Expressions + ~ing

Expressions + ~ing

A. When these expressions are followed by a verb, the verb ends in ~ing:

It's no use .../It's no good ...:

* There's nothing you can do about the situation, so it's no use worrying about it.

* It's no good trying to persuade me. You won't succeed.

There's no point in ...:

* There's no point in having a car if you never use it.

* There was no point in waiting any longer, so we went.

It's (not) worth ...:

* I live only a short walk from here, so it's not worth taking a taxi.

* It was so late when we got home, it wasn't worth going to bed.

You can say 'a film is worth seeing', 'a book is worth reading', etc.

* What was the film like? Was it worth seeing?

* I don't think newspapers are worth reading.

B. (Have) difficulty ~ing

We say 'have difficulty doing something' (not 'to do'):

* I had difficulty finding a place to live. (not 'I had difficulty to find')

* Did you have any difficulty getting a visa?

* People often have great difficulty reading my writing.

We usually say 'have difficulty' (not 'have difficulties'):

* I'm sure you'll have no difficulty passing the exam. (not 'have no difficulties')

C. We use ~ing after:

a waste of money .../a waste of time ... (to ... is also possible):

* It was a waste of time reading that book. It was rubbish.

* It's a waste of money buying things you don't need.

spend/waste (time) ...

* He spent hours trying to repair the clock.

* I waste a lot of time daydreaming.

(be) busy ...:

* She said she couldn't see me. She was too busy doing other things.

D. Go swimming/go fishing etc.

We use go ~ing for a number of activities (especially sports). For example, you can say:

go swimming/go sailing/go fishing/go climbing/go skiing/go jogging etc.

also: go shopping/go sightseeing.

* I'd like to go skiing.

* When did you last go shopping?

* I've never been sailing. (For been and gone, see Unit 7D.)

You can also say 'come swimming/come skiing' etc.:

* Why don't you come swimming with us?