hyun-woo How is your job hunt?
	Patricia It's frustrating. Getting a job is so hard.

	Phuong Playing tennis is a great way to spend the afternoon.
	Olivia Yeah, I love playing tennis.

	Doctor Drinking too much coffee is bad for your health.
	Mark Smith Yes, but I need coffee. Drinking coffee wakes me up, and I hate waking up.

Exercise 3

Fill in the Blanks

Fill in the blanks with the gerund form of the verb provided.

Example

Everyone likes (sing) in the shower. → "singing"

(Play) with my dog is relaxing.

(Cook) good food is hard.

(Listen) to music distracts me from my work.

My hobby is (hike).

(Drown) is my worst fear.

She does not like (talk) about her past.

My main interest is (sing) opera.

Exercise 4

Sentence Building

Your friend lives a very unhealthy lifestyle. In brackets [] are some actions he can take to lead a healthier life, followed by the benefits. Give him some advice by turning the actions in brackets into the gerund form.

Example

[Sleep eight hours a day] make your body stronger → Sleeping eight hours a day will make your body stronger.

[Exercise] keep you fit
[Watch less TV] good for eyes
[Eat slowly] help you digest better
[Drink less alcohol] keep your liver healthy
[Drink more water] stay hydrated