SLIDE 01 ● Cramming

GREETINGS ● Wondering
WHAT IS THE LESSON? SLIDE 05
SLIDE 02 ● But that’s not what makes them
READ SLIDES gerunds. To be a gerund, a verb has
● They both end in verbs, but those to act as a noun in its sentence.
verbs aren’t just verbs. They’re Present participle verbs are not
gerunds. Think about what these gerunds when they describe the
verbs are doing for a moment—they action in a sentence, like the verbs
aren’t describing the action in these in these: read slides
sentences like verbs normally do. ● Gerunds aren’t the only instance
That’s because gerunds don’t where a word (or group of words)
describe action—they act as nouns. plays a role that’s typically taken on
● Gerunds are a flexible, useful type of by another type of word. For
word because they enable us to example, an adverbial clause is a
speak and write about actions in a clause that functions as an adverb.
more abstract way, positioning those An adjective phrase is a phrase that
actions as reasons for specific describes a noun the way an
outcomes, hobbies, and receivers of adjective typically does.
subjects’ actions. SLIDE 06
● A gerund phrase is a phrase that
SLIDE 03 consists of a gerund plus any
● A gerund (pronounced JER-und) is a modifiers or complements it may
verb that’s acting as a noun. By that, have. Just like a gerund itself, a
we mean that the verb—the word gerund phrase functions as a noun
that describes the action that’s within a sentence. It can serve as a
happening, like “biking,” “thinking,” subject, object, complement, or
“running,” or “speaking”—becomes a object of a preposition.
thing, a concept that can now be the ● Read slide content
sentence’s subject, direct object, ● A phrase is a small group of words
indirect object, or the object of a that communicates a concept but
preposition. can’t be an independent sentence
● It doesn’t stop being a verb, but the on its own. There are lots of different
role it plays in a sentence shifts from kinds of phrases in English, like verb
describing the action to being a focal phrases, adjective phrases,
point. prepositional phrases, and noun
SLIDE 04 phrases.
● Here are two examples of sentences ● In summary, a gerund phrase is a
that contain gerunds: read slides phrase consisting of a gerund along
● As you see in these examples, with any modifiers or complements it
gerunds are verbs in the present may have. It functions as a noun
participle form. This means they’re within a sentence and can serve
the root verb + “ing”: various roles, such as subject,
● Like Seeing
 object, complement, or object of a ● In summary, when gerunds are used
preposition. in conjunction with phrasal verbs,
they typically serve as the object of
SLIDE 07 the phrasal verb, conveying a
● Gerunds can also be used in specific meaning that may not be
conjunction with phrasal verbs, immediately obvious from the
two-word phrases that combine a individual components.
verb and an adverb or preposition to Gerund-phrasal verb combinations
communicate a unique concept that are common in English and
can’t be expressed by either of the contribute to the versatility and
words individually. richness of the language.
● When gerunds are used in
conjunction with phrasal verbs, they SLIDE 08
create what is known as a ● Subject Gerunds:
gerund-phrasal verb combination. These gerunds function as the subject of a
Phrasal verbs consist of a verb sentence, indicating what the sentence is
followed by one or more particles, about.
typically prepositions or adverbs. In this sentence, "biking" serves as the
When a gerund is used with a subject gerund, indicating the activity being
phrasal verb, it often serves as the discussed.
object of the phrasal verb. ● These gerunds follow linking verbs
● Formation: and rename or describe the subject
A phrasal verb consists of a verb and one or of the sentence.
more particles (prepositions or adverbs) that Here, "biking" is the subjective
together convey a single meaning. complement gerund, describing the
A gerund is a verb form ending in "-ing" that subject “his/her preferred way of
functions as a noun. commuting”
When a gerund is used with a phrasal verb, ● Direct object gerunds are a specific
it typically follows the verb and the particle type of gerund that functions as the
(if any). direct object of a verb in a sentence.
● Read slides (the gerund serving as In other words, they receive the
its object.) action of the verb.
● Function: Direct object gerunds serve the same
Gerunds used with phrasal verbs can serve function as nouns or noun phrases that
various functions within a sentence, serve as direct objects in a sentence.
depending on the specific phrasal verb and In this sentence, "biking" is the direct object
its context. gerund because it receives the action of the
They can function as objects of the phrasal verb "love"
verb, just like nouns do in other contexts. Placement:
● Meaning:
The combination of the gerund and the Direct object gerunds typically follow the
phrasal verb often conveys a specific verb directly.
meaning that may not be obvious from the
individual components.
However, they can also be placed at the "The idea" is the direct object.
end of a clause or sentence for emphasis or "Traveling" is the gerund acting as
clarity. an object complement.
● In summary, direct object gerunds ● The gerund "traveling"
are gerunds that function as the modifies or describes the
direct object of a verb in a sentence. direct object "the idea." It
They receive the action of the verb provides more information
and help complete the meaning of about what exactly about the
the sentence. Understanding direct idea is exciting.
object gerunds is essential for ● In this example, the gerund
constructing grammatically correct phrase (gerund + any
and coherent sentences in English. complements or modifiers)
acts as an object
SLIDE 09 complement that provides
● An indirect object gerund is a additional information about
grammatical construction where a the direct object of the verb.
gerund (the -ing form of a verb ● An object of a preposition
functioning as a noun) is used with gerund is a gerund phrase
an indirect object. In English, the (the -ing form of a verb
indirect object typically comes before functioning as a noun) that
the gerund and receives the action acts as the object of a
of the gerund. preposition within a
● In this sentence: sentence. In this
"She" is the subject. construction, the preposition
"Reading" is the gerund. is followed by the gerund,
"Novels" is the direct object. and together they form a
"She" is the indirect object. phrase that functions as a
● the gerund phrase (gerund + its single unit within the
complements) functions as the sentence.
object of the verb, and the indirect ● In this sentence:
object indicates to whom or for "He" is the subject.
whom the action is performed. "Is" is the verb.
● An object complement gerund is a "Interested" is the predicate
grammatical construction where a adjective.
gerund (the -ing form of a verb "In" is the preposition.
functioning as a noun) is used to "Learning" is the gerund
modify or describe the direct object acting as the object of the
of a verb. In this construction, the preposition "in."
gerund serves as an adjective or ● The prepositional phrase "in
noun that provides additional learning" functions as a
information about the direct object. single unit within the
● In this sentence: sentence, indicating what
"She" is the subject. specifically he is interested
"Found" is the verb. in.
 SLIDE 10 ● In contrast, some transitive verbs
READ SLIDES can work only with an infinitive. Take
● Gerunds aren’t the a look at these examples:
only kind of verb that
act as nouns. When SLIDE 14
you need to use a ● Gerunds are incredibly versatile.
verb as a noun, you Here are a few more examples of
can also turn it into an gerunds and gerund phrases in
infinitive. sentences:read slides
SLIDE 11 ● When you’re writing, whether it’s an
● An infinitive is the essay, a short story, a blog post, or
word “to” + a verb’s even an email or text message,
root. There are two you’ll probably naturally use
ways you can use an gerunds. Next time you write
infinitive: as a noun something, challenge yourself to
that communicates a pick out the gerunds in your work.
single concept and as They can be tricky, but being able to
an adjective to recognize them will make you a
describe a noun stronger writer and reader.
within the sentence.
Here are a few
examples, with
infinitives bolded:
SLIDE 12
● As you can see, infinitives are
similar to gerunds, but they aren’t
exactly the same. In a sentence
where the infinitive acts as a noun,
you can easily swap in a gerund and
it will still make sense:read slide
● But you can’t always go the other
way—notably when the gerund is
the object of a preposition: “I blocked
out a few hours this Sunday for to
bike.”
● You could remove the preposition in
this sentence (“for”) and it would
make sense: “I blocked out a few
hours this Sunday to bike.” But if you
do this, you no longer have a
prepositional phrase.
SLIDE 13