Gerunds are verbals that end in -ing. They can be used as nouns and adjectives, but they’re also common in writing: “The gerund is a type of verb in English and other languages,” according to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary. So what exactly are these native English verbs? Let’s take a look!
What is a gerund?
A gerund is a verb form that functions as a noun and can be used as a subject, object, or complement. A gerund is often called an “ing-form” because it ends in -ing. For example:
- “I am meeting her tomorrow.” — This sentence contains the gerund phrase “meeting her,” which happens to be an active voice verb like “I am.” Therefore, you can say this sentence with either the past tense or present tense of the verb “to meet.”
Gerunds are an important part of English grammar, and understanding how to use them correctly can help you communicate more effectively.
Gerunds are formed by taking the base form of a verb and adding -ing. For example, the base form of ‘walk’ is ‘walks’, so the gerund form would be ‘walking’. Gerunds can be used as the subject or object of a sentence, or as the object of a preposition.
For example:
Subject: Walking is good exercise.
Object: I enjoy walking in the park.
Prepositional object: We talked about walking in the park.
Gerunds as Subjects
Gerunds can be used as the subject of a sentence. For example, “Swimming is my favorite hobby.” In this sentence, “swimming” is the gerund and is the subject of the sentence. Gerunds can also be used as the object of a sentence, such as “I enjoy swimming.” In this case, “swimming” is still the gerund, but it is now the object of the sentence.
Gerunds as Objects
Gerunds can be used as the object, or complement of a sentence. When a gerund is used as the object of a sentence, it is acting as a noun. For example, “I love swimming.” In this sentence, “swimming” is the gerund and it is the object of the verb “love.”
Gerunds after Prepositions
Gerunds can be used after prepositions to form prepositional phrases. When a gerund is used after a preposition, it is known as a gerund phrase. For example, “We talked about walking in the park.” in the sentence. “walking” is the gerund and the gerund phrase is “walking in the park”.
Do gerunds begin with capital letters?
You might be asking yourself, “Do gerunds begin with capital letters?” The answer is no.
Gerunds are not proper nouns—that is, they don’t have a name of their own. So they needn’t be capitalized unless you want to emphasize them (and even then, it’s not necessary). If you’re writing about gerunds and want to use capitalization as an aid in your writing, though, feel free! That being said: if your reader can’t tell what kind of noun it is without looking at the rest of the sentence first and seeing whether or not there are any other clues available from other words in the sentence before them (like articles or prepositions), then that’s probably okay for most situations where people aren’t going out of their way specifically trying not to look like idiots when talking about things like “a big guy with short hair who lives next door.”
Are gerunds always preceded by “to”?
It turns out, that there are some cases where a gerund can be preceded by other words. For example:
- “to dance” (not a gerund) is followed by “in the morning.”
- “to study” (a gerund) sounds like it’s part of an imperative sentence.
- “to write about” sounds more like a prepositional phrase than anything else, so it probably shouldn’t precede any nouns or verbs in this context.
It’s true that gerunds can function as nouns, but they can also function as adjectives.
It’s true that gerunds can function as nouns, but they can also function as adjectives. Gerunds are not always preceded by “to” and can be used in a sentence as the subject of another clause or object of another verb.
For example: “I’m going to the store tomorrow.” This is an example of a gerund being used as a subject (because it’s preceded by “I am”). However, sometimes you’ll see this same phrase with a different construction: “Tomorrow I’m going to do laundry.” This is an example where gerunds are used as objects instead of subjects; this means that they’re following something else and neither one is considered the main part of speech (the nominative case).
Gerunds are verbals that end in -ing, but they can also function as nouns and adjectives.
Gerunds are verbals that end in -ing, but they can also function as nouns and adjectives. Verbals (also called verbal nouns) are formed from verbs, which is why they’re called gerunds—they’re the most common type of verbal. To create a gerund, you simply replace the infinitive form of your verb with an -ing ending: “I like swimming.” becomes “I like swimming,” or “Swimming makes me feel healthy.” The resulting word acts as both a verb and an adjective, making it possible to describe things in more detail than just saying something was good or bad!
Conclusion
In conclusion, a gerund is a type of noun that is derived from a verb. It functions in the same way as a regular noun and can be used as the subject or object of a sentence. Gerunds are usually formed by adding -ing to the base form of the verb and can be used in both verbal and written English.
