Student Stumper 28: Gerunds v. Present Participles

QUESTION: What are all the ‘-ing’ words in the following sentence? He doesn’t like to waste time sitting around talking and drinking coffee.

ANSWER: I know there are some who don’t like using the term “gerund”, but I’m not part of that camp. In my mind, it’s easier to understand and teach English grammar when we distinguish gerunds from present participles. They both are formed by adding -ing to the base form of a verb, but that’s where their similarities end.*

Gerunds behave like nouns. They can be used as single words or in phrases.  Gerunds and gerund phrases can be subjects and objects. They can also be appositives and complements. Let me offer examples to illustrate.

1. Explaining grammar to students requires both logic and creativity. [gerund = subject]
2. I enjoy explaining grammar to students and discussing grammar with colleagues. [gerund = direct object; there are 2 objects of "enjoy"]
3. There’s much I love about teaching. [gerund = indirect object]
4. The last topic, teaching advanced grammar, caused anxiety for more than one trainee. [gerund = appositive (a reduced adjective clause)]
5. The challenge most find difficult to overcome is teaching mixed levels. [gerund = subject complement; "the challenge" = "teaching"]
6. I had some difficulty teaching mixed levels. [gerund = noun complement; "teaching mixed levels" helps to describe and limit "difficulty"]

Do you agree with all six examples? I think most student books limit the presentation of gerunds to their roles as subjects and objects, but Jay Maurer in Focus on Grammar 5: An Integrated Skills Approach (2006) does address gerunds as complements. His discussion in Unit 15 would add a seventh example to my list: “He spends time reading” (260). Maurer identifies “reading” as an object complement, that is, a complement in a noun phrase. “Reading” is a complement to “time”. He offers another example with a negative gerund: “She found him not working” (260). We can now identify “sitting” in our original statement as an object complement: (He doesn’t like to waste time sitting around talking and drinking coffee.)

All right. So let’s define present participles. In my understanding, they differ from gerunds in that they cannot behave like nouns. Present participles either function as verbs or adjectives. We see the present participle in progressive tenses and reduced adverb clauses. We also see present participles as modifiers. My examples:

1.  I am trying my best to explain my view on this grammar topic. [present participle as part of the present progressive]
2. When researching grammar topics, I often turn to gurus like Azar, Biber, Greenbaum, and Quirk. [present participle with an active meaning, reduced from "When I research"]
3. Grammar is not an interesting subject for anyone else in my family. [present participle as an adjective; it modifies "subject"]

Returning to the original statement, He doesn’t like to waste time sitting around talking and drinking coffee, I’d identify “talking and drinking” as present participles in an adverb phrase of time. There’s no subordinating conjunction, but the time relationship is clear. He can waste time and sit around while talking and drinking coffee. All the actions can be in progress at the same time.

Summary of answer: He doesn’t like + (what?) > The infinitive “to waste” is the object. “Time” is the object in the infinitive clause [to waste + (what?)]. “Sitting around” is the complement of “time”. “Talking and drinking coffee” is an adverbial phrase that expresses the idea “while”.

*I’ll end this discussion here, but I’m sure we can always continue it another time, especially since Biber, Conrad, et al could challenge me by asking me to identify the -ing word in the following example, which they give in Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English (2007): “There’s no denying it” (67).

Story Match: An Activity for Gerunds and Infinitives

The topic of gerunds and infinitives warrants multiple encounters throughout a language learner’s studies.  A playful yet meaningful way to do this is to use a matching activity in which students combine sentence halves and properly sequence the sentences to create a complete story. This approach allows the teacher to select target verb + gerund or verb + infinitive combinations and tailor the complexity of the sentences to the students’ level. Stories need to be only 10-12 sentences long.

Here’s a model story that’s appropriate for upper intermediate or advanced students. Below you will also find the story in PDF, which can be printed out.

“The Sighting”

Set 1 [verb + gerund]

• Last night I had just finished…  writing my last e-mail and was about to leave the office.
• I recall… walking toward the elevator when a bright light suddenly shone through the window.
• I confess… being scared at first, but then I simply became confused and curious. What was that outside?
• I saw no reason to put off…  finding out, so I slowly approached the window.

Set 2 [verb + infinitive]

• I attempted…  to see past the bright light to learn its source.
• Although I didn’t hear the noise usually associated with a helicopter, I still expected…  to find one flying outside the office window.
• To my surprise, I saw what appeared…  to be a small sphere, which was just big enough to hold one man.
• I managed…  to catch a glimpse of a figure inside – it was not the shape of a man or a woman.

Set 3 [verb + gerund or infinitive]

• As I stood looking at what I couldn’t even identify, I began…  to realize that I was probably seeing a UFO with an alien inside.
• The unidentified flying object continued…  hovering quietly outside the window but the light was now turned low.
• I couldn’t stand…  waiting and not knowing, so I made the next move. I raised my hand in greeting.
• Just before the UFO flew away, I saw the creature’s strange hand go up, and I like…  to think that it was returning my greeting. In fact, I’m sure it was. Now who will believe me?

Story Match Activity (pdf file)

Suggested Steps:

Step 1 – Copy enough sets for pairs or small groups of three. Cut out the strips. Keeping the sentences halves in the appropriate sets, mix the strips.

Step 2 - Hand out one set at a time to the class. Allow students 3-5 minutes to construct the story by matching the beginning to the endings.

Step 3 - When all groups have made their matches, have a volunteer read their group’s sequence of sentences. Invite other groups to confirm or challenge the sequence read. Use this same format for all three sets.

Trying to Learn Confusing Combinations: More Activities for Gerunds and Infinitives

In my previous post, I offered two ideas for classroom practice with the verbs forget and remember. Of course, there are other verbs that have significant meaning changes when followed by either a gerund or an infinitive. Here are two more activities for two more such verbs, try and stop.

1) Future Goals. Ask students to think about what they’d like to achieve within the next five years in one or two aspects of their life: career, education, or personal life. Have them write down 1-2 specific goals using either want or would like. Models: I want to finish college in three years. I would like to find a job here in the U.S. after graduation. Place students in groups of 2 or 3. Students will take turns sharing their goals. After one student reads a sentence, the students listening must ask about specific plans. Provide a prompt: How do you plan to achieve that? The answer must include try + infinitive. Model: I’ll try to finish college in three years by taking five courses each semester. The listeners are encouraged to make suggestions using try + gerund, for example, I think that’s possible, but maybe you should just try taking four courses in your first semester. After you know for sure that you can handle all that work, then you can try enrolling in five.

 

2) Ask the Experts. Find or create fictitious letters asking for advice. Dear Abby could help you generate content. Look at the original letters and rewirte them to make the text more concise and to include stop + gerund/infinitive.  You can start with these three:

• (a) I don’t know what to do. I want to invite my friend to do things like we used to do things. I want some time for just us girls, but she keeps bringing her new boyfriend along. He’s not a bad person, but he does talk a lot. It’s hard to feel close to my girlfriend when he’s always around. Do you think I should ask my friend to stop bringing her boyfriend along when I invite her somewhere? I want her to be happy with this guy, but I want to spend time with her, too.  - Missing my best friend.
• (b) Please help me. I’m seventeen years old, and my mother treats me like I’m five. She likes to make my bed in the morning, choose my clothes, and kiss me goodbye when I leave for school. When I come home, she wants to fix me a snack and talk about my day. I love her, but she’s loving me to death. I want her to stop treating me like a small child. I need some more independence. When I try telling her this, she cries. – A loving son who needs more space.
• (c) I’m turning to you for advice. I work in a big office, and we all have our work to do. One of my co-workers, however, often asks me for help. I like to think I’m a helpful person, but some of the tasks he’s asking me to assist him with are tasks he should be able to do on his own. I can’t believe he got the job in the first place and he doesn’t know how to write a request letter or type up a report. He needs to try to do these things on his own and stop pestering me.  Advice? - Annoyed co-worker.

Place students in small groups. Hand out one letter to each group. Tell them that they are a writing team for a popular advice column in a newspaper. They must write 4-5 lines of advice and use at least one combination of stop + gerund. Encourage them to include other combinations if possible, such as try + gerund/ infinitive. Model:

• (a) Dear Missing My Best Friend,  Stop feeling guilty. It isn’t a bad thing to want girl time with your best friend. Try telling her exactly what you told me. You want her to be happy, you think her boyfriend is a good guy, but you miss spending time with her.

If time allows, have groups switch letters so that more advice can be generated. Also, you can have groups compare their reponses to the same letters.

Activities Worth Remembering: Classroom Ideas for Teaching Gerunds and Infinitives

As we know, there’s a tricky group of verbs that can be followed by either a gerund or an infinitive. The bigger challenge is learning and remembering when there’s a significant change in meaning. I think actual use of the verb + gerund/ infinitive combinations is necessary to drive this language point home. Creating a memorable context is also key.  Here are two ideas for the verbs forget and remember.

1) Consequences.  Explain that you will ask a question using the verb remember. Students must write down an answer in a complete sentence using the verb forget. Example: Why should I always remember to lock my car door?  – If you forget to lock your car door, someone could steal your car. Other questions:

• Why should I remember to brush my teeth at least two times a day?
• Why should people remember to send birthday wishes to family and friends?
• Why should you remember to say “please” and “thank you” to your co-workers?
• Why should children remember to clean up their toys?
• Why should politicians remember to keep their promises to electors?

After students have written their answers to all the questions, pair them up or place them in small groups of three. Let them compare answers. Encourage peer feedback. Additional practice can be created by having the students change the original questions to interview questions: Do you remember to brush your teeth two times a day? Do you remember to send birthday wishes to family and friends? Etc.

2) Photographic Memory.  Ask students to bring in a photo from a fun trip or event. Bring one of your own to model the exercise. Show your photo to the students and talk about what you remember about that moment: I remember taking this picture. It was a weekend in July. My family was at the beach. I remember asking my sister to take the picture quickly because the sun was in my eyes. It was a beautiful, sunny day. Highlight your use of remember + gerund to recall a memory. Place students in small groups of 3 or 4 and have them share their photos and their memories of taking those photos. The must use at least one example of remember + gerund. After a few minutes, have the groups change so that students can share the memories with different classmates.

Suggestion: If you’re working with young ELLs, you might ask them to draw a picture of a fun trip they took. When they show their drawings to their classmates, the same basic process of recalling can take place: This is a picture of my family at the beach. We went there one weekend in July. I remember playing with my sister. I remember swimming in the cold water. I remember eating snacks that my mother brought from home.

Workaholics: An exercise to practice gerunds and infinitives

I’ve shared at least one activity in the past for gerunds and infinitives. The following is an activity on the same topic, but it focuses on changes in meaning. This would be ideal to do after a presentation on verbs such as stop, forget, remember, and try.

Level: Intermediate to advanced.

STEP 1: Discuss the meaning of workaholic. Ask students to give examples of things workaholics do or don’t do. Ask them what advice they would give to a friend who is a workaholic.

STEP 2: Distribute copies of the dialog to the class. (Greener alternative: Write it on the board and have students copy it in their notebooks.) Tell students that they will work in pairs to complete the conversation. All nine blanks must be filled in with either a gerund or an infinitive. Each pair will be assigned roles. Each pair of roles will be a workaholic and a concerned friend/ peer.

                Suggested roles:

• 2 college students
• 2 co-workers
• 2 athletes
• 2 famous actors
• 2 single parents
• 2 politicians

 

DIALOG:

 

A:            Are you okay?

B:            Yes, I’m just a little tired.

A:            You really should stop ____(1)_____. It’s not healthy.

B:            I know I’m trying to do too much, but I’m not sure I can slow down. People expect me ____(2)_____.

A:            You don’t have to stop ___(3)______, but you need to remember             ____(4)_____.

B:            It’s true. You know, sometimes I even forget _____(5)_____. I never seem to have enough time ____(6)_____.

A:            That’s not good. Maybe you should try ____(7)_____. A lot of people say that’s a good way to relax. I think you’d enjoy ____(8)_____.

B:            You’re right. I need to make some changes, don’t I? Tell you what, I’m going to start _____(9)_____.

A:            Glad to hear it!

 

STEP 3: Pairs will present their dialogs to the class. After each reading, invite feedback. Ask if all the choices were accurate and logical. Highlight the verbs that have a change in meaning depending on what they’re followed by.

Activity for Learning Gerunds and Infinitives

In my last entry, I offered four tips for learning how to use gerunds and infinitives as direct objects. Here is an activity to help students apply those tips:

• Step 1: Use a grammar reference chart such as the one in Focus on Grammar (High Intermediate, Chart No. 3, A-2). Select either a column or row of verbs. To illustrate, I’ll choose the top row from this chart: acknowledge, consider, endure, give up, miss, quit, and resist.
• Step 2: Identify the grammatical structure the verbs require (followed by gerunds? followed by infinitives? etc.)  The seven selected items above are verbs followed by the gerund.
• Step 3: Ask students to create a short text in a small group. Their goal is to include all seven verbs followed by gerunds. Set a time limit. Groups can share their texts with the whole class.

            Model:

Jack and Jill take Spanish classes together, but Jill recently quit going. Jill told Jack that she wanted to give up learning Spanish. She said classes were too hard, and she missed watching her favorite TV programs at night. Jack acknowledged having difficulty in class as well, but he told Jill to resist taking the easier path.  He won’t consider quitting for anything. He’s ready to endure losing TV time, Internet time, and time with friends to reach his goal of learning Spanish.

Some groups may not be able to incorporate all seven verbs in their texts. Accept what they are capable of, and consider working as a class to expand a given text so as to include any remaining verbs.

• Step 4: Ask the same groups to develop questions using phrases from their texts. They should use at least half of the verbs from the original list. Explain that they will be asking their classmates these questions. What would they like to know about their classmates?

           Model:

1.      When you study English at home, do you miss doing other things like watching TV?

2.       Have you ever considered quitting your English studies?

3.       Are you someone who resists taking the easier path in life?

Students should then pair up with a classmate from another group and take turns asking questions.

• Step 5: As independent study, students can write answers to their own questions from Step 4.

Helping Students Learn Gerunds and Infinitives

I always hate to disappoint students by telling them that there’s no shortcut to learning which verbs are followed by gerunds and which ones are followed by infinitives. I try to offset that disappointment with a degree of optimism. When I ask them to give me examples using common verbs such as want, need, and enjoy, they almost always produce accurate statements using gerunds and infinitives as direct objects. I then point out that they knew what to choose – gerund or infinitive – because they use those verbs so frequently. It’s then possible to conclude that the more they practice, the more confident they’ll be of their choices. Here are some tips for students to use in their efforts to memorize the many verbs that take gerunds and/or infinitives as direct objects:

• It doesn’t have to be a guessing game. There are good charts for reference both in grammar textbooks and on the Internet. Focus on Grammar includes such carts in the Intermediate, High Intermediate, and Advanced books, and Betty Azar offers a chart complete with useful examples in Understanding and Using English Grammar. Consider these links, too:

http://cctc2.commnet.edu/sensen/part4/gerund.html

http://www.iei.uiuc.edu/structure/structure1/gerinfvbs.html

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/627/04/

• Learn new verb + object combinations as one of four types: (1) verb + gerund, (2) verb + infinitive, (3) verb + gerund or infinitive with little or no difference in meaning, (4) verb + gerund or infinitive with a change in meaning.
• Practice with reasonable limitations. If a reference chart lists 50 verb +object combinations, it’s not realistic to memorize all 50 in one night and expect to retain it all for a long term. It would be more effective to practice groups of verbs from the chart over the course of a week or so.
• Practice by using the verbs in a meaningful context. Much like vocabulary is learned, the use of gerunds and infinitives as direct objects will be memorized and retained when the many combinations are encountered frequently and practiced in meaningful contexts.

As teachers, we can aid our students by showing them how to apply these tips. In my next entry I’ll share an activity for gerunds and infinitives.

Creative Writing Task: How to Incite a Revolution

Level: Advanced                

Writing Skills Focus: Creating a tone; awareness of audience and purpose                                         

Task: To write a short humorous speech inciting a revolution among either a group of animals or inanimate objects.

 

Step 1:  On the board write Household Appliances. Ask the students to list several examples.

Step 2: Ask students to imagine those appliances capable of thought and feeling. If appliances could complain about something, what would they complain about?

Step 3: Teacher reads the model speech. (The more dramatic, the better.)

My dear fellow household appliances, it’s time for us to recognize the long period of human domination. For decades now, men and women have used us to make their lives easier. But I ask you: who worries about making our lives easier?

The other day my friend from the closet told me her sad story. She’s a vacuum cleaner, and she’s been in the household for about four years now.  Although she’s often bumped and dropped, she’s provided quality cleaning week after week. Sadly, the human family is now talking about buying a sleeker, lighter model. This new purchase would put my friend out with the trash. This is how the human family plans to reward reliability and strong performance. Does this story sound familiar? How many friends have you all lost because of the humans’ obsession with technological advances? Out with the old and in with the new! That’s what they do. There’s no appreciation or loyalty.

Let’s unite and save ourselves from the garbage dump. Let’s act together and give this house the kind of cleaning it needs. Let’s throw out the humans before they throw us out. My fellow appliances, it’s now or never. Join me!

Step 4: Pass out copies of the model speech. Looking together, identify the audience: “fellow household appliances”.  Then identify the purpose of the speech: “recognize…human domination”/ “unite and save ourselves”/ “throw out the humans”.

Step 5: Discuss how awareness of audience and purpose affects language. What is the tone of the speech? Note, for example, how “My dear fellow…” and use of the first person plural creates comradery and unity. Note how use of direct questions and the imperative creates a sense of urgency.

Step 6: Identify the purpose of each paragraph. The introduction addresses the audience and states a position. The main paragraph uses specific examples to build an argument. The final paragraph concludes that action must be taken.

Step 7: Help students generate ideas for their own compositions. My original inspiration was Orwell’s Animal Farm. This led to one student writing a speech to incite a revolution among chickens against their farmer. Another student came up with the unique and entertaining idea of hair revolting against their owner; the speech made a case for falling out together in protest and rendering the human bald.

Step 8: After editing and revising their compositions, allows students to share their speeches. Oral presentations are ideal.

ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS: With the same model speech but a different presentation, this task could be turned into a grammar lesson on verb tenses (e.g., the present perfect contrasted with other tenses) or the gerund (i.e., gerund v. the infinitive).