Gerunds

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Gerunds can be confusing since they are similar to a verb in the present participle. Examples of verbs in the present participle are running, walking and sleeping. The reason for the confusion is they are both verbs ending in ing.

Look at the difference in these sentences:

Running is tiresome. (gerund)
Jimmy is outside running. (present progressive)
I like sleeping on the weekends. (gerund)
Jack is sleeping in the room. (present progressive)

One rule that works almost all of the time when trying to determine if a verb ending in ing is a gerund is to add “the act of” in front of the word. Take the examples above and try this rule:

The act of Running is tiresome. (gerund)
Jimmy is outside the act of running. (present progressive)
I like the act of sleeping on the weekends. (gerund)
Jack is the act of sleeping in the room. (present progressive)

Although the sentences sound slightly odd, the rule can be used to help determine how the verb is being used.

Gerunds as Subject, Object or Complement

Gerunds are used as nouns. Since they are nouns they can be the subject, object or complement of the sentence just like any other noun. Here are a few examples:

Acting is a difficult career. (subject)
I don’t like swimming. (object)
Her only hobby is bowling. (complement)

Gerunds can also have objects since it is like a verb in that way. With that structure the entire expression can be the subject, object or complement.

Acting alone is a difficult career.
I don’t like swimming the front-stroke.
Her only hobby is bowling with Frank.

Since a gerund is similar to a noun it can take on adjectives. These can be possessive adjectives, articles and other forms of adjectives. Here are a few examples:

trivial reading
the writing of the paper
her eating of cake

Gerunds after Prepositions

When using a verb after a preposition you cannot use the infinitive form of the verb. What is used in place of it is a gerund.

I will finish that after leaving the park.
Please read this book before testing.
I always thought about eating at that new place.

It can be confusing since it is common to see the use of “to” before a verb with ing. That is because “to” is being used as a preposition. Here is a chart to explain how:

to as preposition	Preposition
I am used	to	running.
I am used	to	leaving.
to as infinitive	Infinitive
I used	to run.
I used	to leave.

Gerunds after Certain Verbs

When we use one verb after another we typically use either the infinitive or a gerund. Look at these two examples:

She needs to travel to Europe.
She likes traveling.

It is hard to know when to use what form. One of the best ways to determine if you are going to use an infinitive or gerund is based on the words in front. There are certain words that are usually followed by a gerund: admit, appreciate, avoid, carry on, consider, defer, deny, detest, dislike, endure, enjoy, escape, excuse, face, feel like, finish, forgive, give up, can’t help, imagine, involve, leave off, mention, mind, postpone, practice, put off, report, resent, risk, can’t stand, suggest

Here are a few examples:

She enjoys talking with her mom.
Tim really detests eating at Jack’s.
I feel like walking the dog.

Be careful since there are some words that can be followed by an infinitive or gerund. Some of these words include: allow, advise, begin, continue, hate, intend, like, love, permit, prefer, propose, start, stop, urge

She prefers to sing with Timmy.
She prefers singing with Timmy.
He stopped to help his mom.
He stopped helping his mom.

You also have to be careful since there are times when using the infinitive or gerund can change the meaning of the sentence. In the first two examples the sentences take on the same meaning. In the last two there is a difference between “stopped to help” and “stopped helping”.