6.Ted drew a straight line ________ a ruler.

7.Is there any way you could touch the ceiling___________your foot?
8.Some advertisers try to reach target audiences___________mail.
9.Rebecca tightened the screw in the corner of her eyeglasses ________
her fingernail.
10.________________I called Bill "P aul"

mistake.

11.The fastest way to send a copy of a piece of paper halfway around the
world is __________ fax.
12.The chef sliced the partially frozen meat into thin strips ______ a
razor-sharp knife.

10-9 USING GERUNDS AS SUBJECTS; USING IT +

INFINITIVE
(a)Riding horses is fun .
(b) 'h i is fun [ to ride horses. '

(c) Coming to class on time is important.

(d)It is important to come to class on time.

(a) and (b) have the same meaning.

In (a): A gerund (riding) is the subject of the
sentence.* Notice: The verb (is) is singular
because a gerund is singular.
In (h): The word it is used as the subject of the
sentence. The word it has the same meaning as
the infinitive phrase at the end of the sentence:
it means to ride horses.

*It is also correct (but less common) to use an infinitive as the subject of a sentence: To ride horses is fun.

E EXERCISE 16 ORAL: Make sentences with the same meaning by using it +

INFINITIVE.

1.Having good friends is important.

It is important to have good friends.
2.Playing tennis is fun .
3.Being polite to other people is important .
4.Learning about other cultures is interesting .
5.Walking alone at night in that part of the city is dangerous .
6.Is learning a second language difficult?
7 Is riding a motorcycle easy?
8 Having a cold isn't much fun.
9.Learning a second language takes a long time.

10.Cooking a soft-boiled egg takes three minutes .