The Small Things — Gerunds (A2)

A2 · GERUNDS

The Small Things

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“Stop calling it wasting time. Start calling it Sunday.”

The gerund (verb + -ing): as subject, after verbs, after prepositions

Reading

Speaking

STAGE 1 · WARM-UP

A small thing

Close your eyes. Think of one SMALL thing that always makes you feel good — nothing big or expensive. The smell of coffee? A win at cards?

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Share it in one sentence. Does anybody have the same small thing?

STAGE 2 · BEFORE YOU READ

The top five small things

A magazine asked 2,000 people: “What small, everyday thing makes you happiest?” The article reports the top five answers.

PREDICT

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With a partner, what things do you think will be on the list?

Read and check. How many did you predict?

STAGE 3 · READING

Read — how many did you predict?

Happiness is… the top five small things

When we asked 2,000 readers about the small things that make them happiest, the answers were beautifully ordinary.

No. 5 — Cooking for other people. “I love watching my friends eat something I made.”

No. 4 — Getting into a bed with clean sheets. “The best five seconds of the week.” Many go to bed early just to enjoy it longer.

No. 3 — Finding money in an old jacket. It was always your money — and it feels fantastic.

No. 2 — Laughing until your face hurts. Readers remembered the laughing, not the joke.

No. 1 — Doing nothing, without feeling bad. The hard part isn’t doing nothing; it’s doing nothing without thinking about the jobs you’re not doing. “Stop calling it wasting time. Start calling it Sunday.”

STAGE 4 · COMPREHENSION

Order the top five

Number them 1 (the winner) to 5, from memory — then check.

____ finding money in an old jacket

____ doing nothing without feeling bad

____ cooking for other people

____ laughing until your face hurts

____ getting into a bed with clean sheets

Then: why are the friends “very polite”? What do people do to enjoy No. 4 longer? What’s the hard part of doing nothing?

STAGE 5 · TALK ABOUT IT

What do you think?

Discuss with a partner.

Which of the five do you agree with most? What would be YOUR number one?

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“Stop calling it wasting time. Start calling it Sunday.” Do you agree — or do you feel bad doing nothing?

STAGE 6 · GRAMMAR — NOTICE

The -ing form

WHAT FORM IS IT?

Cooking for others makes me happy. · Finding money is better than earning fifty. · I love watching my friends eat.

These are all verb + -ing — the gerund.

Find one example in the text of the gerund…

• …as the SUBJECT of a sentence: ______

• …after a VERB (love, enjoy, stop, start…): ______

• …after a PREPOSITION (at, of, about, without…): ______

Negative gerund: “…without ______ bad about it” → not + verb-ing.

STAGE 7 · THE RULES

The gerund (verb + -ing)

The gerund is the base verb + -ing (cooking, finding, being). Negative: not + -ing. We use it:

• as a noun (subject or object): Cooking for friends makes me happy. Happiness is doing nothing.

• after certain verbs (like, love, hate, enjoy, stop, start, finish, don’t mind): I love watching my friends eat.

• after prepositions: good at cooking · afraid of going · without feeling bad.

Some verbs take to + infinitive instead (want, need, decide, hope): I want to sleep — remember our last lesson? Spelling: make → making, sit → sitting.

CAREFUL

STAGE 8 · PRACTICE

Complete with the gerund

From the box: wait · be · get up · cook · listen · lose · swim · watch

1. ______ early at the weekend should be illegal.

2. I don’t mind ______, but I hate ______ in cold water.

3. She’s brilliant at ______ — her lasagne is famous.

4. He left the stadium without ______ the end of the match.

5. I’m afraid of ______ my keys, so I check my pocket ten times a day.

6. ______ for the bus in the rain is my number one unhappy thing.

7. My grandad fell asleep while ______ to the radio.

STAGE 8 · PRACTICE

Gerund or to + infinitive?

1. I enjoy to walk / walking in the evening.

2. We decided to stay / staying at home.

3. She’s very good at to tell / telling stories.

4. They want to buy / buying a bigger sofa.

5. Please stop to sing / singing — the neighbours!

6. I came here to learn / learning English.

7. He left without to say / saying goodbye.

8. Do you like cooking / cook for other people?

STAGE 9 · SPEAKING

Find your happiness twin

STEP 1 — COMPLETE THESE HONESTLY, WITH GERUNDS

1. ______ makes me ridiculously happy.

2. I love ______, but I hate ______.

3. I’m quite good at ______.

4. I’m (a little) afraid of ______.

5. I could never stop ______.

STEPS 2–4 — FIND YOUR TWIN

Mingle and read your sentences. Find your “happiness twin” — the person whose answers match yours most closely — and ask follow-up questions. Introduce your twin to the class. Then build the class’s own Top 5 and compare it with the article’s.

TEACHER'S REFERENCE

Answer key

4a 3 finding money · 1 doing nothing · 5 cooking for others · 2 laughing · 4 clean sheets

4b They eat it even though the cook isn’t very good — being polite. They go to bed early. The hard part is doing nothing without thinking about the jobs you’re not doing.

6 verb + -ing = the gerund. Subject: Cooking for other people… / Finding five euros… Verb: I love watching… After preposition: good at cooking · afraid of going. Negative: not + -ing (without feeling bad).

8a 1 Getting up 2 swimming / being 3 cooking 4 watching 5 losing 6 Waiting 7 listening

8b 1 walking 2 to stay 3 telling 4 to buy 5 singing 6 to learn 7 saying 8 cooking