Mr.Maru: It's almost New Year's day, Sparky. Are you excited?

Sparky: Yeah, I'm looking forward to have a big party.

Mr.Maru: Yeah, it'll be fun! We can watch the countdown on TV.

Sparky: Yeah. I like watching the countdown on TV.

Mr.Maru: I'm glad you are looking forward to it.

Sparky: After New Year's, I'm going to get back to study English!

Mr.Maru: Yes, you really need to do that.

When do you use gerunds (~ing) with phrasal verbs? Phrasal verbs or two part verbs can be very difficult to use. Today we will go over some difficult phrasal verbs.

Phrasal verbs and gerunds

When you have a phrasal verb, you must use the gerund or ~ing form of the verb. For example,

I'm tired of eating asparagus. (NOT: I'm tired of eat asparagus.)

I took up tennis playing. OR I took up tennis.
I gave up learning Vulcan. (NOT: I gave up learn Vulcan.)

Be careful! There are some difficult phrasal verbs that have 'to' in them. They can be a little confusing. For example,

Look forward to:
I'm looking forward to eating dinner with you tonight. (NOT: I'm looking forward to eat dinner with you tonight.)

Get back to:
I'm going to get back to fixing that table after I take out the trash. (NOT: I'm going to get back to fix that table after I take out the trash.)

Admit to:
He admitted to taking the cookies. (NOT: He admitted to take the cookies.)

Do you understand? Let's take a quiz.

1) I need to cut back on ______ fast food.

A) eating

B) to eat

2) There's a big sale. Let's go ________.

A) to shopping.

B) to shop.

C) shopping.

3) Do you feel up _______ to class today?

A) going

B) go

C) to going

Answers

1) A) 'cut back on' means to do something less.

2) C) We say 'go shopping' like 'go snowboarding' or 'go dancing'

3) C) 'feel up to' means to feel strong enough or comfortable enough to do something.

Corrected Dialog

Mr.Maru: It's almost New Year's day, Sparky. Are you excited?

Sparky: Yeah, I'm looking forward to have having a big party.

Mr.Maru: Yeah, it'll be fun! We can watch the countdown on TV.

Sparky: Yeah. I like watching the countdown on TV.

Mr.Maru: I'm glad you are looking forward to it.

Sparky: After New Year's, I'm going to get back to study studying English!

Mr.Maru: Yes, you really need to do that.

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