Название: Business Grammar Builder. Деловой английский: грамматика (Л.В. Корухова Н.Н. Новосельцева)

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Unit 24 the –ing form

 The -ing form can be used as a noun (in this case it is also called a gerund).

Marketing requires careful planning.

 It can also be part of a noun phrase.

Combining  two  financial  groups  successfully  is  always  a  difficult  task.

(BusinessWeek Online website)

         -ing form as an adjective           B

 The -ing form can be used like an adjective, before a noun. My working day

starts at nine and finishes around six thirty.

         -ing form after prepositions       C

 We use the -ing form after prepositions.

Wal-Mart became successful by selling high volumes at low prices.

We never launch a new product without doing extensive market research.

 We use to + infinitive to explain why we do something (this is called 'the infinitive of purpose'): We're doing this to reduce costs.

But  we  use  to  +  -ing  when  to  is  a  preposition:  Outdoor  posters  are an alternative to using expensive TV advertisements.

 Some verbs have to used as a preposition.

Examples include: look forward to, object to, be used to, get used to, prefer ..... to ...... , respond to.

I'm looking forward to seeing you next week.

I'm not used to having such a short lunch break.

         -ing form used to begin a clause            D

 An -ing clause can give more information about a noun.

Very few farms are in a position to benefit from the EU market. Look at

Poland, where there are two million farms employing over a quarter of the population,  to  see  the  problem  at  its  worst.  (Business  Central  Europe website)

 An -ing clause can give the reason for an action in the past. / went over to him, thinking he was the manager, but he said he was a sales assistant. (= because I thought he was the manager)

The negative is formed with not.

Not being used to the company culture, I found it hard to fit in.

 An  -ing  clause  can  describe  a  background  situation  for  another  action.

Walking into work this morning I met Celia who used to work in Personnel.(=

as I was walking into work)

The negative is formed with not.

I started the job not knowing what to expect.

industry.(=to develop and improve something)

PRACTICE THE ING-FORM

Exercise 1        (A, B)

Match the beginnings of sentences 1-8 with their endings a)-h).

1 Manufacturing in the UK has been      a) manufacturing sector.

2 In the UK, the service sector is now               b) is now almost completely automated, much more important than the               c) manufacturing.

3 In the UK, services are now much      d) in decline for many years, more

important than               e) need a lot of investment.

4 Our manufacturing process                 f) concentrated in the Katowice area.

5 We're going to invest heavily              g) in manufacturing over the next few years.

6 Car manufacturing in Poland is                       h) lot of investment.

7 Developing and promoting Poland's manufacturing base will    

8 Developing manufacturing in Poland will need 

Exercise 2        (A,B)

For each sentence in exercise 1 above, decide if the word manufacturing is a noun or an adjective.

Noun:   ..... Adjective: .....

Exercise 3        (B)

Complete the sentences with adjectives formed from the verbs in the list below in their -ing form.

tire welcome  confuse  last        interest wear     cut        shop     sell       meet

1 It's been a very ..... day, I need a drink to help me relax.

2 There's a ..... point in front of the ticket office. I'll see you there at six.

3 They're building a new ..... centre by the motorway exit.

4 Her presentation was very ..... , although perhaps a little ..... for who were new to the subject.

5 This carpet is very hard - ..... , and so it will be very long - ..... .

6 The new reception area should be ..... , not cold and formal like before.

Department.(=to stop a business or an organization)

7 This is ..... - edge technology, you won't find it anywhere else in Europe.

8 Its design is one of its strongest ..... points.

Exercise 4        (C)

Underline the correct words.

1 Thanks for calling, and I look forward to meeting/meet you at the conference.

2 Thanks for calling, and I hope to meeting /meet you at the conference.

3 I'm expecting to taking/take the train to work when I move into the new house.

4 I don't object to taking/take the train, but I prefer coming to work by car.

5 I can help you with your spreadsheet, I'm used to working/work with Excel.

6 When I was in my twenties I used to working/work as a sales consultant.

Exercise 5        (C)

Complete each sentence by choosing a preposition from list A followed by an - ing form from list B.

A:         after     without by        of         before  instead of

B:         leaving  using    being    going    increasing         taking over

1 ..... ..... university I worked in IT recruitment for a while.

2 I was aware ..... very nervous at the start of my presentation.

3 Vodafone grew ..... local operators.

4 ..... on, I'd just like to look at this graph in a little more detail.

5 If it's urgent I could take it there myself ..... a courier.

6 The Fed is hoping to reduce inflation ..... interest rates.

Exercise 6        (D)

Cross out two unnecessary words in each sentence.

1 A lot of the firms which are developing Bluetooth are based in Cambridge.

2 The woman who is replacing Kay Walker used to work at Saachi.

3 The thing that is worrying me most is the fluctuation in oil prices.

4 The visitors who are coming this afternoon are a Japanese Trade Delegation.

Exercise 7        (D)

Match the beginnings of sentences 1-6 with the most appropriate ending a)-f).

1 Speaking to Mike,                 a) he gave his credit card to the waiter.

2 So, concluding my presentation,                     b) I realised that the situation was hopeless

During the recession a lot of business had to cut back.(=to reduce the amount of money that you spend, or the amount of something that you use)

4 Of course I didn't say anything,                      d) not regretting my actions for one moment.

5 I just took it all for granted,                e) not wishing to offend him.

6 I resigned the next week,                   f) not appreciating the work that was involved.

Exercise 8        (D)

Rewrite the underlined part of each sentence using an -ing clause. Note that in some examples there is a negative form.

1 I got to the airport at ten because I expected the flight to arrive on time.

I got to the airport at ten , ..... .

2 I didn't understand the language so I found it hard to get around on my own.

..... , found it hard to get around on my own.

3 I invested Ј5,000 in a China fund because I hoped that the market would go up.

I invested Ј5,000 in a China fund, ..... .

4 As I wasn't an experienced negotiator I think I made too many concessions.

..... , I think I made too many concessions.

5 I assumed she wouldn't mind so I asked her about her annual salary.

..... , I asked her about her annual salary.

6 I said yes because I didn't know it would create so many problems.

I said yes, ..... .