Gerunds
Gerunds are words which are formed with the root verb but play the role of a noun. Gerunds are easy to recognize as every gerund is a verb ending with the word -ing.
You know grammar is a complex part of English. A gerund is a tricky one. As present participles are formed with the root verb + ing. So, you should be able to spot the difference between a gerund and a present participle. Gerunds are not the -ing forms you use in progressive tenses.
So, remember gerunds are formed with verbs + ing but act as nouns. Present participles are also formed with verbs + ing but they don’t play the role of nouns. They are modifiers.
Like nouns, gerunds can act as a subject, direct object, indirect object, objects of preposition and predicate nouns.
Gerund as a subject of the sentence
Gerund takes the position of the subject in a sentence.
Example:
- Swimming is a sport which keeps the heart rate up.
- Reading helps to enhance memory power.
- Travelling paves a way to explore new things around the world.
Gerund as an object of the sentence
Gerunds can also capture the position of the subject
Example:
- Ann goes for walking.
- They enjoy drawing.
- Leesa spends time on reading.
Gerunds after preposition
Gerunds are used after the preposition when a verb comes after the preposition.
Example:
- John is good at swimming since his childhood.
- In spite of meeting him directly, you can send an email to him.
- She is tired of explaining the situation to him.
The gerund after phrasal verbs
A phrasal verb is a verb that is made up of the main verb together with an adverb or preposition or a combination of both.
Gerunds are used after the phrasal verbs.
Example:
- She kept on practising to dance well.
- Grace burst out laughing when Lia fell down.
- He ended up solving the issue when Lucy scolded him.
Examples of Gerunds
Drawing | Driving | Talking | Sleeping | Becoming |
Working | Hunting | Swimming | Graduating | Smoking |
Flying | Reading | Walking | Speaking | Drinking |
Brushing | Travelling | Making | Having | Eating |
Opening | Painting | Postponing | Waiting | Missing |
Fishing | Living | Cooking | Cracking | Remembering |
Doing | Fighting | Moving | Falling | Playing |
Fixing | Dealing | Winning | Coming | Counting |
Helping | Baking | Stealing | Meeting | Switching |
Chatting | Cheating | Learning | Studying | Dancing |
Singing | Providing | Renovating | Hiking | Cleaning |
Enjoying | Changing | Proceeding | Looking | Staying |
Knowing | Writing | Speaking | Growing | Trying |
Saying | Laughing | Smiling | Admiring | Losing |
Shopping | Cutting | Hitting | Batting | Blaming |