Gerunds: Easy Emergency Nouns
A gerund is a verb form ending in -ing (e.g., baking, walking, swimming) that functions as a noun. We use gerunds to speak of activities, hobbies, behaviors, and interests.
- Baking is fun.
- Maya likes dancing in the rain.
- Nesbit is taking a class on driving.
A noun is a name for something—for example, an activity. You add -ing to a verb to turn it into a gerund, which then acts as a noun.
- Swimming is a great form of exercise.
The gerund swimming (swim + -ing) functions as a noun (the name of an activity).
The gerund is a useful little verb form that can be the subject of a sentence, object of a verb or a preposition, and even subject complement.
Form of a gerund
The gerund takes the form “verb + -ing.” Any verb can turn into a gerund if you add -ing to it. For example, if you add -ing to the verb run, you get the gerund running. Here are some examples of commonly used gerunds, all formed by adding -ing to a verb.
- smiling
- laughing
- talking
- speaking
- thinking
- learning
- reading
- writing
- acting
- making
- doing
- running
- jumping
- sitting
- standing
- cooking
- baking
- singing
- dancing
- humming
- snoring
- explaining
- reading
- doing
- buying
- selling
- traveling
- dreaming
- believing
- being
All gerunds end in -ing, but not all words that end in -ing are gerunds.
- Lulu likes dancing in the morning.
Dancing is a gerund (dance + -ing), but morning is simply a noun.
Gerund as subject
A gerund can be the subject of a sentence. (The subject is whom or what a sentence is about.)
- Dancing is her passion.
- Baking can be a dangerous hobby.
The subject could also be a gerund phrase (a gerund and other words that help describe the action or state expressed by the gerund).
- Baking a pie is more complicated than you’d think.
- Driving a car is dangerous in this neighborhood.
- Stealing the queen’s dragon will get you banished from the magic kingdom.
- Laughing often is good for health.
Here are some more examples that show how, just like a noun, a gerund can be the subject of a sentence.
- Noun: Laughter is good for health.
We can replace the noun with a gerund, and the sentence will still be grammatical.Gerund: Jogging is good for health.
- Noun: Love makes it easier to live.
Gerund: Breathing makes it easier to live. - Noun: A picnic sounds like fun.
Gerund: Snorkeling sounds like fun.
Gerund as object of verb
A gerund (or gerund phrase) can act as the object of a verb, just like a noun. Thus, it can function not only as a verb’s subject but also its object.
- Lulu loves dancing.
The gerund dancing functions as the object of the verb loves.
- Farley hates doing the dishes, even with the music on.
The gerund phrase doing the dishes is the object of the verb hates.
- Rita enjoys riding her motorcycle on weekends.
- She gave swimming a try but didn’t enjoy it.
Gerund as object of preposition
Like a noun, a gerund (or gerund phrase) can be the object of a preposition in a sentence. Prepositions include words like for, with, in, by, on, of, at, and from.
- Music is great for dancing.
- Rita is obsessed with riding.
- Poco believes in drinking orange juice instead of water.
- The only way we can pay these bills is by selling the house.
- Maya is taking a course on baking.
- I’m so tired of running from my problems.
- Tumkin is great at painting murals.
- Nesbit is exhausted from playing video games all weekend.
Gerund as subject complement
A gerund (or gerund phrase) can be used as a subject complement—that is, to describe the subject of a sentence. It then follows forms of the be verb (is, are, was, were).
- Maya’s favorite pastime is reading.
- Her favorite activities are dancing, swimming, and cycling.
- The nicest thing you’ve done for me is taking care of yourself when I couldn’t.
Adjectives and adverbs with gerunds
Adjectives, which describe nouns, can also be used with gerunds.
- Reckless driving endangers everyone on and even off the road.
The adjective reckless describes the gerund driving.
- I heard a strange ringing in my ears.
- Alternate between slow and fast walking to make the most of your morning stroll.
Interestingly, although gerunds function as nouns, they can be modified by adverbs. (Adverbs are words that modify verbs, not nouns, which are described by adjectives.)
- Driving recklessly won’t get you there on time.
- Speaking softly can help build trust with an animal.
- Rapidly accelerating and decelerating over and over again can damage the brakes.
Gerunds are so very versatile that they can form compound nouns (e.g., child-rearing, hair-splitting) and even give birth to compound verbs (window-shop from window-shopping). Read more in this article on the superpowers of the gerund.
When to use a gerund
Use gerunds to speak of interests, behaviors, and hobbies.
- Maya enjoys reading, writing, and traveling.
- Nesbit likes collecting stamps from around the world.
- Lulu enjoys singing in the shower.
- Farley is good at worrying about the future.
To speak of an activity rather than an object or a state, use a gerund.
- Sleeping on one’s back can cause morning stiffness.
- My dog loves drinking cold water after a walk.
- Rita enjoys cycling on weekends.
- Investing in mutual funds is one way to save for retirement.
- I shall consider accepting your offer.
Gerunds vs. infinitives
An infinitive (to read) can often be used in place of a gerund (reading). Using the infinitive as the subject can sound more formal.
- Infinitive: To read in a moving car is difficult.
Gerund: Reading in a moving car is difficult.
Quite often, there is no real difference in meaning, and you can use either as the object.
- Infinitive: Lulu likes to sing in the shower.
Gerund: Lulu likes singing in the shower.
However, some verbs are always followed by gerunds instead of infinitives.
- They discussed adopting /
to adopta tarantula instead of a cat. - We risk losing /
to loseeverything. - I recommend working /
to workon this in the morning.
Read more in this article on gerunds versus infinitives.