Gerund

Gerund is an-ing form of a verb that functions as noun functions.

1.     As subject

Example:

·         Drinking coffee makes me fresh

·         Sleeping too long is not good

2.      As object

The verb likem love, hate, start, stop, consider, regret

          Every gerund, without exception, ends in ing. Gerunds are not, however, all that easy to identify. The problem is that all present pasrticiples also end in ing.

1.      Gerund function as noun. Gerund s will be subjects, subject complements, direct objects, indirect objects, and objects of prepositions.

Example:

Swimming makes me happy

2.      Prsent participles on the other hand, complete progressive verbs or act as modifiers

Example :

One day last summer, I and my coach were swimming at bali beach

3.      The gerund as the subject of the sentence

Examples

·         Eating people is wrong.

·         Hunting tigers is dangerous

·         Flying makes me nervous.

·         Brushing your teeth is important.

·         Smoking causes lung cancer.

4.      The gerund as the complement of the verb 'to be'

Examples

·         One of his duties is attending meetings.

·         The hardest thing about learning English is understanding the gerund.

·         One of life's pleasures is having breakfast in bed.

5.      The gerund after prepositions

       The gerund must be used when a verb comes after a preposition. This is also true of certain expressions ending in a preposition, for example the expressions in spite of & there's no point in.

Examples

·         Can you sneeze without opening your mouth?

·         She is good at painting.

·         She avoided him by walking on the opposite side of the road.

·         We arrived in Madrid after driving all night.

·         My father decided against postponing his trip to Hungary.

·         There's no point in waiting.

·         In spite of missing the train, we arrived on time.

6.      The gerund after phrasal verbs

Phrasal verbs are composed of a verb + preposition or adverb.

Examples

·         When will you give up smoking?

·         She always puts off going to the dentist.

·         He kept on asking for money.

·         Jim ended up buying a new TV after his old one broke.

7.      The gerund in compound nouns

       In compound nouns using the gerund, it is clear that the meaning is that of a noun, not of a continuous verb. For example, with the word "swimming pool" it is a pool for swimming in, it is not a pool that is swimming.

Examples

·         I am giving Sally a driving lesson.

·         They have a swimming pool in their back yard.

·         I bought some new running shoes.

8.      The gerund after some expressions

       The gerund is necessary after the expressions can't help, can't stand, to be worth, & it's no use.

Examples

·         She couldn't help falling in love with him.

·         I can't stand being stuck in traffic jams.

·         It's no use trying to escape.

·         It might be worth phoning the station to check the time of the train.

Gerund	Example
Subject of a Sentence	Binging is a phase frequently done by a bulimic.
	Running may be hard for some people.
Direct Object	I hate waiting.
	They enjoy his singing.
Subject Complement	My bestfriend’s favorite activity is shopping.
Object of a Preposition	They disscussed an article about telling the truth.
	The manager scolded the worker for removing some substantial data.
Appositive	His hobby, sailing, takes a lot of time.
	My bestfriend’s favorite activity, shopping, has made her spend much money.