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Lesson Plan May 30, 2025

Topic: Common Expressions with -ING

Some very common expressions are followed by a gerund (-ing).

Section A: have a (good / bad / hard / easy) time + -ing

• I had a good time playing football.

• We had a hard time sleeping because of the noise.

• Joe will have an easy time coaching the team if he learns how to communicate better.

Section B: (spend /waste) time + -ing

• Steve spends a lot of time playing with his kids.

• Claire didn’t want to waste time waiting in traffic, so she took a different route.

Section C: have (a / no) problem + -ing

• Patrick has a problem waking up in the morning.

• I have no problem sleeping.

Section D: have (no) difficulty + -ing

• Do you have difficulty driving at night?

• She has no difficulty meeting new people.

Section E: have fun + -ing

• They had fun dancing last night.

• Did you have fun watching the soccer game?

Section F: There’s no point + -ing

• There’s no point calling him. He never answers the phone.

• Take your time, there’s no point going early, the door don’t open until 7pm.

Section G: It’s worth + -ing

• It’s worth paying the extra money to bypass the long lines at the museum.

• He’s not worth having dinner with, he eats quickly and wants to leave.

Lesson Notes

Words & Phrases

• Dreary (adj); Dull, bleak, and depressing; lacking in excitement or cheer

• The weather was chilly and dreary all week.

• It was a dreary movie with no real plot.

• She stared out at the dreary landscape, longing for sunshine.

• I need to recycle the remainder of the broken lamp, and dispose of the broken glass carefully.

Common Expressions with -ING

• “I learnt to swim when I was five years old.”

• After the verb ‘learn’ we use ‘to + verb’

• “The weather was nice, so I suggested going for a walk by the river.”

• After the verb ‘suggest’ we use a gerund (verb+ -ing)

• I have trouble (hearing / listening to / understanding / following) Mrs. Maxwell when she speaks. She talks way too fast.

Some more expressions followed by -ING

• have (fun / a good time) + -ing

• have (trouble / difficulty) + -ing

• have a (hard time / difficult time) + -ing

• We had fun playing volleyball.

• We had a good time eating dinner with our friends.

• I had trouble finding his house.

• I had difficulty locating my phone.

• I had a hard time setting up my new computer.

• I had a difficult time sleeping alone in the house.

• spend + (expression of time or money) + -ing

• waste + (expression of time or money) + -ing

• Sam spends most of his time studying.

• I waste a lot of money on iPhone games.

• sit + (expression of place) + - ing

• stand + (expression of place) + -ing

• lie + (expression of place) + -ing

• She sat at her desk studying for her exam.

• I stood there wondering what to do next.

• He is lying in bed reading a book.

• find + (pro)noun + - ing

• catch + (pro)noun + - ing

• When I walked into my bedroom, I found my mother looking at my homework.

• When I walked into my bedroom, I caught my mother snooping at my iPad.

• Both ‘find’ and ‘catch’ mean ‘discover, but ‘catch’ often expresses anger or displeasure.