What Is a Gerund and Why Care?
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
What Is a Gerund and Why Care?
What is a gerund and why do you need to know? Maybe it would be better to answer the second part of the question first so that you have some motivation to identify gerunds. If you are able to pick the gerund(s) out in your sentence, you will avoid a grammar gaffe that often goes unnoticed even by seasoned editors. Is your curiosity at least somewhat piqued?
Gerunds, also called verbal nouns, are formed when verbs have -ing added to them and are used as nouns.
Examples:
Walking is great exercise.
Hiking up that steep mountain seems impossible.
Talking more about this will not change my mind.
Note that in each of the examples above, the -ing word—the gerund—acted as the subject of the sentence.
Gerunds, like other nouns, may also act as direct objects, indirect objects, and objects of the preposition.
Examples:
We like talking on the phone every night. (direct object)
I give him credit for talking. (object of the preposition for)
It is helpful to recognize gerunds because if a noun or pronoun precedes a gerund, it is usually best to use the possessive form of that noun or pronoun.
Correct: My running ahead bothered him.
Incorrect: Me running ahead bothered him.
Correct: Their separating does not mean they won’t continue to be good parents to their three children.
Incorrect: Them separating does not mean they won’t continue to be good parents to their three children.
Examples:
Alex’s skating was a joy to behold.
Ben’s walking improved once his ankle healed.
The girl’s dancing won her a trip to Hawaii.
Pop Quiz
Identify the gerund in each sentence. If there is a noun or pronoun preceding it, make the noun or pronoun possessive.
1. Working efficiently is required in the restaurant business.
2. She won three gold medals for swimming.
3. The devaluing of the dollar continued throughout the summer.
4. Don’t criticize me trying to get his attention.
5. I’d like to know Alicia thinking about the issue.
Pop Quiz Answers
1. Working efficiently is required in the restaurant business.
2. She won three gold medals for swimming.
3. The devaluing of the dollar continued throughout the summer.
4. Don’t criticize my trying to get his attention.
5. I’d like to know Alicia’s thinking about the issue.
If the article or the existing discussions do not address a thought or question you have on the subject, please use the "Comment" box at the bottom of this page.
More people should know about this; if anything, it’s the difference between a 780 and a perfect 800 on the writing portion of the SAT.
“Their separation does not mean they won’t continue to be good parents to their three children” – is this correct?
Yes, this is also correct.
Can we use two gerunds in one sentence for example : Listening is something you need to work on.It this sentence correct?
Yes, you can have two gerunds in one sentence but your sentence only has one. In your sentence “listening” is a gerund, but “something” is not. A gerund is formed when verbs have -ing added to them and are used as nouns. “Something” does not fit that description. Here are examples of sentences with two gerunds:
Walking and hiking are both good exercise.
Flying and driving both take intense concentration
In quiz question #1, “efficiently” is an adverb, but adverbs can only modify adjectives, verbs, and other adverbs. If gerunds are verbal “nouns,” would “working still be regarded as a gerund?
Working moms are required in the restaurant business. (“working” as an adj.)
Working is required in the restaurant business. (“working” as a gerund)
Working efficiently is required in the restaurant business. (???)
Gerunds can be complex. We can understand your confusion since adverbs usually modify adjectives, verbs, and other adverbs. In the case of the sentence “Working efficiently is required in the restaurant business,” you need to use the adverb efficiently rather than the adjective efficient because it answers how people are working. The phrase “working efficiently” serves as a noun phrase and is the subject of the sentence. We hope this helps to clarify a bit.
Is this sentence incorrect:
I apologize for the oversight in your not getting a copy of the Motion when it was filed with the Court.
Microsoft Word is telling me that I should use “you” instead of “your.” I am wondering if I should correct the sentence or ignore what Microsoft Word is telling me…..
Thank you.
Our blog “What is a Gerund and Why Care” says, “Gerunds, also called verbal nouns, are formed when verbs have -ing added to them and are used as nouns. It is helpful to recognize gerunds because if a noun or pronoun precedes a gerund, you want to use the possessive form of that noun or pronoun.” The gerund is getting, so the possessive form your is correct.
I apologize for the oversight in your not getting a copy of the Motion when it was filed with the Court.
Are these Gerunds?
a) A wildfire threatened the town, forcing its residents to flee. (FORCING)
b) Residents are used to damaging wildfires. (DAMAGING)
When I’m not sure if it’s a gerund, I try to reorder a sentence, making the -ing word in question a subject. If it works and the meaning remains the same, then it’s a gerund for me. (I hate writing. Writing is what I hate.) I think writing is a gerund. Am I right? It doesnt quite work with the 2 sentences a, b so I feel they are not gerunds.
Thanks so much for taking the time.
Thank you.
The words forcing and damaging are not gerunds. Gerunds are formed when verbs have -ing added to them and are used as nouns. Thus, your method works because subjects are nouns. In your first sentence forcing is an action verb. In your second sentence damaging is an adjective describing wildfires. And writing is a gerund in your example.
If we want to refer the word Sharon and his family and say Sharons, is it correct that we say, “Sharons’ arriving was unexpected.”?
Rule 12: Use the possessive case in front of a gerund (-ing word).
Yes, but we would probably write it as “The Sharons’ arriving was unexpected.” A simple way of avoiding this would be to write “Arrival of the Sharons was unexpected.”
This is one I argue over with other proofreaders. In the following sentence, which is correct?
The toothpaste is clinically proven to deliver immediate relief, providing better patient comfort.
OR
The toothpaste is clinically proven to deliver immediate relief, which provides better patient comfort.
Both sentences are grammatically correct.
”The baker that is stopping selling loaves” on the BBC website today 20th May
Surely that doesn’t work?
The sentence is awkward. How about “The baker that will soon no longer be selling loaves”?
I found your info. on gerunds fascinating. I often have questions re. grammar and don’t know to take them to. Are you, or do you know a body who can reply to my queries?
Many thanks.
If you have a lot of questions, you may want to consider signing up for an English class at a community college. Or consider typing your questions into a search engine—this is a method that yields good answers most of the time.
I am very eager to know about the
structure of a sentence,
‘I can’t imagine him falling in the
contest.’
All the dictionaries use him instead
of his.
I want to know the reasion why
his instead of him isn’t used.
This is a gray area of English. Many writers would choose “his,” as you seem to prefer. But “him” is possible also.
The use of “him” tells you that the writer of the sentence wanted to focus on “him” rather than the act of “falling.” The writer decided that the person (“him falling”) rather than the act alone (“falling”) should be the object of “imagine.”
Gerunds are frequently used in the English language. The lesson above gives a basic explanation and several examples of gerunds.
Some one said that the gerund used in this sentence is incorrect: It is good that you can still keep the good look considering that you are landing soon. I know landing is not a gerund and was used as a joke in Cantonese which means soon to be 60 years old.
Thank you for your time.
If we understand the joke to be of the nature that one’s life, like an airplane flight, is nearing its conclusion by “landing” back on earth, then you are correct that “are landing” is not a gerund but a verb. In English, it would likely be “It is good that you can still keep your good looks considering that you are landing soon.”
The toothpaste is clinically proven to deliver immediate relief, providing better patient comfort.
OR
The toothpaste is clinically proven to deliver immediate relief, which provides better patient comfort.:
Although both The Chicago Manual of Style and the Associated Press Stylebook recommend that proven be used as an adjective, Merriam-Webster informs us that the word “has gradually worked its way into standard English … As a past participle proven is now about as frequent as proved in all contexts.”
As we noted in question No. 4 of our February 23, 2016, post No Shortcuts with Irregular Verbs, we would accept either as correct. However, if proven were to be used, we would prefer “The toothpaste has been clinically proven to deliver …”
Why do we use gerund?
A gerund allows users of English to turn verbs into nouns. For example, in We are going to the show, are going is a verb. But in Going to the show is fun, going is a verbal noun, the subject of is.
I searched the blog and internet in regards to this, but I didn’t find anything that answered this question precisely.
I couldn’t find the place on this site to post this question on the Grammar Blog, so I’m posting it here. I hope you don’t mind.
What parts of speech would each word in these phrases be considered?….is it a gerund followed or modified by an adjective or adverb?
Walking Happily
Walking Victoriously
Walking Successfully
If “walking” is part of a predicate (a sentence’s verb and all of its modifiers), it is a present participle of “walk,” and the other words are modifying adverbs.
Example: They are walking happily/victoriously/successfully back home.
If “walking” is a sentence subject or object, it is a gerund, and the other words are modifying adverbs.
Example: Walking successfully is the wounded veteran’s goal.
Which is correct-
Reading books make you brighter. OR Reading books makes you brighter.
Thank you!
The gerund phrase Reading books includes a singular gerund noun, Reading, and an object, books. Reading is the singular subject of the sentence and so would use the singular verb makes. See our post When to Add s to a Verb for more information.
My question concerns what I think would be categorized “possessive adjectives.” My friend and I are in a dispute over a sentence: “She didn’t want to deal with anyone else’s finding out and not being able to handle her parentage.” My friend says it it should be: “…anyone else finding out…” Now, once I would’ve agreed, but I have since been told that, without the apostrophe s, it should be read: She didn’t want to deal with anyone else–period. But what she doesn’t want to deal with is someone’s finding out… Does this make sense? I hope I’m explaining it correctly. Also, is there anywhere for me to go to get an accurate and thorough explanation of this sort of grammar problem/solution? I’d appreciate whatever help I could get. Thanks. (There’s another sentence in dispute, which goes along with the same rule, I think: “He was pleased with my being a dancer.” Should it be “my” or “…with ME being a dancer”? Thanks.
As the post states, “It is helpful to recognize gerunds because if a noun or pronoun precedes a gerund, it is usually best to use the possessive form of that noun or pronoun.” Therefore, we recommend writing the following:
She didn’t want to deal with anyone else’s finding out and not being able to handle her parentage.
He was pleased with my being a dancer.
I’m an online English teacher for Chinese students and I have something that I wanted clarifying:
Which sentence is correct?
“Study is a stepping-stone for success.”
or
“Studying is a stepping-stone for success.”
My gut tells me that the second sentence is correct, but I can’t bring myself to explain to my student why it’s correct and why she can’t use the word study in the context of this sentence. I know it has something to do with turning verbs into gerunds but I am having a hard time piecing a proper explanation.
Both sentences are grammatically correct. In the first sentence, the word study is used as a noun. The word studying in the second sentence is a gerund. As explained in this post, a gerund is a verbal noun. Both study and studying could be acceptable subjects in your example sentences.
I read a lot, and I’m always shocked when so many writers don’t know about, or ignore gerunds. I stumbled upon your blog, and have learned a lot. I’m so happy to know that the gerund is alive and well.
Possessive with gerunds:
Is “the children’s having contact with their aunt” correct?
Is “his brother’s being convicted” correct?
Our post Expressing Possession of Gerunds says, “Using a possessive noun or pronoun to describe an action (gerund) is the proper formal usage.” Therefore, your examples are correct.
On occasion, we may wish to place greater emphasis on the actor instead of the action. In this case, we would not use a possessive noun or pronoun with a gerund; rather, we would use a non-possessive noun or an objective pronoun (e.g., me, him, us, them) modified by a participle serving as an adjective.
This usage may be influenced by the context or wording in which it appears.