Contents
These gerund phrases worksheets and exercises are designed to help learners identify, use, and create gerund phrases confidently. The activities include fill-in-the-blanks, sentence rewriting, and identification tasks, making them suitable for both classroom practice and self-study.
Download Gerund Phrases Worksheets
Gerund phrases—formed by a verb ending in -ing along with its objects or modifiers—function as nouns in English sentences. They can act as subjects, objects, or complements.
For example: Swimming in the ocean is fun. In this sentence, swimming in the ocean is a gerund phrase acting as the subject.
Gerund Phrases Exercises
Quick Summary: A Gerund Phrase starts with an -ing word and acts as a noun.
- As Subject: Eating vegetables is good for you.
- As Object: I enjoy eating vegetables.
- As Complement: My favorite habit is eating vegetables.
- As Object of Preposition: I am interested in eating vegetables.
Exercise 1: Identify the Gerund Phrase
Direction: Underline the gerund phrase in each sentence and identify its function (Subject, Object, Object of Preposition, or Complement).
- Jogging every morning helps me feel energized. (Function: __________)
- He enjoys watching cartoons with his little brother. (Function: __________)
- Reading long novels takes a lot of patience. (Function: __________)
- Her favorite activity is swimming in the lake. (Function: __________)
- I’m interested in learning how to bake cakes. (Function: __________)
Exercise 2: Rewrite the Sentences Using a Gerund Phrase
Direction: Rewrite each sentence with a gerund phrase.
1.I like to ride my bike in the park.
→ ___________________________________________________________
2. It is a pleasure to cook Italian food on weekends.
→ ___________________________________________________________
3. He has quit the habit of smoking. (Use the verb “quit”)
→ ___________________________________________________________
4. He is interested in the process of building model airplanes.
→ ___________________________________________________________
5. We discussed the idea of going camping this summer.
→ ___________________________________________________________
Exercise 3: Challenge – Gerund vs. Present Participle
Direction: Identify whether the bolded phrase is a Gerund Phrase (acting as a noun) or a Present Participle Phrase (acting as an adjective or adverb).
- Working out every day is good for your health. (__________)
- The man working out at the gym is my trainer. (__________)
- I saw a bird building a nest in the tree. (__________)
- Building a nest requires a lot of effort for a small bird. (__________)
- She enjoys singing loud songs in the shower. (__________)
Answer Key
Exercise 1
- Jogging every morning – Subject
- watching cartoons with his little brother – Object
- Reading long novels – Subject
- swimming in the lake – Complement
- learning how to bake cakes – Object of preposition
Exercise 2
- I like riding my bike in the park.
- Cooking Italian food on weekends is a pleasure.
- He has quit smoking.
- He’s interested in building model airplanes.
- We discussed going camping this summer.
Exercise 3
- Gerund Phrase (Subject)
- Present Participle Phrase (describes “the man”)
- Present Participle Phrase (describes “a bird”)
- Gerund Phrase (Subject)
- Gerund Phrase (Object)
