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Gerund
Gerund
often use the -ing form as the subject of a sentence:
[to garden/Gardening ]
is the first.
Sometimes, it comes with a noun:
[to feed/feeding ]
birds is good for everyone.
[to have/having ]
a garden in a school is just as important as any other education.
Sometimes, it comes after an adjective or a noun:
Leisurely [to build/building ]
models is a form of meditation.
School [to garden/gardening]
has become very popular nowadays.
We can use the -ing form as a complement of to be:
But one of the most popular activities is [to feed/feeding ]
wild birds.
We use the -ing form with after, before, since, when and while to show the tim
e of an action:
Before [to try/trying]
the hobby, teens were occupied with gadgets most of the time. (=1. Teens wer
e occupied with gadgets. 2. They tried the hobby.)
Finley used the term reverence, or honor or respect that is shown when [to
talk/talking ]
about gardening. (= Finley talked and used the term reverence, or honor or
respect at the same time)
He started this hobby a few years ago while [to study/studying ]
wildlife science in college. (= He studied wildlife science in college. He start
ed this hobby at that time.)
Paul Starzynski started feeding birds as a hobby after [to retire/retiring]
three years ago. (= 1. Paul Starzynski retired three years ago. 2. He started
feeding birds)
Since [to start/starting]
my hobby, I haven't felt alone any more. (=I started my hobby. From that mo
ment, I haven't felt alone any more.)
The subject of the -ing form must be the same as in the other part of the sentenc
e:
He started this hobby a few years ago while studying wildlife science in college
. (= He studied wildlife science in college. He started this hobby at that time.
We use the -ing form after by, without and for to show how the action happens:
Even without [to know/knowing ]
every bird species or where they come from, Starzynski loves bird watching.
Teachers can teach lessons in health, science, social studies, and even arts class
es by [to garden/gardening]
with students.
It sells supplies that are used for [to feed/feeding ]
birds.
We use the -ing form after other prepositions: against, in, with, of, for, about,
instead of, in spite of, etc.
Askin says you can learn a lot from bird [to watch/watching]
.
The act of [to garden/gardening]
teaches you where our food source comes from.
Toby Adams directs the New York Botanical Garden's Edible Academy, where
schoolchildren learn about [to grow/growing ]
food.
We use go + -ing form to talk about sports activities:
Many Americans enjoy spending time with nature: they go [to camp/camping ]
, [to hike/hiking ]
or [to sail/sailing]
.
Note that we use come + -ing form to invite someone to join us in some activity
Would you like to come camping with me?