Download Gerunds - Polk School District

Gerunds
Verbals
Standard
ELACC8L1: Demonstrate command of the
conventions of standard English grammar and
usage when writing or speaking.
a. Explain the function of verbals (gerunds,
participles, infinitives) in general and their
function in particular sentences.
Verbals
A verbal is a word that is formed from a verb and
that acts like a noun, adjective, or adverb.
So, they look like verbs, but they act like nouns,
adverbs, or adjectives.
There are 3 kinds of verbals:
• Gerunds
• Participles
• Infinitives
Gerunds
A gerund is a verbal that ends in ING and acts
like a NOUN
So, Gerunds are kind of like nouns that are
dressed up like verbs ending in ING
Ex. I love swimming!
Gerunds=Nouns…sort of
Nouns represent people, places, things, and
ideas
Gerunds are like nouns because they represent
activities, and activities are things.
Ex. Riding bikes can be great exercise.
Ex. My aunt is good at wrapping presents
Ex. Watching scary movies can be really exciting!
Gerunds can Stand Alone
Ex. I love baking!
Ex. Exercising can sooth your nerves after a hard
day.
Gerunds can be Phrases
A gerund phrase can include a gerund, object
and/or modifiers OR a gerund and prepositional
phrases that modifies it.
Ex. I love baking gingerbread cookies.
Ex. I love baking with my grandmother.
Ex. Mike likes playing Monopoly.
Find the Gerund or Gerund Phrase
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
My dog loves playing fetch in the park.
My family goes camping every summer.
Larry is fond of watching action movies.
The fish is bad about jumping out of his bowl.
Weekends are made for relaxing.
Caution!
Not all words that end in ING are gerunds. Be
careful. Just because a word has ING at the
end doesn’t always mean it’s a gerund.
Other types of words that end in ING
• Verbs
Ex. I am walking to school tomorrow.
• Adjectives (participles)
Ex. I think thunderstorms are frightening.
Think of it like this…
Verbs are what the subject is actually DOING
(or has done or will do)
Gerunds are activities that do noun jobs.
Ex. I am considering auditioning for the play.
Gerund or Verb
1.
2.
3.
4.
Sara likes playing softball after school.
Sara is playing softball after school today.
Lucy is whistling my favorite song.
Lucy is good at whistling.
Note
• “Ing” words can also act as adjectives; in that
case, we call them “participles.”
Ex. The movie looks exciting!
Ex. I pushed the shopping cart.
We will discuss this more in depth in the next
unit.