Gerunds & Infinitives: Speaking Activity
This speaking activity is designed to practise using gerunds and infinitives in context. If you want to study the rules for when to use each of these verb forms, check out the gerunds and infinitives lesson here. If you want to check your understanding, there are plenty of interactive gerunds and infinitives exercises here.
Knowing which verb form to use can make a big difference to your English level. Use these conversation questions to practise using gerunds and infinitives in context and master these verb forms!
Gerunds and Infinitives Speaking Activity: Using Gerunds in Context
Contents
- Using gerunds after prepositions
- Using gerunds as subjects or objects
- Using gerunds after some verbs
- Using infinitives after adjectives
- Using infinitives for motive or purpose
- Using infinitives after some verbs
- Using bare infinitives after modal verbs, make and let
- Talking about verbs that can be followed by gerunds or infinitives but with a change in meaning
Gerunds after Prepositions
If we use a verb after a preposition, that verb has to be in the gerund form.
Complete these sentences so that they are true for you then compare with a partner. Try to use each sentence as the start of a short conversation.
- I always feel tired after ____ing….
- When I’m stressed I relax by _____ing…
- I have a talent for _______ing…
- I’m really interested in ________ing…
- I’m not very good at ______ing…
- I’m quite proud of _______ing…
- I worry about _____ing…
- I want to succeed in ______ing…
- I’m really grateful for ______ing..
Gerunds as Subjects or Objects
Complete these sentences so that they are true for you then compare with a partner.
- Something that I really enjoy is ______ing…
- _________ is good for you.
- ________ is one aspect of housework that I really don’t enjoy.
- ____________ is one of the most important things in life.
Discuss these sentences. Try to repeat the gerund verb as much as possible in context.
- Living in the city is better than living in the country.
- Being famous would be awful for lots of reasons.
- Working hard will make you rich.
- Being nice is more important than being successful.
- Voting is important.
- Being rich is more important than being healthy.
- Travelling is one of the best ways to learn about people and cultures.
- Being happy all the time isn’t a realistic objective.
- Learning another language is one of the best things you can do with your time.
Gerunds after some verbs
Complete these sentences with a verb in the gerund so that they are true for you then compare with a partner.
- At the moment I really feel like …
- I really enjoy …
- I should probably give up…
- I can’t imagine …
- I’m really looking forward to…
- I really regret…
- If I went to live somewhere else I’d really miss…
- If someone visited my city I’d suggest…
Gerunds and Infinitives Speaking Activity: Using Infinitives in Context
Infinitives after adjectives.
Complete these sentences with a verb in the infinitive so that they are true for you then compare with a partner.
- I find it really difficult …
- It’s quite disappointing…
- I’d be really surprised to…
- It’s quite frustrating…
Infinitives for motive or purpose.
Complete these sentences with a verb in the gerund so that they are true for you then compare with a partner.
- I’m learning English …
- I earn money…
Infinitives after Some Verbs
Complete these sentences so that they are true for you and then compare with a partner. try to use the sentnce to start a conversation.
- I hope to…
- I really need to….
- This year I’m planning to…
- I wish that I could afford to…
- I’d love to be able to…
- I can’t wait to…
- I often forget to…
- I recently helped someone to…
- I have recently decided to…
- I’d like to learn to…
- I can never manage to…
- I wish I had never offered to…
- Sometimes I have pretended to…
- If someone asked me, I would refuse to…
- A lot of people seem to…
- My parents taught me to…
- I tend to…
- Someone threatened to…
- I want to…
- I would like to…
Bare Infinitives After Modal Verbs
Bare Infinitives after Modal Verbs (+ Make & Let)
- I wish that I could….
- I really must…
- I don’t do it, but I should…
- This afternoon I might…
- I can… quite well.
- I often think that I ought to…
- My parents (used to) make me….
- My parents don’t / didn’t use to let me…
Tricky Verbs with Gerunds and Infinitives Conversation Questions.
Remember / forget
Using remember and forget to talk about obligations
- Talk about something that you often forget to do.
- Talk about some things that you need to remember to do this week.
- Talk about a time that you forgot to do something important.
Using remember and forget to talk about memories
- What is something that you remember doing a lot when you were a child?
- What is something you sometimes don’t remember to do?
- Talk about how you help yourself to remember to do things that you need to do.
Try
Using try to talk about things that are difficult or impossible
- Talk about something that you tried to do but couldn’t do well.
- What is the most difficult thing that you’ve ever tried to do?
Using try to talk about things that are easy to do but may have unpredictable results
- Talk about a time you tried doing something new and really enjoyed it.
- Have you ever tried eating something new and hated it?
Stop
Using stop to talk about why you stop doing something
- What do you often stop to do on long journeys?
- Do you ever stop to think about what you’re saying mid-sentence?
- When you’re working do you ever stop to review your progress?
Using stop to talk about what you stopped doing
- Do you have any bad habits that you should stop doing?
- Is there any series or TV program that you stopped watching? Why?
- Have you ever stopped reading a book before you finished it? Why?
- If you had noisy neighbours, what could you do to stop them disturbing you?