with the + V-ing of + N
說明︰此句型意為“隨著的…”。若動名詞有相對的名詞，則用動名詞或名詞都可以。
1. With the coming of Easter, winter ends and spring comes.
隨著復活節的來臨，冬天結束而春天來了。
2. With the inventing of the computer, society seems to have changed greatly.
隨著電腦的發明，社會似乎已經大大地改變了。
3. With the setting of the sun, night comes silently. 
隨著太陽的落下，夜晚悄悄地來到。

spend ... (in) V-ing
說明︰此句型意為“…花／用若干時間做…”。要用人做主詞。
等於“It takes＋時間＋to-不定詞”。
1. He spent his last years (in) teaching and editing earlier writings.
他把晚年用在教書和編纂以前的著作。
2. How much time do you spend practicing English everyday?
你每天花多少時間練習英文？
3. He is going to spend his last years writing a book on the history of Chinese literature.
他打算用晚年寫一本中國文學史。
4. She spends too much time (in) dressing herself.    
她用太多的時間裝扮自己。
5. He spent much of his spare time roaming about the streets.
他把大部分的閒暇時間用來逛街。

prefer V-ing/N to V-ing/N
說明︰此句型意為“寧可…而不願…；喜歡…而不喜歡…”。動名詞的位置可以換成名詞。
1. In the U.S., people prefer waiting for a table to sitting with people they don’t know.
在美國，人們寧可等著空的桌子，而不願和不認識的人坐在一起。
2. Some people prefer sitting up to going to bed early.  
有些人寧可熬夜，而不早睡。
3. He said he preferred country life to city life. 
他說他喜歡鄉下生活，而不喜歡都市生活。