A gerund is the -ing form of a verb used as a noun. Swimming names an activity rather than reporting one, so it can take the subject position exactly as a noun does. The same -ing ending belongs to the present participle, and the position in the sentence, rather than the ending, is what separates the two.
What Is a Gerund?
A gerund is a verb form ending in -ing that works as a noun in a sentence. It names an action instead of reporting one, and it takes every position a noun can take.
- Reading improves vocabulary.
- She enjoys cooking.
- His favourite pastime is gardening.
- They left without speaking.
Note that the form keeps the meaning of its verb while behaving grammatically as a noun. That double nature places it among the non-finite verb forms, which carry no tense of their own and take no subject agreement.
Where the Word Gerund Comes From
Gerund entered English from the Latin gerundium, built on gerere, meaning to carry out or to perform. Roman grammarians used it for a verbal noun, and English grammar borrowed the label for the -ing form doing the same work.
The word is pronounced JER-und, with a soft g as in general and the stress on the first syllable.
How a Gerund Is Formed
Every gerund is built by adding -ing to the base form of a verb. No other ending produces one, and the spelling follows the same rules that govern the present participle.
| Base verb | Spelling rule | Gerund |
|---|---|---|
| walk | Add -ing | walking |
| write | Drop the silent e, add -ing | writing |
| run | Double the final consonant, add -ing | running |
| lie | Change ie to y, add -ing | lying |
| agree | Keep the double e, add -ing | agreeing |
| panic | Add k before -ing | panicking |
Note that a few nouns end in -ing without belonging to this class. Building, painting and meeting name things rather than actions in “the building collapsed” and “she bought a painting,” and no verb sense survives in them.
Functions of a Gerund in a Sentence
A gerund takes four noun positions, and identifying which one it occupies is the test that confirms the form.
A Gerund as the Subject
The form opens the sentence and the verb agrees with it as a singular noun.
- Swimming builds stamina.
- Arguing wastes everyone’s time.
- Forgetting her passport delayed the whole family.
A Gerund as the Direct Object
It follows the verb and answers what after it.
- She avoids driving at night.
- They finished painting the hallway.
- He denied taking the file.
A Gerund as a Subject Complement
It follows a linking verb and renames the subject.
- Her passion is teaching.
- The hardest part was waiting.
- What he dreads most is flying.
A Gerund as the Object of a Preposition
It follows a preposition, which is the one position an infinitive can never take. This makes it the most reliable of the four for identifying an object of a preposition.
- She left without saying goodbye.
- He apologised for interrupting.
- Thank you for listening.
Compare:
- ✓ She is good at solving problems.
- ✗ She is good at to solve problems.
Gerund Phrases and Clauses
A gerund phrase is the form together with its objects and modifiers, and the whole phrase works as a single noun. A clause of the same kind adds a subject in the possessive, which names who performs the action.
- Reading historical novels occupies most of her evenings.
- He suggested taking the earlier train.
- The committee objected to the mayor’s cancelling the parade.
- His constant complaining wore the team down.
Note that the phrase, however long, takes one noun position rather than several. It joins the family of noun phrases and behaves as one unit in the sentence.
Verb Agreement With a Gerund Subject
A gerund subject is always singular, whatever its phrase contains, so the verb stays singular.
- Collecting stamps is an old hobby.
- Washing the dishes takes ten minutes.
- Reading long novels requires patience.
Two of them joined by and form a plural subject, on the same principle as two nouns.
- Swimming and running build different muscles.
- Cooking and cleaning occupy most of his weekend.
Compare:
- ✓ Collecting rare coins is expensive.
- ✗ Collecting rare coins are expensive.
A Gerund at the Start of a Sentence
A gerund opens a sentence as freely as any noun, and no comma follows it when it is the subject.
- Learning a language takes years.
- Choosing between the two offers proved difficult.
A comma appears only where the opening -ing word introduces a participle phrase rather than a subject. That construction modifies the subject instead of being it.
- Gerund subject: Running every morning improved his health.
- Participle phrase: Running every morning, he improved his health.
Note that the second sentence names a person as the subject, while the first names the activity. The comma marks the difference on the page.
The Possessive Before a Gerund
Formal writing places a possessive before a gerund where a person is named, since the form is a noun and a noun takes a possessive modifier.
- ✓ We appreciated his arriving on time.
- ✓ The delay was caused by the pilot’s refusing to fly.
- ✓ Maria’s leaving early surprised everyone.
Speech and informal writing frequently drop the possessive, producing the construction grammarians call the fused participle.
- Informal: We appreciated him arriving on time.
- Formal: We appreciated his arriving on time.
Note that the possessive changes what the sentence is about. “We appreciated his arriving” praises the arrival, while “we appreciated him arriving” praises the person.
The Difference Between a Gerund and a Participle
Both forms end in -ing, and tense belongs to neither. The position in the sentence separates them: one takes a noun position, while a present participle works as an adjective or joins an auxiliary to build a continuous tense.
| Gerund | Present participle | |
|---|---|---|
| Word class it behaves as | Noun | Adjective or part of the verb |
| Position | Subject, object, complement, after a preposition | Before a noun, after be, or in a phrase |
| Replaceable by a pronoun | Yes | No |
| Example | Swimming is relaxing. | The swimming instructor arrived. |
The pronoun test. Replace the -ing word with it. Where the sentence survives, the word is a gerund.
- ✓ Swimming is relaxing → It is relaxing. Gerund.
- ✗ The swimming instructor arrived → The it instructor arrived. Participle.
The Difference Between a Gerund and an Infinitive
A gerund and an infinitive both name an action without tense, and the choice depends on the verb in front and on the meaning intended.
| Gerund | Infinitive | |
|---|---|---|
| Form | Verb plus -ing | to plus the base verb |
| After a preposition | Permitted | Never |
| Typical meaning | A real or completed action | A potential or future action |
| Example | She stopped smoking. | She stopped to smoke. |
Some verbs take one form only, and some take either with a change of meaning.
- Gerund only: enjoy, avoid, finish, suggest, deny, mind
- Infinitive only: decide, hope, agree, refuse, promise, offer
- Either, with a shift: stop, remember, forget, try, regret
Compare:
- She remembered locking the door, meaning she recalls the act.
- She remembered to lock the door, meaning she did not forget.
Common Mistakes With Gerunds
Six errors account for nearly every fault of this kind, and three come from confusing the form with a neighbouring one.
1. Using a plural verb after a gerund subject. A gerund is singular: “Collecting coins is expensive,” not “are expensive.”
2. Putting an infinitive after a preposition. No preposition takes an infinitive, so “good at solving problems” is correct and “good at to solve” is not.
3. Dropping the possessive in formal writing. Formal registers take “we appreciated his arriving,” with the possessive before the gerund.
4. Reading every -ing word as one. The pronoun test settles it: if it cannot replace the word, the word is a participle.
5. Choosing the wrong form after a fixed verb. Enjoy takes a gerund and decide takes an infinitive, and neither accepts the other.
6. Breaking parallel form in a list. A list keeps one form throughout, so “she likes reading, writing and painting” holds, while “reading, writing and to paint” breaks the parallel structure.
Practice Questions
Identify the gerund in each sentence, or correct the fault.
- Jogging every evening keep him fit.
- He is interested in to learn Japanese.
- The crying baby woke the entire carriage.
- We appreciated him staying late to finish.
- She enjoys to paint watercolours.
- Walking to work saves money and time.
Answers: 1. Jogging is the gerund subject, so the verb becomes keeps. 2. Interested in learning, since a preposition takes a gerund. 3. Crying is a present participle modifying baby, not a gerund. 4. His staying late, with the possessive before the gerund in formal writing. 5. She enjoys painting, since enjoy takes a gerund. 6. Walking is the gerund subject, and the sentence is correct as written.
FAQs
Q1. What are gerunds in English?
Gerunds are verb forms ending in -ing that work as nouns in a sentence. Reading, swimming and waiting all name activities rather than reporting them, and each one takes a position a noun could take. Each keeps the meaning of its verb while behaving grammatically as a noun.
Q2. Are gerunds nouns or verbs?
A gerund is a verb form that functions as a noun, so it belongs to both descriptions at once. It comes from a verb and keeps that verb’s meaning, and it occupies noun positions such as subject and object. Grammarians file it with the verbals, alongside the infinitive and the participle.
Q3. Do gerunds always end in -ing?
Yes, every gerund in English ends in -ing, with no exceptions. The reverse does not hold, since a present participle and several ordinary nouns end the same way. Testing whether it can replace the word separates the two.
Q4. Are gerunds singular or plural?
A gerund subject is singular and takes a singular verb, so “collecting stamps is expensive” is correct. Two gerunds joined by and make a plural subject, which gives “swimming and running build different muscles.” The length of the gerund phrase never changes the agreement.
Q5. Can a gerund be an adjective?
No, a gerund works only as a noun. An -ing word modifying a noun is a present participle, so “the running water” contains a participle instead. The word class is decided by the position in the sentence rather than by the ending.
Q6. Are gerunds bad in writing?
No, gerunds are standard English and appear throughout formal prose. Editors object only to strings of them in one sentence, where three or four -ing words in a row slow the reader down. Replacing one with a plain noun or a finite verb clears the problem.
Q7. How do you pronounce gerund?
Gerund is pronounced JER-und, with a soft g as in general and the stress on the first syllable. British and American speakers pronounce it the same way. The word came into English from the Latin gerundium.
Q8. Can a gerund start a sentence?
Yes, a gerund opens a sentence as the subject and needs no comma after it. “Learning a language takes years” begins with a gerund subject. A comma after an opening -ing word signals a participle phrase instead, which modifies the subject rather than being it.
Q9. What is a gerund phrase?
A gerund phrase is a gerund together with its objects and modifiers, working as one noun. “Reading historical novels” and “taking the earlier train” are gerund phrases, and each takes a single noun position however long it runs. The phrase never splits across two positions in a sentence.
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