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What You Need to Know About Gerunds How To Recognize Gerunds The -ing form of a verb can be called a present participle. Present participles can function as nouns (gerunds), verbs, or adjectives. The form of the verb that ends in -ing is called a gerund when it functions as a noun. Because it functions as a noun, a gerund may be the subject of a sentence: Running regularly will make you feel better. Studying requires most of my time during the day. Gerunds can also do other noun jobs, such as direct object, object of a preposition, or subject complement after a linking verb. Laura really enjoys gardening. (direct object) You can learn English quickly by practicing and reviewing every day. (obj of prep by) Laura’s favorite hobby is gardening. (subject complement after linking verb) A present participle functions as verb when used in a continuous tense: The teacher is speaking to her students. Laura was speaking to her students before class began yesterday. Note: If a present participle is functioning as a verb, it is always accompanied by the helping verb be. A participle without a form of be is either a gerund or an adjective. Finally, a present participle can function as a participial adjective when it modifies a noun or pronoun. We watched an interesting movie last night. Present participles are fascinating! She is so boring. Note: It can be tricky to tell the difference between a participial adjective following a be verb, a gerund after a be verb, and a present continuous tense verb. Verb: I am studying English right now. (The action is in progress) Gerund: My greatest passion is studying English grammar! (greatest passion = studying) Adjective: Grammar is interesting. (Interesting follows a linking verb and modifies the subject) How To Use Gerunds Even though gerunds function as nouns, they can still take objects: Learning English is hard work. I enjoy watching scary movies. (Learning what? English is the object of the gerund learning) (Watching what? Scary movies is the object of the gerund watching.) Gerunds are always singular; when a gerund is the subject, the verb should be third-person singular. Speeding isn’t safe. Reading many books in English helps you learn to write better. Watching American television shows is a good way to improve your listening comprehension. Always use a gerund (not an infinitive) as the object of a preposition: I am thinking about becoming a teacher. After finishing my homework, I’m going to call my friend. Thank you for helping me. ( Challenge Question: Can you find the objects of the gerunds in the three sentences above?) Put not before a gerund to make it negative: I enjoy not having to do study today. He was upset about not passing the class. Some verbs must be followed by gerunds. I enjoy studying. I enjoy to study. I enjoy study. Would you mind being quiet? Would you mind to be quiet? Would you mind be quiet? Some common verbs followed by gerunds: admit appreciate avoid consider discuss dislike enjoy finish give up go + activities keep mind miss permit postpone put off practice prevent quit (spelling note: quitting) recommend regret resist stop (= quit) suggest think about --By Laura Jensen--