The gerund

The gerund is a noun (which looks like the present participle ) that is constructed by nominalisation of the corresponding verb. Due to this characteristic as a noun, it can appear as a subject, object , or predicative expression (referring to one of the former). Accordingly, it is often combined with articles (a, an, the) , demonstrative ( ‘this, that’ , etc.) or possessive pronouns ( ‘my, your, his’ , etc.). Compare the following functions it can fulfil:

• The gerund can be used …
  • … as the subject of a sentence. Is this the case, it usually comes before the verb:
    • “ Being on time is always a good start.”
    • “ The building over there is 200 years old.”
      • with the definite article ‘ the ’
      • with the demonstrative pronoun ‘ that ’
      • “She loves reading .”
        • here in combination with the verb ‘ love ’
        • with the indefinite article ‘ an ’ and the additional modifying adjective ‘ interesting ’
        • with the possessive pronoun ‘ your ’
        • “His hardest task was writing the book.”
          • Careful: This is a predicative nominal and is not to be confused with the past continuous.
          • Careful: Likewise, not to be confused with the present continuous.

          How is the gerund formed?

          The gerund corresponds precisely to the present participle or the ing-form and is, therefore, formed according to the respective rules. You can easily remember to append the suffix ‘- ing ’ to the base form (infinitive) of the verb, which is valid for most of the verbs. A more detailed explanation, including exceptions, is described in the article formation of the present participle.

          What forms can the gerund take?

          A typical grammatical categorisation is that the gerund can have four different forms . These four are composed of two present and two perfect tense forms, each in the active and passive voice. To get a quick overview, compare the following examples:

          • The gerund can either appear in the present tense (whereas it is in the continuous form by its nature):
            • “We love going for a walk in the rain.”
              • active voice
              • This statement contains a gerund in the passive voice; therefore, it requires the auxiliary verb ‘to be’ .
              • “ Having written all the work emails, he took a break.”
                • example in the active voice
                • gerund in the passive voice

                Summary

                Once more, this table illustrates the possible forms of the gerund based on the verb ‘to ask’ :

                Further explanations related to the ‘Use of the gerund’

                The following explanations relate to the topic ‘ Using the gerund in English grammar’ and could be interesting too:

                • Use of articles (the, a, an) in English grammar
                • Use of possessive pronouns in English grammar
                • Use of demonstrative pronouns in English grammar
                • Verbs in English
                • List of exercises about parts of speech

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