Grade
11
NAME
pp. 141–142
Not every -ing
word is a gerund.
The word must
function as a noun
in the sentence.
Gerunds and Gerund Phrases
EXERCISE 1
Finding Gerunds and Gerund Phrases
Read the magazine article below. Draw a box around each gerund or gerund phrase.
EXAMPLE Becoming an emu owner was a surprise to Gillian Stone.
Shopping is fun—especially when it leads to a surprise. 2Gillian Stone was
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enjoying a day at a farmers’ market when she saw emu eggs on sale. 3Deciding to buy
Gerund phrase:
Reading my
favorite magazine
is fun.
three of the eggs, Gillian took them home with her and put them in an incubator.
Two of the eggs did not hatch, but hatching the third took just a few days. 5By
4
Participial phrase:
Reading quickly, I
finished the entire
magazine.
heating the third egg, Stone became the proud owner of a baby emu named Osborne.
Growing to six feet tall is not unusual for the emu, a flightless Australian bird.
6
Verb phrase:
Mark is reading it
now.
Raising such a large bird in Stone’s home would be impossible, but she owns
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farmland nearby. 8She reports that Osborne is healthy. 9He is gaining weight each
day. 10Eating, sleeping, and exploring are his three favorite pastimes.
EXERCISE 2
Writing with Gerunds and Gerund Phrases
You are the assignment editor of a magazine. For each bulleted item below, write a sentence
about whether it would make an interesting topic for your magazine. Each sentence should
use at least one gerund or gerund phrase.
EXAMPLE how to waterski
Our readers would like to learn about waterskiing.
• learn how to cook vegetarian meals • take a local minivacation
• students who start and run a business
• careers in forensic medicine
• how to find the best summer job
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Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. Permission to duplicate classroom quantities granted to users of Grammar for Writing.
Lesson 11.7.4