Certain things can seem deceptive in the English language, and gerunds are one such thing. Gerunds come from verbs, but they do not act like them. So how do you use them in sentences? We will figure it out here.
What are Gerunds?
A gerund is a form of a verb that ends with an –ing. A verb is a word that refers to the state of being or an action. A noun is a word used to refer to places, people, ideas and things. A gerund is a blend of nouns and verbs, and it feels similar to the verb but acts in the form of a noun. Swimming, for example, is a gerund. You can use the word swimming in the form of a noun in a sentence as an act of moving in the water. For example, you use the word swimming as a gerund when you say that Swimming is fun.
When using gerunds in sentences, you treat them as a third-person singular noun. The gerund phrase is a phrase that includes the gerund, its modifiers and objects. Since gerunds are derived from the verbs, they can take objects, or the adverbs can modify them. Similar to the noun phrases, the gerund phrases are treated in the form of nouns in a sentence.
To turn a verb into a gerund, you need to add ing to the base form of the verb. However, you need to be careful about a few things when you use gerunds.
If the verb ends in ‘ie’ or ‘ee’, you drop the ‘e’ in the verb before adding ‘-ing’ to it. Like joke becomes joking and make becomes making.
If the verb ends with an ‘ee’, then you can add ‘-ing’ normally like agree becomes agreeing.
If the verb ends with an ‘ie’, you will replace it with a ‘y’ and then ‘-ing’ to it, like lie becomes lying.
Just like in the case of present participles, you double the final consonant when you make a gerund. Like the gerund of run is running.
Here are the rules when you will have to double the final consonant for the gerund.
If one of the syllable verbs ends with a consonant-vowel-consonant, you double the final consonant like cutting and strumming.
You ignore the above rule if the verb ends with aw or ay, like playing and knowing.
For the longer verbs, which ends with a consonant-vowel-consonant, you double the final consonant if the last syllable feels stressed.
How do gerunds function?
Like nouns and noun phrases, you can use the gerund and the gerund phrases in various sentences. The gerunds can be used as subjects, as subject complements, direct objects and objects of prepositions.
Gerunds as nouns
Gerunds look like verbs, but these behave like nouns. Gerund phrases behave just like noun phrases. This means that the gerund and the gerund phrase can be the subject of the clauses and sentences or the subject competent connected to the subject by the auxiliary verb.
- Gerunds can be used as a subject. Like when you say that sleeping is difficult when you are under stress.
- You can use gerund phrases as a subject. Like when you say that being dishonest does not earn you respect.
- A gerund can be used as a subject complement. Like when you say that his favourite activity is swimming.
- Gerund phrase can be used as a subject complement. Like the thing that she hated the most about Mondays was getting up early.
Gerunds as objects
Like nouns and noun phrases, the gerund and the gerund phrases could be used as objects in the clauses and senses. These can be used both as direct objects and objects of prepositions.
- A gerund can be used as a direct object. Like Sheena has mastered drawing
- Gerund phrase can be used as a direct object. Like they hate cooking the chicken
- Gerunds can be used as an object of a preposition. Like he quickly resorted to stealing
- Gerund phrase can be used as an object of a preposition. Like holidays are the best times for visiting family
Conclusion
Gerunds are usually compared with a participle phrase. The gerunds have the same spelling as the present participles of verbs, and the gerund and the present participle of go is going. However, both of them serve different functions in any sentence. The gerunds are used as nouns, while the present participle is not used as nouns. Rather you use the present participles to form a continuous verb tense, gerunds are used as nouns, and participle phrases are used as adjectives.
FAQ
The gerunds are nouns, and the present participles are verb tenses. The participle phrase is used as an adjective. Gerunds are used in the form of nouns. This means that they do the same job which nouns do. They act as subject complements, subjects, and objects. Gerunds are not modifiers, and they are not used in the form of verbs.
You can turn any verb except the modal verb into a gerund. These include meditating, singing, being, having, dancing etc.
The gerunds are words formed with verbs, but these act as nouns. It is easy to spot the gerunds since they are verbs with an ‘-ing’ attached to their tail. This is a clear cut rule, and there is no exception. If you are confident with the ‘-ing’, you should know the difference to spot between a present participle and a gerund. Gerunds are words that you form with verbs, but these act as nouns. Present participles do not act as a noun. But they behave as modifiers or as a complete progressive verb.
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