Gerund Phrases

Grund phrases are phrases that have 'gerunds,' 'its object,' and any 'modifiers' or 'complements.' In this lesson, we will learn all about them.

What Are Gerund Phrases?

A gerund phrase is a phrase that includes a gerund and any modifiers, complements, or object that accompany it.
A gerund phrase acts as a single noun within a sentence, and it can serve various functions, such as a subject, object, or complement.

Gerund Phrases: Structure

A gerund phrase consist of:

a gerund
its object (also called gerund complement)
modifiers (adverbs or adverbial/prepositional phrases) which can include another gerund

Pay attention that a gerund phrase always starts with the gerund.
Let's start with a simple example:

Driving a car carelessly will cause great trouble.

In the gerund phrase above:

'Driving' is the gerund.
'A car' is the direct object of the gerund (also called the gerund complement)
'Carelessly is a modifier (an adverb).

Now take a look at a more complex example:

Driving a car without paying attention will cause great trouble.

gerund → driving
direct object → a car
modifier → without paying attention (gerund phrase)

Here, 'without paying attention' is an adverbial phrase, which itself contains a gerund phrase (paying attention) consisting of a gerund (paying) and its complement (attention).

'Baking a cake' is a gerund phrase used as the subject of the sentence

Tip!

A gerund phrase does not necessarily need an object:

Driving carelessly is a bad idea.

Gerund phrase → Gerund (Driving) + Modifier (carelessly)

A gerund phrase can also be without a modifier:

The dog doesn't care about destroying the flowers.

Gerund phrase → Gerund (destroying) + object (the flowers)

Gerund Phrases: Functions

A gerund phrase acts as a noun, therefore it can function as:

a subject
an object (direct and indirect)
an object of a preposition
a predicate nominative (the complement of a linking verb)

Baking cakes is my favorite hobby. → Gerund phrase is the subject.

My son enjoys playing with Legos. → Gerund phrase is the direct object.

He gave winning the contest his best shot. → Gerund phrase is the indirect object.

Studying a new language is futile without practicing daily. → Gerund phrase is the object of prepostion.

My favorite activity is traveling to exotic places. → Gerund phrase is the predicate nominative.

Tip!

A gerund phrase normally does not need any punctuation.

Gerund Phrases vs. Participle Phrases

Do not confuse gerund phrases with participle phrases. Remember:

Gerund phrase acts as a noun
Participle phrase acts as a modifier (an adjective or an adverb)

Drinking a cup of tea after waking up is refreshing.

This is a gerund phrase.

Drinking a cup of tea after waking up, Mary turned on the TV.

This is a participle phrase.

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What Are Gerund Phrases?
Gerund Phrases: Structure
Gerund Phrases: Functions
Gerund Phrases vs. Participle Phrases

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