Worksheet The ing form (gerund) As a noun: Cooking (das Kochen) Cooking is fun! (Kochen macht Spaß!) After certain verbs: I enjoy cooking. (Ich koche gern). I prefer eating out. (Ich esse lieber auswärts.) After prepositions: I m good at cooking. Are you interested in cooking? Have you ever thought of learning how to cook? 1 Translate in English using gerunds. 1 Ich trinke sehr gern Rotwein. 2 Er wohnt lieber in Berlin, als in München. 3 Ich streiche und tapeziere sehr ungern! 4 Er kann gut Reparaturen ausführen. 5 Ich kann nicht gut nähen. 6 Mein Mann ist komplett unfähig zu bügeln. 7 Ich kann MöbelnMöbel überhaupt nicht zusammenbauen! 8 Wir können ziemlich gut tippen. 9 Mein Mutter kann toll Torten backen. 10 Wir interessieren uns für Reisen. Cornelsen Verlag GmbH & Co. OHG, Berlin 2006, www.cornelsen-firstchoice.de 1
Answer the questions using full sentences. 2 1 What hobbies are you interested in? 2 Are you good at gardening? 3 Name one thing you are useless at. 4 Do you enjoy helping others? 5 What do you need to be good at for your job? 6 Have you ever thought of travelling to Australia? And what about going to New Zealand? 3 I m hopeless! Complete the questions. Example: I m useless at ironing. (shirt) Would you iron my shirt for me? 1 I m no good at assembling furniture. (my bed) 2 I m hopeless at decorating. (my new office) 3 I m useless at typing fast. (letter) Complete the sentence using verbs of your choice. I ll for you, if you for me. Cornelsen Verlag GmbH & Co. OHG, Berlin 2006, www.cornelsen-firstchoice.de 2
The Present Perfect Simple Past Use: 1. Specific time period Key words: ago, yesterday, last week, at 3.00, at Christmas, in 2006, in September, when I finished the report yesterday. When did you live in California? I lived there in 2003. I lived there 4 years ago. (I don t live in California now.) Present Perfect: Uses: Remember! (unit 2) 1. No specific time period Key words: in my life, already, before, ever, never, yet, not yet, just, so far, recently, lately Have you finished the report yet? And also: 2. To say that something started in the past and still continues now Key words: how long, since, for How long have you lived in California? I ve lived here for four years. I ve lived here since 2003. (I still live there) * For + period of time (for 3 months) * Since + starting point (since January) 4 Complete the sentences. 1 How long / you / work / at this company? 2 When / you / start / working / here? 3 How long / she / have / a dog? 4 She / have / a dog / for 5 years 5 How long / your father / retire? 6 He / retire / for 2 years now Cornelsen Verlag GmbH & Co. OHG, Berlin 2006, www.cornelsen-firstchoice.de 3
7 When / he / retire? 8 He / retire / 2 years ago 9 When / you / meet? 10 We / meet / a long time ago 10 Over to you. Talk about yourself. What have you done since/for? 1 (my childhood) 2 (a long time) 3 (last year) 4 (1 week) 5 (January) Cornelsen Verlag GmbH & Co. OHG, Berlin 2006, www.cornelsen-firstchoice.de 4
Answer key Exercise 1 1 I love/like/enjoy drinking red wine. 2 He prefers living in Berlin than in Munich. 3 I don t like/dislike/hate decorating. 4 He is good at doing repairs. 5 I m no good at sewing. 6 My husband is useless at ironing. 7 I m useless/hopeless at assembling furniture. 8 We are quite good at typing. 9 My mother is great at baking cakes. 10 We re interested in travelling. Exercise 2 Answers will vary Exercise 3 1 Would you assembly my bed for me? 2 Would you decorate my new office for me? 3 Would you type my letter for me? 4 Answers will vary (e.g., I ll iron for you, if you assemble my bed for me.) Exercise 4 1 How long have you worked at this company? 2 When did you start working here? 3 How long has she had a dog? 4 She s had a dog for 5 years 5 How long has your father been retired? 6 He s been retired for 2 years now. 7 When did he retire? 8 He retired 2 years ago. 9 When did you meet? 10 We met a long time ago. Exercise 5 1 since my childhood; 2 for a long time; 3 since last year; 4 for 1 week; 5 since January Cornelsen Verlag GmbH & Co. OHG, Berlin 2006, www.cornelsen-firstchoice.de 5