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Gerunds (-Ing)

The document discusses the differences between gerunds and present participles. It notes that gerunds function like nouns and can be subjects, objects or complements of sentences. Present participles function like verbs or adjectives. The document provides examples of gerunds used after prepositions, certain verbs, and in a passive sense. It also includes a quiz to check the reader's understanding of gerunds and present participles.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
99 views17 pages

Gerunds (-Ing)

The document discusses the differences between gerunds and present participles. It notes that gerunds function like nouns and can be subjects, objects or complements of sentences. Present participles function like verbs or adjectives. The document provides examples of gerunds used after prepositions, certain verbs, and in a passive sense. It also includes a quiz to check the reader's understanding of gerunds and present participles.

Uploaded by

Le Drac
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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GERUNDS (-ING)

When a verb ends in -ing, it may be a gerund or a


present participle. It is important to understand that
they are not the same.
When we use a verb in -ing form more like a noun,
it is usually a gerund:
 Fishing is fun.
When we use a verb in -ing form more like a verb or
an adjective, it is usually a present participle:
 Anthony is fishing.
 I have a boring teacher.
Gerunds are sometimes called "verbal nouns".
In this lesson, we look at how we use gerunds,
followed by a quiz to check your understanding:
 Gerunds as Subject, Object or Complement
 Gerunds after Prepositions
 Gerunds after Certain Verbs
 Gerunds in Passive Sense
 Gerunds Quiz
Many grammarians do not like to use the expression
"gerund". That is because there is sometimes no

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clear difference between a gerund and a present
participle.

Gerunds as Subject, Object or Complement


Try to think of gerunds as verbs in noun form.
Like nouns, gerunds can be the subject, object or
complement of a sentence:
 Smoking costs a lot of money.
 I don't like writing.
 My favourite occupation is reading.
But, like a verb, a gerund can also have an object
itself. In this case, the whole expression [gerund +
object] can be the subject, object or complement of
the sentence.
 Smoking cigarettes costs a lot of money.
 I don't like writing letters.
 My favourite occupation is reading detective
stories.
Like nouns, we can use gerunds with adjectives
(including articles and other determiners):
 pointless questioning
 a settling of debts
 the making of Titanic

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 his drinking of alcohol
But when we use a gerund with an article, it does not
usually take a direct object:
 a settling of debts (not a settling debts)
 Making "Titanic" was expensive.
 The making of "Titanic" was expensive.
Do you see the difference in these two sentences? In
one, "reading" is a gerund (noun). In the other
"reading" is a present participle (verb).
 My favourite occupation is reading.
 My favourite niece is reading.
Hide answer

reading as gerund
(noun) Main Verb Complement
My favourite occupation is reading.
My favourite occupation is football.
reading as present Auxiliary
Main Verb
participle (verb) Verb
My favourite niece is reading.
My favourite niece has finished.

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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:
 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:
 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.
The above rule has no exceptions!
So why is "to" followed by "driving" in 1 and by
"drive" in 2?
1. I am used to driving on the left.
2. I used to drive on the left.

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Hide answer

to as
preposition Preposition
driving on the
I am used to
left.
I am used to animals.
to as infinitive Infinitive
I used to drive on the left
I used to smoke.  

Gerunds after Certain Verbs

We sometimes use one verb after another verb.


Often the second verb is in the infinitive form, for
example:
 I want to eat.
But sometimes the second verb must be in gerund
form, for example:
 I dislike eating.
This depends on the first verb. Here is a list of verbs
that are usually followed by a verb in gerund form:

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 admit, appreciate, avoid, carry on, consider,
defer, delay, deny, detest, dislike, endure, enjoy,
escape, excuse, face, feel like, finish, forgive,
give up, can't help, imagine, involve, leave off,
mention, mind, miss, postpone, practise, put off,
report, resent, risk, can't stand, suggest,
understand
Look at these examples:
 She is considering having a holiday.
 Do you feel like going out?
 I can't help falling in love with you.
 I can't stand not seeing you.
Some verbs can be followed by the gerund form or
the infinitive form without a big change in meaning:
begin, continue, hate, intend, like, love, prefer,
propose, start
 I like to play tennis.
 I like playing tennis.
 It started to rain.
 It started raining.

Gerunds in Passive Sense


We often use a gerund after the verbs need, require
and want. In this case, the gerund has a passive
sense.
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 I have three shirts that need washing. (need to
be washed)
 This letter requires signing. (needs to be
signed)
 The house wants repainting. (needs to be
repainted)
The expression "something wants doing" is not
normally used in American English.

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VERB + –ING (GERUNDS AND
PARTICIPLES)

1. The verb + –ing used as a Noun or Gerund


2. The verb + –ing used as the Present
Participle
3. The verb + –ing used as an Adjective
 
The –ing form is used in three ways:
a) The –ing form is used as a verb (present
participle).

EXAMPLE: Adam is jogging in the park. / Eve


saw a pickpocket stealing a wallet.
b) The –ing form is used as a noun (gerund)

EXAMPLE: Everyone in the family likes


cooking.
c) The –ing form is used as an adjective.

EXAMPLE: They managed to save the


drowning child.

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1. The Verb + -ing used as a Noun or Gerund

Gerund is the –ing form of a verb, and is used in


the same ways as a noun. It is used as a subject or as
an object in a sentence. It can also be used as a
subject and an object within the same sentence, as
follow:
a) Washing his car is the only thing he does
almost every Sunday.
b) She prefers any of the household chores to
mopping.
c) Skipping to him is a better alternative to
jogging.

The gerunds in the above sentences (washing,


mopping, skipping, and jogging) are –ing forms of
the verbs: wash, mop, skip and jog.
In (a), washing is the noun acting as the subject in
the sentence.

In (b), mopping is the object in the sentence (the


object of the preposition to.)
In (c), the two gerunds – skipping and jogging – act
as subject and object of the same sentence.
 

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a) Using Gerund as Subjects or Objects
 The gerunds are used as subjects or objects of
a verb
Watching television is a waste of time.
Attending church regularly is important.
Smoking is very bad for you.
Working in a foreign country can be very
difficult.
Learning a foreign language can be a real
challenge.
My sister does not like cooking.
Every morning she goes jogging.
 
b) Verb + gerund
 A gerund is used as the object of the verb, and
it usually comes after the verb. A preposition is
not needed between the verb and the gerund.
EXAMPLE: They discussed getting married.
(NOT: They discussed to getting married.)

I like walking in the rain. (Verb like followed by


gerund walking)
She enjoys playing with her puppies.
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The dog stopped barking when I gave it a bone.
He has just finished painting the room.
Neil has consistently denied murdering his
estranged wife.
 
 We can use be used to / get used to + –ing
form of the verb
I was used to watching birds on the hill side, 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.
 
 A negative statement using not can be used
before the –ing form.
I am frustrated not having enough money to buy her
a birthday present.
 
c) Phrasal Verbs + Gerund
 A phrasal verb consists of a verb and a
preposition which together have its own
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meaning.
EXAMPLE: cut down = to reduce the amount of
something.
The following phrasal verbs + gerund are in bold.
Julia carried on talking even though no one was
listening. (Phrasal verb: carried on)
Jack keeps on scratching his head and we wonder
why. (Phrasal verb: keeps on)
Jill gave up smoking last year.
He doesn't know when he'll get around to doing the
roof repair.
We stayed up watching the movie late last night.
 
d) Prepositions + Gerund
 When there is a preposition + verb, we must
use an –ing form for the verb.
Prepositions + gerund are in bold as follow:
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.
Julia is very pleased with getting the desired exam
results.
He will always be remembered for winning the first
gold medal for the country.
We apologized for arriving late.
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Jill has become interested in catching butterflies for
fun.
Jack looks forward to running his own business.
 
 We can use an –ing form after such words as
before, after and since.
Mr. Black usually says a prayer for good luck before
going to bed.
Mrs. White felt quite scared after watching two
crocodiles fight.
I have learned to be careful since knocking my head
against the wall.
 
e) Gerund used in other expressions
It's no use crying over spilt milk.
This new gadget is for opening tinned food.
Where do you usually go for fishing?
One thing I hate most is ironing my clothes.
Now you regret being so rude to her.
If only you had stopped talking and listened to her.
We could go on dancing all night.
She prefers having dinner at home to eating outside.
I think your hair needs shampooing.
 

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f) Gerund used in compound nouns
The old man moves about with the help of a
walking-stick.
She cleans the sitting-room almost every week.
The swimming-pool was most crowded at
weekends.

2. The Verb + -ing used as the Present Participle

a) The present participle is the verb + –ing. It is


used:
1. as the present continuous tense of the verb.
EXAMPLE: It is raining at the moment. / The dog
is barking at the clown.

2. after an action verb.


EXAMPLE: He went fishing with his father. / They
played catching the ball on the beach.
 
3. after the verb and object , that is verb + object +
present participle.
EXAMPLE: The detectives caught someone
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pickpocketing. / We saw a small dog chasing a cat.

Here, the verbs caught and saw are followed by the


objects someone and dog, and then the present
participles pickpocketing and chasing. The use of
present participle indicates the action was still going
on.

4. to show two actions are done by the same person


and are happening at the same time.
EXAMPLE: Walking to the gate, he turned to wave
to his neighbour.
 
b) Verb + preposition + –ing form
I had to apologize for stepping on her toes.
Her main aim now is to concentrate on passing her
exam.
We finally decided on holidaying in Hawaii.
Sometimes Jack and Jill think of going up the hill.
The gang of youth was arrested for fighting in the
street.
 

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c) Linking word + –ing form
Mr. Wood went to play golf in spite of feeling
unwell.
Although joining the company only a year ago,
she's already been promoted twice.
Johnny has not been seen for a year since leaving
home.
He never fails to turn off the light when leaving his
room.
She is paid well for cleaning the office.
We always have hot drinks after swimming.
 
d) Using verbs and verbs + –ing form
We can use either the simple form of the verb or the
–ing form of a verb. There is very little difference in
meaning between the two forms.
a) I saw Jack walkt along the river.
b) I saw Jack walking along the river.
c) I heard Jill sing in the bathroom.
d) I heard Jill singing in the bathroom.
There is no difference in meaning between (a) and
(b), and (c) and (d). The –ing form of a verb is better
used with while.
EXAMPLE: I saw Jack while he was walking along
the river.
The use of while indicates an action is still going on.
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"I heard Jill while she was singing in the bathroom"
means the singing was still going on when I heard it.

3. The Verb + -ing used as an Adjective

a) The adjective using verb + –ing is usually


placed before the noun it modifies.
Some nations are experiencing a dwindling
population due to very low birth rate.
There are people who doubt the disappearing rain
forest contributes to global warming.
 
b) The verb + –ing form can be used after
possessive adjectives.
We do really appreciate your helping to get all this
work done.
I will not tolerate his behaving in that manner again.
She said she doesn't mind our going over to her
place for a drink.

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