📝 Daily Practice
🎯 Lesson Goal
In this lesson, you will learn how to use gerunds correctly when talking about learning languages. Gerunds (verbs ending in -ing) are often used after certain verbs, prepositions, and expressions. This helps you describe activities, preferences, and experiences in a natural and fluent way.
🧠 Grammar Focus
Gerunds are verb forms ending in -ing that function as nouns. We use gerunds after verbs like ‘enjoy’, ‘consider’, and ‘avoid’, after prepositions, and as the subject or object of a sentence. For example, after ‘I enjoy learning languages,’ ‘learning’ is a gerund. Gerunds often describe general activities or ideas, especially when discussing habits, preferences, or experiences. The basic structure is subject + verb + gerund or preposition + gerund. For example, ‘She suggested trying a new method,’ or ‘He is interested in practicing speaking.’ Gerunds help communicate ongoing or repeated actions smoothly.
📖 Short Reading
Anna has always enjoyed learning languages. She believes that practicing speaking regularly is the best way to improve fluency. Instead of just reading books, she focuses on listening and speaking every day. Anna avoids memorizing vocabulary alone because she thinks it is less effective. Last year, she started using online apps, which she finds useful for learning anytime. She also considers joining language exchange groups to get more practice. Anna’s goal is improving communication skills by making learning fun and practical. She suggests combining watching films and speaking with native speakers to stay motivated and keep improving.
✏️ Exercise 1 – Fill in the Blanks
1. She enjoys ____ (learning / to learn / learn) new languages in her free time.
2. They suggest ____ (practice / practicing / to practice) speaking with native speakers.
3. He is interested in ____ (improve / improving / to improve) his pronunciation.
4. Anna avoids ____ (memorizing / memorize / to memorize) vocabulary without using it.
5. We considered ____ (joining / to join / join) a language exchange group.
6. Do you mind ____ (help / helping / to help) me with my language practice?
7. She stopped ____ (use / using / to use) apps last year.
8. He looked forward to ____ (travel / traveling / to travel) abroad to practice speaking.
🔗 Exercise 2 – Matching
1. Enjoy
2. Avoid
3. Suggest
4. Focus on
5. Consider
6. Look forward to
7. Interested in
8. Stop
✅ Exercise 3 – Multiple Choice
1. What is the gerund in the sentence: ‘She enjoys learning languages’?
2. Choose the correct sentence with a gerund:
3. Which verb correctly follows a gerund?
4. Complete: ‘I am interested in ____ new vocabulary every day.’
5. Which phrase uses a gerund after a preposition?
6. Choose the correct sentence:
7. Select the correct form: ‘We considered ____ abroad for practice.’
8. After ‘look forward to’, what form do we use?
📝 Writing Practice
1. Write 3-5 sentences about a language you are learning or want to learn. Explain what you enjoy doing, what you avoid, and any plans you have to improve your skills.
📚 Key Vocabulary
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| gerund | a verb form ending in -ing used as a noun |
| fluency | the ability to speak a language smoothly and easily |
| practice | doing an activity repeatedly to improve skill |
| memorizING | learning something by heart |
| avoid | to keep away from something |
| improving | making something better |
| suggest | to recommend an idea or action |
| focus on | to pay attention to |
| consider | to think about something carefully |
| motivated | feeling eager to do something |
| communication | sharing information or ideas |
| language exchange | a meeting where people practice languages together |
| native speaker | a person who speaks a language as their first language |
🔎 Answer Key
- exercise_1_fill_blanks: 1.learning 2.practicing 3.improving 4.memorizing 5.joining 6.helping 7.using 8.traveling
- exercise_2_matching: 1.Enjoy – learning new skills 2.Avoid – memorizing without context 3.Suggest – joining a conversation group 4.Focus on – practicing speaking daily 5.Consider – using online resources 6.Look forward to – traveling abroad 7.Interested in – improving pronunciation 8.Stop – using ineffective methods
- exercise_3_multiple_choice: 1.learning 2.He suggested visiting the language school. 3.avoid 4.learning 5.He is good at speaking. 6.She stopped studying at 7 pm. 7.traveling 8.gerund
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