People
usually engage to various activities to keep them involved in the community as
well as to help others. Do you do this too? Read the sentences below and note
the underlined words:
1.
Studying and excelling in many
extra-curricular programs and in my church cell group have given me
opportunities to improve and to help in my school and community.
2.
Some activities that make me happy are doing
volunteer work and pursuing my career.
3.
I have learned about sharing through this
volunteer work.
4.
I enjoyed helping nuns, teaching
orphans, and giving assistance to senior citizens.
5.
My passion, helping other people, gives
me satisfaction.
Look at
the underlined words and phrases in the sentences above. Those words are
examples of gerund. A gerund is a word that ends with –ing and
is formed from a verb but functions as a noun specifically used as a subject,
subject complement, direct object, object of the preposition, and as an
appositive.
Examples:
1.
Subject
Reading
can help widen your vocabulary.
2.
Subject Complement
Her
favorite hobby is reading story books.
3.
Direct Object
The
class prefers reading story books than poems.
4.
Object preposition
One
can acquire a wider vocabulary by reading.
5.
Appositive
Her
favorite past time, reading novels, makes her a good writer.
Task: Write a response and give the letter sender an advice.
Your response must include the use of gerund and gerund phrase.
Dear diary,
I don't know what to do. I want to invite my friend to do things like we used to do. 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 girl friend 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
