Download Notice that you could replace all the above gerunds with "real" nouns

Gerunds
1) Present Progressive (Participle):
and v-ing (gerund).
It will be used by to-be verb
Use the Present Continuous with Normal Verbs to express the idea that
something is happening now, at this very moment. It can also be used to
show that something is not happening now.
Examples:
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You are learning English now.
You are not swimming now.
Are you sleeping?
I am sitting.
I am not standing.
Is he sitting or standing?
They are reading their books.
They are not watching television.
What are you doing?
Why aren't you doing your homework?
Use the Past Continuous to indicate that a longer action in the past was
interrupted. The interruption is usually a shorter action in the Simple Past.
Remember this can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time.
Examples:
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I was watching TV when she called.
When the phone rang, she was writing a letter.
While we were having the picnic, it started to rain.
What were you doing when the earthquake started?
I was listening to my iPod, so I didn't hear the fire alarm.
You were not listening to me when I told you to turn the oven off.
While John was sleeping last night, someone stole his car.
Sammy was waiting for us when we got off the plane.
While I was writing the email, the computer suddenly went off.
A: What were you doing when you broke your leg?
B: I was snowboarding.
We are helping our teacher.
It is raining now.
The children are playing soccer.
2) Gerunds as a Noun
If you want to use an action word in a place that requires a noun, you
can usually use a verb with an -ing ending. For example,
Fishing is fun.
Hiking is difficult.
That is ballet dancing.
In these sentences, fishing, hiking, and dancing look like verbs, but they are
not verbs. They are nouns. When a noun looks like a verb with -ing, it is
called a gerund.
3) Gerunds after Prepositions
This is a good rule. It has no exceptions!
If we want to use a verb after a preposition, it must be a gerund. It is
impossible to use an infinitive after a preposition. So for example, we say:
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I will call you after arriving at the office.
Please have a drink before leaving.
I am looking forward to meeting you.
Do you object to working late?
Tara always dreams about going on holiday.
Notice that you could replace all the above gerunds with "real" nouns:
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I will call you after my arrival at the office.
Please have a drink before your departure.
I am looking forward to our lunch.
Do you object to this job?
Tara always dreams about holidays.
4) The object of the verb:
I really like swimming.
1 GERUNDS
A GERUND is a verb in its "ing" form (the present participle); for
example, raining, dancing, laughing, thinking, creating, running, and
so on.
By definition, they are activities . either physical or mental.
These words function as NOUNS in a sentence:
The subject of the verb:
Swimming is a lot of fun and good exercise.
The object of a preposition: I am looking forward to swimming in the
ocean.
1.1 GERUNDS AS THE SUBJECT OF THE SENTENCE
Any activity that can be expressed with the "ing" form of a verb can be
the subject of a sentence.
All gerunds can be the subject of a sentence.
Breathing is necessary.
Driving a car requires good vision.
Helping other people feels good.
1.2 GERUNDS AS THE OBJECT OF A PREPOSITION
Prepositions (for, with, about, &) must be followed by an object.
The object can be a noun or a gerund (a verb acting as a noun).
I am tired of waking up too early.
I look forward to meeting your friend.
I am interested in learning baseball.
She is responsible for implementing new policy.
1.2.1 Verb + Preposition
Here are some verbs plus a preposition followed by a gerund:
to complain about __________ing
to insist on __________ing
to participate in __________ing
to apologize for __________ing
to object to __________ing
to look forward to __________ing
to think of __________ing
to win by __________ing
to take part in __________ing
1.2.2 Verb + Object + Preposition
Here are some verbs plus an object plus a preposition followed by
a gerund:
to have difficulty in __________ing
to take advantage of __________ing
to have a good reason for __________ing
to prevent someone from __________ing
to keep someone from __________ing
to stop someone from __________ing
to thank someone for __________ing
to blame someone for __________ing
to accuse someone of __________ing
to charge someone with __________ing
1.2.3 To Be + Noun + Preposition
Here are some combinations of the verb "to be" plus an object plus
a preposition followed by a gerund:
to be a victim of __________ing
to be an advocate of __________ing
to be a believer in __________ing
to be a supporter of __________ing
to be a critic of __________ing
1.3 GERUNDS AS THE OBJECT OF A VERB
When it comes to gerunds as the object of a verb, not all verbs are equal.
That is, some verbs can take a gerund as their objects, but other verbs
cannot.
(Some verbs can take infinitives as their objects. Some verbs never take
an object at all.)
These differences can only be learned, as individual vocabulary items.
2. VERB + INFINITIVE = VERB + GERUND
These verbs can be followed by either an infinitive or a gerund, with NO
DIFFERENCE IN MEANING.
He began to shout.
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He began shouting.
He started to shout.
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He started shouting.
He continued to shout.
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He continued shouting.
I like to read.
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I like reading.
I love to read.
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I love reading.
I prefer to read.
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I prefer reading.
I hate to wait.
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I hate waiting.
I can't stand to wait.
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I can't stand waiting.
I can't bear to wait.
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I can't bear waiting.