THE GERUND THE GERUND This looks exactly the same as a present participle, and for this reason

it is now common to call both forms 'the -ing form'. However it is useful to understand the difference between the two. The gerund always has the same function as a noun (although it looks like a verb), so it can be used: a. as the subject of the sentence:

Eating people is wrong. Hunting tigers is dangerous. Flying makes me nervous. b. as the complement of the verb 'to be':

One of his duties is attending meetings. The hardest thing about learning English is understanding the gerund. One of life's pleasures is having breakfast in bed. c. after prepositions. The gerund must be used when a verb comes after a preposition:

Can you sneeze without opening your mouth? She is good at painting. They're keen on windsurfing.

She avoided him by walking on the opposite side of the road. We arrived in Madrid after driving all night. My father decided against postponing his trip to Hungary. This is also true of certain expressions ending in a preposition, e.g. in spite of, there's no point in..:

There's no point in waiting. In spite of missing the train, we arrived on time. d. after a number of 'phrasal verbs' which are composed of a verb + preposition/adverb Example: to look forward to, to give up, to be for/against, to take to, to put off, to keep on:

I look forward to hearing from you soon. (at the end of a letter) When are you going to give up smoking? She always puts off going to the dentist. He kept on asking for money. NOTE: There are some phrasal verbs and other expressions that include the word 'to' as a preposition, not as part of a to-infinitive: - to look forward to, to take to, to be accustomed to, to be used to. It is important to recognise that 'to' is a

preposition in these cases, as it must be followed by a gerund:

We are looking forward to seeing you. I am used to waiting for buses. She didn't really take to studying English.

COMPOUND NOUNS COMPOUND NOUNS Formation Words can be combined to form compound nouns. These are very common, and new combinations are invented almost daily. They normally have two parts. The second partidentifies the object or person in question (man, friend, tank, table, room). The first parttells us what kind of object or person it is, or what its purpose is (police, boy, water, dining, bed): What type / what purpose police boy water dining bed What or who man friend tank table room

The two parts may be written in a number of ways : 1. as one word. Example: policeman, boyfriend 2. as two words joined with a hyphen. Example: dining-table 3. as two separate words. Example: fish tank. There are no clear rules about this - so write the common compounds that you know well as one word, and the others as two words.

LIST OF SPECIAL NOUNS PLURAL IN FORM BUT SINGULAR IN MEANING

aerobics athletics billiards binoculars blues (type of music) civics crossroads darts dominoes economics eyeglasses gymnastics headquarters mathematics Example sentences: 1. Billiards is a game which connects mathematics and football. 2. What is the news? 3. Acoustics is the study of sounds. measles mumps news pants Philippines politics scissors series shingles shorts tongs trousers tweezers

Activity: From the list pick out the irregular noun that will make each sentence meaningful: billiards United States news aerobics arthritis mumps

1. The __________ spreads fast. 2. The __________ is a powerful country. 3. __________ is fun to play. 4. __________ helps make us physically fit. 5. __________ is common among the aging people.