Shortening Sentences with Gerund Phrases

Gerunds
Shortening Sentences with Gerund Phrases	Framed \| Unframed

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After certain verbs sentences can be shortened by using gerund phrases.

sheep on the road

We saw sheep. They were walking on the road.	We saw sheep walking on the road.
We heard sheep. They were making "baaaa" sounds.	We heard sheep making "baaaa" sounds.
The dogs caught the sheep. They were escaping from their pen.	The dogs caught the sheep escaping from their pen.

Gerunds after "had" expressions

payphone

We had trouble. We were finding a pay phone.	We had trouble finding a pay phone.
We had difficulty. We were getting an appointment.	We had difficulty getting an appointment.
We had a hard time. We were playing "ultimate frisbee".	We had a hard time playing "ultimate frisbee".
We had *a ball We were singing karioke.	We had a ball singing karioke.

* a ball = fun

Gerunds after sensory-perception verbs

We smelled a skunk. It was passing by.	We smelled a skunk passing by.
We saw the birds. They were flying away.	We saw the birds flying (fly) away.
We heard the neighbors. They were leaving at 7:00 am.	We heard the neighbors leaving (leave) at 7:00 am.
We watched her. She was cooking dinner.	We watched her cooking (cook) dinner.
We felt the temperature It was rising.	We felt the temperature rising.
We observed the doctor. He was doing open-heart surgery.	We observed the doctor doing open-heart surgery.
We noticed him. He was putting something in his pocket.	We noticed him putting something in his pocket.

Gerunds after see, sit, stand, lie-around, find, waste, catch

man in wheel

He sat eating his dinner.	He sat eating his dinner.
People waste energy "reinventing the wheel".	People waste energy "reinventing the wheel".
He stood watching the concert.	He stood watching the concert.
He lies around watching television all weekend.	He lies around watching television all weekend.
They found the thief hiding in the back of the store.	They found the thief hiding in the back of the store.
She caught us. We were smoking inside the house.	She caught us smoking in the inside the house.

Also see That + Be deletion for shortening sentences with clauses.

Practice

Detective Report: Making Observations

Fill in the blanks with the correct verb form: infinitive (to+verb) or gerund (verb-ing)
Then, check your answer.

detective

#	YOUR RESPONSE	HINTS
1.	7:00 p.m. - Bill is observed (sit) at the dinner table of his suburban home. He goes on (eat) until 7:45 p.m.
2.	9:20 p.m. - Bill is sitting (read) newspaper while his wife is standing (wash) dishes. He appears (be) ready to join her for the evening.
3.	10:00 p.m. - Bill is seen (check) his email while his wife is lying on the couch (watch) television. Bill's wife is begging him (come) and sit with her for awhile.
4.	11:00 p.m. - Bill wastes little time (get) to his stocks on the Internet. Meanwhile, his wife is having a hard time (wait) for him to come and join her.
5.	11:30 p.m. - Later, Bill's wife has him (take) out the garbage. He takes out the garbage and then, the detective sees* him (sneak) back into his office.
6.	12:00 a.m. - The detective notices a "glow" (come) from the office.
7.	12:30 a.m. Bill's wife opens the office door and catches him (sitting) in front of his computer again.
8.	1:00 a.m. - Bill's wife goes to bed. She has trouble (understand) why Bill finds his computer more appealing than her!
		Use cursor to scroll text if needed.

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Julie Sevastopoulos - ESL Department - College of San Mateo - San Mateo, CA 94402 USA