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You are here: Home / Exercises / Verb patterns with gerund

Verb patterns with gerund

December 25, 2010 - pdf

Do a lot of + gerund

This construction is used to emphasize the frequency with which an action is performed.  Study the following sentences.

  • He does a lot of reading. (Affirmative)
  • He doesn’t do much reading. (Negative)
  • I used to do a lot of gardening. (Affirmative)
  • I don’t do much gardening these days. (Negative)
  • My job requires me to do a lot of traveling.
  • I hate having to do much traveling.

Notes

We use much / many in negative and interrogatives sentences. In affirmative sentences longer expressions like ‘a lot of / plenty of / a great deal of’ etc are used.

Exercise

Rewrite the following sentences using the do a lot of + gerund constructions.

1. I rode a lot in my youth.
2. He drank too much last night.
3. The old woman talks too much.
4. We used to read a lot when we were at university.

Answers

1. I did a lot of riding in my youth.
2. He did a lot of drinking last night.
3. The old woman does a lot of talking.
4. We did a lot of reading when were at university.

How about / what about + gerund

These expressions are used to seek an opinion or propose a suggestion. They are used at the beginning of a question. Note that how about / what about cannot be followed by an infinitive.

  • How about hiring a cab? (NOT How about to hire a cab?)
  • What about buying ourselves a drink?
  • How about going to the movies?
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