22nd of April 2013

Grammar: Gerunds
Same link as below.

Gerunds are nouns formed from verbs. Gerunds are formed by adding –ing to the end of a verb. Some examples are eating, playing, and listening. Infinitives use to before the verb so the examples above would be to eat, to play, and to listen. Both can be used as the subject or object of a sentence. The negative version of both gerunds and infinitives is made simply by adding not. 

When we use a verb in -ing form more like a noun, it is usually a gerund:

• Fishing is fun.

When we use a verb in -ing form more like a verb or an adjective, it is usually a present participle:

• Anthony is fishing.
• I have a boring teacher.

Reading Practice: Article with questions.


Listening and discussion: Open your eyes wide



Discussion

Poverty & Employment

• There is a direct link between increased female labour participation and growth: It is estimated that if women’s paid employment rates were raised to the same level as men’s, America’s GDP would be 9 percent higher; the euro-zone’s would be 13 percent higher, and Japan’s would be boosted by 16 percent. [1]
• Women’s nominal wages are 17 percent lower than men’s.
• In some regions, women provide 70 percent of agricultural labour, produce more than 90 percent of the food, and yet are nowhere represented in budget deliberations [3].
• In Mexico, women in paid employment devote an additional 33 hours to domestic chores per week, while men’s weekly contribution six hours [4].
• If the average distance to the moon is 394,400 km, South African women together walk the equivalent of a trip to the moon and back 16 times a day to supply their households with water [5].
• In Arab states, only 28 percent of women participate in the workforce [6].