Gerund

A gerund is the -ing form of a verb that functions the same as a noun.
A gerund phrase is a gerund plus any complements and modifiers.
A whole gerund phrase functions in a sentence just like a noun.
a. Ving (active)
b. Being + v3 (passive)
c. Having + V3 (active)
d. Having + been + V3 (passive)
- Smoking cigarettes is bad for you. She is enjoying being looked at. (Being + V3)
- Susan remembered having eaten the sandwich. (having + V3) passive
- Lily is proud of having been chosen as the team leader. (Having + been + V3) passive
Subject
- Practicing is vital to your success in learning a second language.
Practicing as often as possible is vital to your success in learning a second language.
 Crying is a way for babies to communicate.
Crying loudly is a way for babies to communicate.
 Running is a hobby of my father’s.
 Actively participating in sports has many benefits.
Note: As a subject, the gerund takes a singular verb. In the negative, ‘not’ comes before
the gerund.
Subject complement
- The best route to successful language acquisition is practicing.
The best route to successful language acquisition is practicing as often as possible.
 My favorite language learning strategy is reading. (Predicate noun)
My favorite language learning strategy is reading Japanese literature.
 My hobby is making cakes.
Direct Object
 Sally hates washing dishes.
 I finished doing my homework.
Note: Verbs followed by a gerund Enjoy/ finish/ mind/ keep/ suggest/ quit
Object complements
 Do you consider memorization of vocabulary learning? (O.C)
Indirect Object
 Francisco gave studying a try. (I.O)
Francisco gave studying the Hausa language a try.
Prepositional Object
  My strategy for learning is to read literature.
My strategy for learning Japanese is to read literature.
 She is good at creating jewelry.
Appositives
 Two skills, reading and writing, are basic.
Tests for Gerunds
1- Pronoun Substitution Test
- Crying is a way for babies to communicate. (it)
2- Possessive Subject Test
- Babies’ crying loudly is a way for them to communicate.
Note: The boy is learning French. (not Gerund)
- The boy is his learning French.
- Waldo is studying for his Arabic exam. (not Gerund)
Waldo is his studying for his Arabic exam.
3- Verb Conjugation Test
My favorite language learning tool is reading Japanese literature.
To test whether reading is a gerund or a verb, you apply the verb conjugation test by
changing read to the past and the future tense.
- My favorite language learning tool is reading Japanese literature. (not verb)
My favorite language learning tool read Japanese literature.
My favorite language learning tool will read Japanese literature.
It fails the verb conjugation test because you cannot conjugation a gerund.
My favorite language learning tool = reading Japanese literature
subject predicate noun
Gerund without its own subject
Relaxing with friends makes us happy. Mr. Stanton believes walking is good exercises.
Gerund with its own subject
- Do you mind them bringing some food?
- She doesn’t like people telling her what to do.