TYPES OF GERUNDS

'- ING' FORM

THE GERUND

This looks exactly the same as a present participle, and for this reason it is now common to call both forms 'the -ing form'. However it is useful to understand the difference between the two. The gerund always has the same function as a noun (although it looks like a verb), so it can be used:

a. as the subject of the sentence:

• Eating people is wrong.
• Hunting elephants is dangerous.
• Flying makes me nervous.

b. as the complement of the verb 'to be':

• One of his duties is attending meetings.
• The hardest thing about learning English is understanding the gerund.
• One of life's pleasures is having breakfast in bed.

c. after prepositions. The gerund must be used when a verb comes after a preposition:

• Can you sneeze without opening your mouth?
• She is good at painting.
• They're keen on windsurfing.
• She avoided him by walking on the opposite side of the road.
• We arrived in Madrid after driving all night.
• My father decided against postponing his trip to Hungary.

This is also true of certain expressions ending in a preposition, e.g. in spite of, there's no point in..:

• There's no point in waiting.
• In spite of missing the train, we arrived on time.

d. after a number of 'phrasal verbs' which are composed of a verb + preposition/adverb

Example:
to look forward to, to give up, to be for/against, to take to, to put off, to keep on:

• I look forward to hearing from you soon. (at the end of a letter)
• When are you going to give up smoking?
• She always puts off going to the dentist.
• He kept on asking for money.

NOTE: There are some phrasal verbs and other expressions that include the word 'to' as a preposition, not as part of a to-infinitive: - to look forward to, to take to, to be accustomed to, to be used to. It is important to recognise that 'to' is a preposition in these cases, as it must be followed by a gerund:

• We are looking forward to seeing you.
• I am used to waiting for buses.
• She didn't really take to studying English.

It is possible to check whether 'to? is a preposition or part of a to-infinitive: if you can put a noun or the pronoun 'it' after it, then it is a preposition and must be followed by a gerund:

• I am accustomed to it (the cold).
• I am accustomed to being cold.

e. in compound nouns

Example:

• a driving lesson, a swimming pool, bird-watching, train-spotting

It is clear that the meaning is that of a noun, not of a continuous verb.

Example:

• the pool is not swimming, it is a pool for swimming in.

f. in compound adjectives

• I saw a man-eating alligator.
• I saw a man eating alligator.

• Noun + Present Participle

  When we have a noun + present participle, we put a hyphen between the two words to make it a compound adjective.
  
  • I bought some mouth-watering strawberries.
  • That was a record-breaking jump.
  • That certainly is an attention-getting outfit. (showy, llamativo)

• Adjective + Present Participle

  When we have an adjective + present participle, we put a hyphen between the two words to make it a compound adjective.
  
  • She is a good-looking girl.
  • It left a long-lasting taste in my mouth.

g. after the expressions:

can't help, can't stand, it's no use/good, and the adjective worth:

• The elephant couldn't help falling in love with the mouse.
• I can't stand being stuck in traffic jams.
• It's no use/good trying to escape.
• It might be worth phoning the station to check the time of the train.

h. after more expressions:
there's no telling / knowing / denying (the fact that...)

• Once he got her going on her grandchildren, there was no stopping her. * There was no stopping the flood
• How about going to the cinema tonight?

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3. The verb + –ing used as a Gerund

• 2. The verb + –ing used as an Adjective

A gerund is a verbal noun, which is a form of verb that always ends in –ing and functions as a noun.

• It seems none of them likes my singing. (The word singing is a gerund.)

A gerund often follows a verb, and a preposition does not come between the gerund and the verb.

Examples:

• They discussed getting married. (Not: They discussed to getting married.)
• I like walking in the rain.
• The dog stopped barking when I gave it a bone.
• He has just finished quarrelling with his wife.
• The prince has consistently denied murdering his wife.
  

Gerund is used as a subject in a sentence.

Examples:

• Washing his care is something he hates most.
• Watching television to some is a waste of time.
• Attending church is not something the family does often.
• Smoking is bad for your health.
• Working in a foreign country can be very difficult.
• Learning a foreign language can be a real challenge.
• Skipping to her is a better alternative to jogging.
  

Gerund used as an object in a sentence.

Examples:

• She prefers any of the household chores to mopping.
• Her sister does not like cooking.
• Her everyday exercise includes deep breathing.
  

Gerund comes after a preposition.

Examples:

• He is addicted to playing online games.
• His parents were well accustomed to working hard.
• She is very excited about meeting him for the first time.
• Jane is very pleased with getting the desired exam results.
• Many will remember them for winning the first gold medal for the country.
• We apologized for arriving late.
• John has become interested in catching scorpions for fun.
• Jack looks forward to running his own loan shark business.
  

Gerund comes after conjunctions.

Examples:

• Mr Black usually says a prayer for world peace before going to bed.
• Mrs White still looks quite scared after watching two crocodiles fight in her dream.
• I have learned to be careful since knocking my head against the wall.
  

Gerund follows an adjective.

Examples:

• The police are still trying to establish a motive for the cold-blooded killing.
• The new stadium has got very bright lighting.
• This boy never cries whenever he gets a severe scolding from his parents.
  

Gerund may come before another noun.

Examples:

• The sitting room is where she relaxes.
• It is so much fun to be at the swimming pool.
• Someone took all my gardening tools from my garden.
• One of the folding legs of the ironing board is broken.
• Although he is100 years old, he moves about without the aid of a walking stick.
• He had a frightening dream about a fire-breathing dragon chasing him.
  

Gerund can be plural countable nouns.

Examples:

• Airport authority has issued several warnings about pickpocket.
• Last month, the local vicar conducted ten weddings.
• The boy showed me his three drawings of ugly witches riding African elephants.
  

We can use ‘be used to’ / ‘get used to’ with gerund.

Examples:

• I was used to watching vultures perched on a rocky cliff, but I never have the time now.
• Sarah is used to donating her blood at the medical centre.
• After his wife died, he had to get used to looking after the kids on his own.
  

Gerund in a negative statement

To make a gerund negative, just add the negative word not before the gerund.

Examples:

• He says not learning is the best thing in his life.
• My not singing in the shower can make her very happy.
• Her bad habit is not answering the phone when it rings.
• Not marrying him is not on her mind.
  

Phrasal verb + gerund

A phrasal verb consists of a verb and a preposition which together have its own meaning (e.g. cut down = to reduce the amount of something). The following examples show the phrasal verbs and gerunds in bold.

Examples:

• Julia carried on talking even though no one was listening. (Phrasal verb: carried on)
• Jack keeps on scratching his head and we wonder why.
• Jan gave up driving after her car was hit by a truck.
• He does not know when he will get around to doing the living room.
• We stayed up late watching the horror movie last night.
  

Gerund used in other expressions

Examples:

• It is no use crying over spilt milk.
• This new gadget is for opening canned food.
• Where do you usually go for fishing?
• I must do some ironing tonight.
• Now you regret being so rude to her.
• If only you had stopped talking and listened to your mother.
• We could go on dancing all night.
• She prefers having dinner at home to eating out.
• She thinks my hair needs shampooing.
  

When a gerund forms part of a phrase, it is called a gerund phrase. A gerund phrase may also include modifiers and complements.

Examples:

• Weekend coastal sailing has always been his passion.
  (The gerund phrase is weekend coastal sailing.)
• The big fat fellow with a bushy beard enjoys doing magic at children's parties.
  (The gerund phrase is doing magic at children's parties.)