What Is a Gerund? How Is It Used?

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Summary

A gerund is a verb form ending in -ing (e.g., baking, singing) that functions as a noun. It can be the subject in a sentence or the object of a verb or preposition.

Examples

• Baking is fun.
• Lulu loves singing in the shower.
• Nesbit is taking a class on driving.

We use gerunds to speak of activities, hobbies, behaviors, and interests.

Examples

• Rita enjoys cycling.
• Dancing is her passion.
• Poco likes painting on walls.

Infographic: What are gerunds?

What is a gerund?

A gerund is a verb form ending in -ing (e.g., singing, dancing, cooking, jogging) that acts as a noun.

Examples

• Swimming is Tumkin’s favorite form of exercise.
• Maya loves walking in the rain.
• Farley writes blog posts on baking.

Gerunds exhibit both noun-like and verb-like qualities. In this article, we discuss when and how they are used.

How to form a gerund

Any verb can form a gerund: just add -ing to it. For example, if you take the verb run and add -ing to it, you get the gerund running. Here are some examples of gerunds, all formed by adding -ing to a verb.

Examples

• smiling
• laughing
• talking
• speaking
• thinking
• learning
• reading
• writing
• acting
• making
• doing
• running
• jumping
• sitting
• standing
• cooking
• baking
• singing
• dancing
• humming
• snoring
• explaining
• reading
• doing
• buying
• selling
• traveling
• dreaming
• believing
• being

Caution

All gerunds end in -ing, but not all words that end in -ing are gerunds.

Example

• Lulu likes dancing in the

   

  morning

   

  .

  Dancing is a gerund (dance + -ing), but morning is simply a noun.

When to use gerunds

Use gerunds to speak of interests, behaviors, and hobbies.

Examples

• Maya enjoys reading, writing, and traveling.
• Farley is good at worrying about the future.
• Nesbit likes collecting stamps from around the world.

To speak of an activity rather than an object or state, use a gerund.

Examples

• Sleeping on one’s back can cause morning stiffness.
• My dog loves drinking cold water after a walk.
• Investing in mutual funds is one way to save for retirement.
• I

  shall

  consider accepting your offer.

Gerunds can take the place of nouns in sentences. Just like nouns they can act as subject and object, and be modified by adjectives. They can even form compound nouns.

Gerund as subject

A gerund can be the subject of a sentence. (The subject is whom or what a sentence is about.)

Examples

• Laughing is good for health.
• Dancing is what she loves most in the world.

• Baking is good for the soul.

The subject could also be a gerund phrase.

Examples

• Baking a pie may appear to be simple but is actually quite complicated.
• Driving a car is dangerous in this neighborhood.
• Stealing the queen’s dragon will get you banished from the magic kingdom.

Here are some more examples of how, just like a noun, a gerund can be the subject in a sentence.

Examples

• Noun: Laughter is good for health.
  Gerund: Jogging is good for health.
• Noun: Love makes it easier to live.
  Gerund: Breathing makes it easier to live.
• Noun: A picnic sounds like fun.
  Gerund: Snorkeling sounds like fun.

Gerund as object of verb

A gerund (or gerund phrase) can act as the object of a verb, just like a noun. Thus, it can function not only as a verb’s subject but also its object.

Examples

• Lulu

   

  loves

   

  dancing.

  The gerund dancing functions as the object of the verb loves.

• Farley

   

  hates

   

  doing the dishes, even with the music on.

  The gerund phrase doing the dishes is the object of the verb hates.

• Rita

   

  enjoys

   

  riding her motorcycle on weekends.

Note

Another verb form, the infinitive (to + verb), can also act as the subject or object of a verb in a sentence.

Examples

• To do the dishes without music is impossible.

  infinitive phrase as subject

• Lulu loves to dance.

  infinitive as object

Gerund as object of preposition

Like a noun, a gerund (or gerund phrase) can be the object of a preposition in a sentence. Prepositions include words like for, with, in, by, on, of, at, and from.

Examples

• Music is great

   

  for

   

  dancing.

• Rita is obsessed

   

  with

   

  riding.

• Poco believes

   

  in

   

  drinking orange juice instead of water.

• The only way we can pay these bills is

   

  by

   

  selling the house.

• Maya is taking a course

   

  on

   

  baking.

• I’m so tired

   

  of

   

  running from my problems.

• Tumkin is great

   

  at

   

  painting murals.

• Nesbit is exhausted

   

  from

   

  playing video games all weekend.

Adjectives with gerunds

Adjectives can be used to describe gerunds, just like they describe nouns.

Examples

• I have never heard such

   

  beautiful

   

  singing.

  The adjective beautiful describes the gerund singing.

• We appreciated his

   

  careful

   

  driving.

• Tumkin’s

   

  artistic

   

  rendering of a simple logo has transformed our website.

• Have you heard of the

   

  ghastly

   

  haunting of our local library by the ghosts of unpublished writers?

• Farley’s

   

  tuneless

   

  humming was getting on everybody’s nerves.

Gerunds in compound nouns

Interestingly, gerunds can form compound nouns (two or more words making up a single noun), an ability that further underscores their “nounishness.”

Examples

• When Anita discovered she was pregnant, she bought herself seventeen books on child-rearing.

  The noun child combines with the gerund rearing to form a compound noun.

• Doesn’t Poco’s argument sound like so much hair-splitting?
• Farley, your play-acting isn’t fooling anyone!
• Beekeeping can be a rewarding hobby—for you and for the bees.
• A successful business requires good bookkeeping.

Adverbs with gerunds

A gerund, after all a verb form, retains some of its verb-like qualities. Unlike a noun, a gerund can be modified by adverbs. A regular noun is described using an adjective (a happy man) rather than an adverb (a happily man). But gerunds can take adverbs (sadly, madly, loudly, almost, never), just like verbs.

Examples

• Driving

   

  carefully

   

  will save you.

• Those were the days when writing

   

  neatly

   

  would help us pass exams.

•  

  Willingly

   

  submitting to an investigation can only help your case.

• I would suggest

   

  quickly

   

  selling your house now that you have found a buyer.

•  

  Never

   

  being proved wrong doesn’t mean you’re right.

Gerunds in compound verbs

Gerunds, which by now we know have superpowers, can even give birth to compound verbs.

Examples

• Nesbit loves to window-shop on his way to work.

  Window plus the gerund shopping made window-shopping. Through usage, this then turned into the compound verb window-shop.

• I have to babysit my niece this evening.

  from baby + sitting

• Tumkin finds it reassuring that he is being headhunted by three companies at once.

  from head + hunting

Gerunds vs. -ing nouns

Not all nouns that end in -ing are gerunds—only those that are verb forms and retain their verb-like qualities. Only one of the following sentences has a gerund.

Examples

• Noun: The building I live in is a hundred

  years old.

• Gerund: Building the bridge cost numerous lives.

In the first example, building is simply a noun that has no verbal qualities—no action is being hinted at. In the second sentence, the verb build combines with ‑ing to give us a gerund. Here are more such words.

Examples

• Noun: Farley bought a hideous painting at the auction yesterday.
  Gerund: Painting for a living doesn’t always pay.
• Noun: Are you going to hang a stocking for Santa tonight?
  Gerund: One of the tasks Rita must complete today is stocking the shelves.
• Noun: You don’t have to hide your feelings.
  Gerund: Feeling blue on Monday is par for the course.

Gerunds vs. infinitives

An infinitive (to read) can often be used in place of a gerund (reading). Using the infinitive as the subject can sound more formal.

Example

• Infinitive: To read in a moving car is difficult.
  Gerund: Reading in a moving car is difficult.

Quite often, there is no real difference in meaning, and you can use either as the object.

Example

• Infinitive: Lulu likes to sing in the shower.
  Gerund: Lulu likes singing in the shower.

However, some verbs are always followed by gerunds instead of infinitives.

Examples

• They

   

  discussed

   

  adopting / to adopt a tarantula instead of a cat.

• We

   

  risk

   

  losing / to lose everything.

• I

   

  recommend

   

  working / to work on this in the morning.

Read more in this article on infinitives versus gerunds.

Usage guide

Gerunds are versatile words that can be used in a variety of constructions. They function as nouns in sentences and can be the subject (planning is important), object of a verb (she  likes  planning for the future), or object of a preposition (she is thinking  about  planning for the future). Gerunds are often used to speak of hobbies, interests, and activities (she enjoys singing and dancing in her free time).

What Is a Gerund Phrase? (with Examples)

A gerund phrase is a

Easy Examples of Gerund Phrases

Here are some easy examples of gerund phrases. (In these examples, the gerund phrases are shaded, and the gerunds are bold.)

• Removing the dressing quickly

  is the best way.

Here are the parts of the gerund phrase:

• gerund: “removing”
• direct object: “the dressing”
• modifier: “quickly”
• I like

  singing songs in the shower

  .

Here are the parts of the gerund phrase:

• gerund: “singing”
• direct object: “songs”
• modifier: “in the shower”
• Try to serve the soup without

  dropping the tray this time

  .

Here are the parts of the gerund phrase:

• gerund: “dropping”
• direct object: “the tray”
• modifier: “this time”

Here is an example without an object:

• Moving quickly

  is the key to survival.

Here are the parts of the gerund phrase:

• gerund: “moving”
• modifier: “quickly”

Here is an example without a modifier:

• I want to talk to you about

  buying those magic beans

  .

Here are the parts of the gerund phrase:

• gerund: “buying”
• direct object: “those magic beans”

Got it? Take a quick test.

Got it? Take a quick test.

Let’s Dissect a Gerund Phrase

Let’s dissect two more gerund phrases and make things a little bit more complicated.

• Eating blackberries quickly

  will make you ill.

In the gerund phrase above:

• “Eating” is the gerund.

(A gerund phrase always starts with the gerund.)

• The word “blackberries” is the direct object of the gerund.

(The object of a gerund is also called the gerund complement.)

• “Quickly” is a modifier (an adverb).

Now, let’s make it a little more complicated:

• Eating blackberries without washing them

  will make you ill.

This is the same as the example above, except – this time – the modifier is the phrase “without washing them.” Just like “quickly” in the first example, it is an adverb. In fact, “without washing them” is an

Read more about gerunds.

The Function of Gerund Phrases

Like all nouns, a gerund phrase can function as a

• Eating blackberries quickly

  is a bad idea.

(Here, the gerund phrase is the subject of the verb “is.”)

• She hates

  waiting for trains

  .

(The gerund phrase is the direct object of the verb “hates.”)

• She knew a lot about

  growing tomatoes in cold climates

  .

(The gerund phrase is the object of the preposition “about.”)

• Her biggest mistake was

  caring too much about the quality of the product

  .

(The gerund phrase is a subject complement that completes the linking verb “was.”)

Read more about how nouns function.

The Parts of a Gerund Phrase

All gerunds end “-ing.” They are nouns formed from verbs. For example:

• eating (from the verb “to eat”)
• taking (from the verb “to take”)
• painting (from the verb “to paint”)

A gerund is not like a normal

• eating a cake
• taking a drink
• painting a fence

These complements (or objects) make up part of the gerund phrase.

Gerunds can also be modified. For example:

• eating a cake quickly
• taking a drink at the watering hole
• painting a fence with the brush his wife bought him

These modifiers also make up part of the gerund phrase.

Real-Life Examples of Gerund Phrases

Here are some real-life examples of gerund phrases. (In these examples, the gerund phrases are shaded, and the gerunds are bold.)

• Arithmetic is the ability to count up to twenty without

  taking off your shoes

  . (Mickey Mouse)

• Discovery consists of

  seeing what everybody has seen

  and

  thinking what nobody has thought

  . (Biochemist Albert Szent-Gyorgyi)

• Thinking rationally

  is a realistic assessment of the situation with a view towards

  rectifying the problem if possible

  .

Do Not Confuse Gerunds with Present Participles

Not every word which ends “-ing” is a gerund.

This is a gerund phrase:

• Eating a banana an hour before

  can help.

These are not gerund phrases:

• Eating a banana with one hand, Jack suddenly looked up.

(This is a participle phrase. It is functioning as an adjective describing “Jack.”)

• The gorilla was eating a banana with one hand.

(This is a present participle used to form the past progressive tense.)

• If you are eating the wrong foods in the wrong amounts, all the exercise in the world won’t combat the caloric intake.

(This is a present participle used to form the present progressive tense.)

Read more about present participles.

Why Should I Care about Gerund Phrases?

Here is a great reason to care about gerund phrases.

Gerunds can reduce your word count and improve reading flow.

Using normal nouns (i.e., not gerunds) and the

• The discovery of this new cave will assist with the facilitation of the exploration of the western tunnels.

(This sentence has way too many nouns. It’s long and stuffy, and it doesn’t flow naturally.)

As a rule, the best way to fix a jolty, noun-ridden sentence is with a well-placed

• Discovering this new cave

  will assist with

  exploring the western tunnels

  .

(This 11-word version features two gerund phrases. It flows far better than the 18-word version above.)

Of course, a few other things have happened here to reduce from 18 to 11 words (e.g., the redundant “with the facilitation of” was removed), but the very act of trying to replace a rabble of nouns and prepositions with some sleek gerund phrases will drive those other changes too.

Read more about how normal nouns can make your writing seem clunky.

Key Point

• Use the verb-like properties of gerunds to write shorter, better-flowing sentences.

Ready for the Test?

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A gerund phrase is a phrase that consists of a gerund , its object , and any modifiers Here are some easy examples of gerund phrases. (In these examples, the gerund phrases are shaded, and the gerunds are bold.)Here is an example without an object:Here is an example without a modifier:Let’s dissect two more gerund phrases and make things a little bit more complicated.In the gerund phrase above:Now, let’s make it a little more complicated:This is the same as the example above, except – this time – the modifier is the phrase “without washing them.” Just like “quickly” in the first example, it is an adverb. In fact, “without washing them” is an adverbial phrase , which itself contains a gerund phrase (“washing them”) consisting of a gerund (“washing”) and its direct object (“them”).Like all nouns, a gerund phrase can function as a subject , an object , or a complement within a sentence . For example:All gerunds end “-ing.” They are nouns formed from verbs. For example:A gerund is not like a normal noun because a gerund can take a direct object (just like a verb can). The direct object of a gerund is known as a gerund complement . For example:These complements (or objects) make up part of the gerund phrase.Gerunds can also be modified. For example:These modifiers also make up part of the gerund phrase.Here are some real-life examples of gerund phrases. (In these examples, the gerund phrases are shaded, and the gerunds are bold.)Not every word which ends “-ing” is a gerund. Present participles also end “-ing.” Present participles are also verbals (i.e., words formed from verbs), but – unlike gerunds – they are not used as nouns. They are used as adjectives or to form verbs in a progressive tense This is a gerund phrase:These are not gerund phrases:Here is a great reason to care about gerund phrases.Using normal nouns (i.e., not gerunds) and the prepositions needed to make those nouns often makes a sentence jolty and unnecessarily long. For example:As a rule, the best way to fix a jolty, noun-ridden sentence is with a well-placed verb . However, gerunds (having verb-like qualities) are also a useful tool for reducing your word count and creating sentences that flow better.Of course, a few other things have happened here to reduce from 18 to 11 words (e.g., the redundant “with the facilitation of” was removed), but the very act of trying to replace a rabble of nouns and prepositions with some sleek gerund phrases will drive those other changes too.