Gerunds

When to Use

GERUNDS

What Is a Gerund?

O1

Gerunds are formed by adding “-ing” to the verb: “sleeping,” “drawing,” “swimming.”

Rule 1: Gerunds can be used as a subject of a sentence.

Walking is good for your health. Making friends has become more difficult since I moved to a new city. Becoming a millionaire is a dream of many young people today.

Here, the gerunds (in bold) are part of the sentence subjects (“walking,” “making friends,” “becoming a millionaire”).

Rule 2: gerunds can be used as objects of a sentence.

“I enjoy drawing.” Some verbs that precede (come before) the object require a gerund. we can see that the formula is “enjoy” + [gerund]

here are a few examples of verbs that need to be followed by a gerund:

• admit: They admitted changing the schedule.
• advise: I advise proceeding (moving forward) with caution.
• avoid: She avoided looking me in the eye.
• consider (think about): I considered staying silent, but I had to tell her.
• deny: I denied knowing about his secret.
• involve: The course involved writing three tests.
• mention (say something): She mentioned seeing my brother at a baseball game.
• recommend: I recommend practicing gerunds and infinitives.
• risk: Don’t risk losing your job!
• suggest: I suggest reading more English short stories.

I talked him out of taking that job. Here, the gerund “taking” follows the preposition “of.”

Rule 3: Only gerunds are used after prepositions (with one exception).

@ A preposition that follows a noun: Novels about growing up are popular among teenagers. I have an interest in becoming a painter. @ A preposition that follows a pronoun: I forgive you for not telling the truth. @ A preposition that follows a verb: She is thinking about trying martial arts. He looks forward to meeting his cousins. @ A preposition that follows an adjective: I am wary of going alone. My mom is scared of flying.

SUMARIZING

SEE YOU