English Verb: Gerund - The Ing-Form

English Verb: Gerund - The Ing-Form

English Verb: Gerund - The Ing-Form

            A Gerund acts partly as a verb and partly as a Noun. It is formed by adding ‘ing’ to the first form of the verb. It is also called a Verbal Noun. In form it is similar to the form of Present Participle e.g. V¹ + ing (eating, buying, cooking, dancing, walking, running etc.)

            Drinking is bad for health.

            Painting is really an art.

            A Present Participle also ending in ‘___ing’, expresses an unfinished action:

            I found her weeping.

            Seeing him alone, she went there.

            The only difference between a Gerund and a Present Participle is that a Gerund is used in the form of a Noun but the Present Participle is used as an Adjective.

Present Participle	Gerund
The driving truck crushed the cyclist.	Driving needs concentration.
They saw Mohsin drinking.	Drinking is injurious to health.

A Present Participle is that form of the verb which ends in ‘ing’ but has the force of both a verb and an adjective.

A Gerund is that form of the verb which ends in ‘ing’ but has the force of both a Verb and a Noun.

Like a Noun, the Gerund can be used:

(a)    As a Subject to the Verb:

                  Riding is an exercise.

                  Gambling has ruined many.

                  Walking in the sun is harmful to eyes.

                  Stealing is a crime.

(b)    As an Object of the Verb:

                  Let us enjoy boating.

                  Stop playing.

                  I hate stealing.

                  She could not help laughing.

(c)    As the Object of a Preposition:

             was fined for coming late.

            he is fond of skating.

             am thinking of going abroad.

            he is very good at dancing.

            Note: When a verb comes immediately after the preposition, the gerund form must be use, e.g.,

                        He insisted on seeing her.

                        He is thinking of settling in Lahore.

(d)   As a Subject Complement:

            Seeing is believing.

            Sitting here is wasting (of) time.

            What I hate most is lying.

            The Verbal Nouns completely shed their Verbal force:

                        The reading of novels is my favourite pastime.

            A Verbal Noun is preceded by ‘the’ and followed by ‘of’. It is qualified by an Adjective:

            The cruel (Adjective) pricking (verbal Noun) of conscience filled him with sorrow.

Verbs, followed by Gerunds:

            The following verbs get the gerunds after them:

            enjoy, stop, finish, dread, detest, dislike, prevent, avoid, risk, admit, acknowledge, deny, recollect, resent, excuse, delay, imagine, fancy, forgive, pardon, postpone, keep, (continue), understand, consider, miss, save, resist, anticipate, involve, it is no use, suggest, can’t stand (endure), it is no good, can’t help (prevent/avoid), favour, practiced etc.

Stop wasting money on cheap books.		Forgive my interrupting you.
I don’t risk getting sick.		I anticipate meeting her soon.
She enjoys shopping.		He delays going to Karchi.
He postponed appearing in the Examination.		I fancy looking great.
She dreads getting old.		I resent being punished.
The team finished counting the votes		She detests meeting strangers.
Nobody could prevent her gettingmarried.		She avoids mixing with flirts.
He admitted committing a theft.		She denied using foul means.
She recollected meeting the minister.		I can’t imagine living anywhere else.
She keeps dozing everytime.		The boss acknowledged making a mistake.
I considered approaching the principal.		She dislikes backbiting others.
She favoured traveling with me.		She couldn’t help laughing.
I missed seeing her.		She practiced dancing every day.
I suggest going for a picnic.		It is no use wasting your time.