Gerunds
Objectives
➢ Define verbal
➢ To recognize gerund and participle in sentences.
➢ To identify the function of gerunds.
Read the following sentences:
Swimming is a moderate form of exercise for old and young people.
The mechanic replaces the broken side mirror on my brother’s car.
To become a premiere ballerina is Nora’s big dream.
The words swimming, broken, and to become are examples of verbals. Verbals
are verb forms that function as nouns or as adjectives. In the examples, the
verbals swimming and to become functions as nouns which are the subjects
of the first sentence and last sentence, respectively. In the second sentence,
broken functions as an adjective since it modifies the noun side mirror.
There are three kinds of verbals and these are gerunds, participles, and
infinitives.
A gerund is a verbal ending in-ing. Walking, cooking, and smiling are
examples of gerunds. Gerunds function as a noun which may be used as
subject, direct object, subjective complement, object of the preposition, or
appositive in a sentence. Study the following examples:
Skiing is one of the important sporting events during the winter Olympics.
(subject)
My eight -year old nephew likes drawing picture of trees.
(direct object)
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Dory’s favorite pastime is putting together jigsaw puzzles.
(subjective complement)
The fisherman catches fish by casting a net into the water.
(object of the preposition by)
His job, testing the strength of materials, requires him to spend long hours at
work.
(appositive)
Gerunds phrases
A phrase is a group of words that do not express a complete thought or idea.
Examples: The boy with the dirty hat
A strange looking animal
You learned previously that gerunds are verbs that end in -ing. You can use
gerunds to form gerund phrases. A gerund phrase is a word that begins with
a gerund.
Examples: Jumping up and down with joy
Beaming with pride
Cruising along
Like gerunds, they can also function as subject, direct object, subjective
complement, object of the preposition, and appositive.
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Grammar Practice 3.1
Read each sentence and underline the gerund phrase. Identify the function of
the gerund phrase. Write in the space provided if it is used as subject, direct
object, subjective complement, object of the preposition, or appositive.
_____1. Lifting heavy weights is his favorite form of exercise.
_____2. Hanna enjoys reading a good book on Saturday afternoons.
_____3. Jason admits spending too much money on toys.
_____4. My cousin’s problem is telling his mother about the broken glass
window.
_____5. His worst fear, singing in front of a live audience, makes him feel
jittery.
_____6. The maid is afraid of cleaning my late grandpa’s bedroom.
_____7. Brushing your teeth after eating is a good way of taking care of your
teeth.
_____8. The city councilors are in favor of putting up a new bridge across the
river.
_____9. He has turned his hobby, repairing broken guitars, into a profitable
business.
_____10. Uncle Ben’s biggest problem is driving the truck full of heavy log
across miles of drift road.
