Speaking about festivals and celebrations- gerunds practice

Speaking about festivals and celebrations- gerunds practice
Work in groups of two or three. Try to make statements using the sentence stems on the
next page that you both/ all agree on, including the name of the festival, ceremony or
celebration that you are talking about each time.

Useful language for discussing the sentences
Me too./ I agree./ So do I./ So am I./ So … I.
Really? For me,…/ Really? In my case,…

Suggested festivals and celebrations to discuss
 April Fool’s Day
 baby shower
 birthday party
 carnival
 cherry blossom viewing (party)
 christening
 Christmas
 Easter
 engagement
 Father’s Day
 Gay Pride
 Halloween
 harvest festival
 lunar new year/ Chinese New Year
 mother’s day
 New Year
 Oktoberfest
 retirement
 Saint Patrick’s Day
 spring festival
 stag night/ hen night/ bachelor party
 summer festival
 Teachers’ Day
 Thanksgiving
 Valentine’s Day
 wedding anniversary
 wedding ceremony
 wedding reception/ wedding party

Work together to write statements that you both/ all agree with using lines from the third
page. You can’t change the words there at all, but you can put any words before and/ or
after. Then share your statements with another group/ other groups and see if they agree.

Ask about any lines you can’t make a sentence about, working together as a class to make
an example sentence each time.

p. 1

Sentences to discuss and complete
I enjoy _____________________ during _________________________________.

I don’t enjoy ____________________ during _____________________________.

_____________________ is a nice thing to do during ____________________.

______________________ is popular during ___________________________.

_______________ during _______________________ is nice but unhealthy.

___________ during ________________________ is expensive (but it’s worth it).

I recommend ____________________ during __________________________.

_____________________ is traditional during _________________________.

______________________ is nice to do as a family during ________________.

_______________________ during ____________________________ is tiring.

____________________ during _______________________________ is boring.

_______________________ during ______________________________ is fun.

_______________________ during ______________________________ is exciting.

Most people’s favourite activity during _________________ is ______________.

_________________ often causes arguments during ________________________.

I’m looking forward to ____________________ during ______________________.

I always look forward to ______________________ during ___________________.

The most important thing during ________________________ is ______________

______________________ during ______________________ makes me nervous.

_____________________ during ________________ make me ________________.

For young children, _________________ is the most popular thing during ___________.

p. 2

Gerunds to discuss and agree on
 arguing/ having arguments
 buying…
 congratulating people
 cooking…
 dancing
 doing something special at night
 doing things for good luck
 doing things to take away bad luck
 dressing up
 drinking…
 eating special foods
 eating… (for breakfast/ lunch/ dinner/ a snack)
 exchanging…
 getting/ receiving…
 giving…
 giving speeches
 going shopping (for…)
 going to bed late
 hanging decorations
 having a barbecue
 having a party
 having a picnic
 joining parades/ joining processions
 lighting candles/ lighting…
 listening to (special) music
 making (homemade)…
 meeting your extended family/ meeting your whole family/ meeting relations
 meeting…
 playing…
 praying (for…)
 sending cards
 setting off fireworks
 staying at home
 visiting…
 waking up early
 waking up late
 watching movies
 watching parades/ watching processions
 watching special TV programmes
 watching…
 wearing special clothes
 wearing…

p. 3