Gerunds for intermediate learners

gerunds objects objects of prepositions participles subject complements subjects

Gerunds are words derived from verbs that act as nouns. All gerunds include a verb and -ing. In this lesson, we will learn more about them.

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What Are Gerunds?

Gerunds are nouns that are made up of a verb + '-ing'.

Functions

Gerunds can serve different functions in sentences. The list below presents some of their functions:

Now, let us discuss some of them in more detail.

Gerunds as the Subject

Gerunds are commonly used as the subject of the verb. Study the following examples carefully:

Singing has always been my passion.

Crying is her greatest weakness.

Gerunds as the Object

Gerunds can also serve as the object of the verb. Take a look at the following examples:

Do you think she enjoys writing?

Anna hates exercising.

Gerunds as Objects of Prepositions

Gerunds can also appear after prepositions and function as objects of prepositions. Check out the following examples:

I'm not afraid of jumping.

She is really skilled at convincing my dad.

Spelling Rules

Sometimes the spellings of verbs undergo changes when forming gerunds. Let us learn more about them below:

If the verb ends in '-ie', change it to '-y' before adding '-ing':

Die → dying

Lie → lying

If the verb ends in '-e', remove it and then add the '-ing':

Strike → striking

Take → taking

Gerunds Vs. Present Participles

Although gerunds and present Participles look the same, they have different functions. Present Participles are used as verbs or adjectives while gerunds function as nouns. Compare the following examples:

Going on a trip to the country is one of my favorite hobbies.

Here, the highlighted phrase is a gerund because it is functioning as a noun.

I'm eating lunch.

As you can see, the highlighted word is a present participle and is functioning as a verb.

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

It's important to know if a noun is countable or uncountable. This is going to help us to use the correct article. Let's learn more.

Collective Nouns

If we want to represent certain individual nouns as one entity we can make use of collective nouns. In this lesson, you'll learn about their structure and uses.

Possessive Nouns

Possessive structures have many functions like showing ownership or belonging. With the help of apostrophe 's', we can make a possessive noun. Let's start!

Abstract and Concrete Nouns

Based on what we can or cannot perceive with our five senses, we can categorize nouns into two groups: abstract and common nouns. Start learning!

Noun Modifiers

As you might guess, noun modifiers can modify nouns. What if there is a noun phrase after noun modifiers? If these questions are stuck in your mind, read more!

Verbal Nouns

Sometimes we can change a verb and make it into a noun. One of the most common ways of doing this is adding the suffix -ing. Let's see what verbal nouns are!

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