Gerund

Gerund for beginners

Gerund is the traditional term for the present participle form of a verb that is used as a noun. In its function as a noun, a gerund can be the subject, object or complement of a clause. In the following sentences the gerund is shown in bold:

Subjects, complements and objects are very often noun phrases, not single words. The same applies to gerunds. In the following sentences, the gerunds are part of a larger phrase Many modern grammarians would classify the bold words in the following sentences as non-finite clauses. .

Gerund for advanced learners

The brief explanation and examples above are probably enough to give most beginning learners of English an introduction to this grammatical feature of the language.

More advanced learners of English, however, may be interested in some of the other aspects of the topic that English grammarians have focused on. These aspects are briefly touched on below.

Firstly, there is the question of terminology. As noted above, gerund is a term from the traditional analysis of English as based on Latin. Modern grammarians prefer alternatives such as verbal noun, ing-form and gerund-particple. There is no consensus about the best terminology here.

For more on this read the Wikipedia article on the Gerund.

Secondly, there is also no definitive judgment of the word class of the present participle (-ing) form of a verb in certain noun phrases. The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar (p178) states: "The noun-like and verb-like properties of the -ing form are on a cline." It has the following example:

The explanation notes that smoking can be classified as a noun since it is preceded by the determiner my. And it can be classified as a verb since it is followed by the direct object twenty cigarettes.

Another example of this classification problem is the simple sentence She likes dancing. If dancing refers to what she likes doing, then it has verb-like characteristics. If, on the other hand, she likes the artistic form of dancing and often goes to the ballet, then it has noun-like characteristics.

Thirdly, gerunds/-ing forms may or may not be used in catenative Catenative constructions are groups of words that are 'chained' together - with a main, finite verb followed by one or more nonfinite verb forms.

For example: I enjoy · fishing, and You need · to ask · him · to help you. constructions following the main verb. For example, it is grammatical to say She enjoys working from home but not She agreed working from home.

Here are some more examples of the two different catenative object/complement usages (gerund/-ing form or to infinitive):

This is a difficult aspect of English grammar since there is no rules that can help in choosing the correct form of the catenative complement. The learner must use a dictionary carefully case-by-case to determine whether the gerund or the infinitive form is needed.

Conclusion

The gerund is a verb form that is easy to understand and construct. Basically, every verb has a present participle, and every present participle can be used as a noun.

Other aspects of the topic are more complex. Learners certainly need to be aware of the usage differences involved in catenative structures. But most learners do not need to concern themselves with the terminological and classification issues discussed above.

More information and resources

Here is an article on the gerund in the Is English an easy language? section of the site.

There are several interactive quizzes on the Gerund or Infinitive? in the Verb grammar: Miscellaneous drop-down menu on the grammar index.

The Video Lessons section of this site has a project on the gerund. And another one on the choice between the gerund or infinitive.

Here is an example of how gerunds are very useful in constructing topic sentences in essays.

And finally, here is an article on the important related topic of Verb Catenation in English.