English Gerunds
Gerund is a word that is formed with a verb but act as a noun.
To spot gerunds in sentences, just look for a verb + -ING that is used as a noun. Present participles in English also end with -ING, but present participles do not act as nouns. Instead, they act as modifiers or complete progressive verbs.
Spelling Tips:
Add -ING to most verbs:
To study – studying
To keep – keeping
For verbs that end in a single, silent "E", drop the "E" and add -ING.
To give - giving
To come - coming
But "EE" at the end of the word is not changed:
To agree - agreeing
For verbs that end in "IE", change the "IE" to "Y" and add -ING:
To die - dying
To lie - lying
The final consonant after a short, stressed vowel is doubled before adding -ING.
To get - getting
To refer - referring
The letter "L" as final consonant after a vowel is always doubled before -ING:
To cancel - cancelling
To travel - travelling
We use gerunds (verb + ing):
1. Some verb phrases (verb + preposition) are followed by a gerund:
| To accuse of | Please don't accuse me of forgetting to lock the door |
| To be afraid of | She was afraid of upsetting her parents |
| To be capable (incapable) of | With the battery removed, the car was incapable of being driven |
| To be disappointed at | Met Office disappointed at losing BBC weather forecasting contract |
| To be engaged in | Despite her illness, she remains engaged in working for charity |
| To be fond of | I’m fond of travelling |
| To be interested in | He's interested in buying a car |
| To be proud of | I’m proud of being your daughter |
| To be responsible for | Her department is responsible for overseeing the councils |
| To be surprised at | I was surprised at him doing it |
| To consist in | His work as a consultant consists in advising foreign companies |
| To count on/upon | I was counting on getting a raise when I made the decision to purchase a house |
| To depend on/upon | Choosing the right account depends on working out your likely average balance |
| To get used to |
I am getting used to speaking Japanese |
| To hear of | Anyone ever heard of this being done? |
| To insist on | I don't know why you insist on talking about it |
| To object to | I really object to being charged for parking |
| To persist in | John persists in thinking that he's always right |
| To prevent from | Rubber seals are fitted to prevent gas from escaping |
| To result in | Icy conditions resulted in two roads being closed |
| To succeed in | Very few people succeed in losing weight |
| To suspect of | Ted was suspected of leaving the door unlocked when he left last Friday |
| To think of | He was thinking of becoming a zoologist |
| To worry about | When I go out I always worry about losing my keys |
2. Some verbs are directly followed by a gerund:
| Admit | He is unwilling to admit being jealous of his brother |
| Adore | Don't you just adore lying in a hot bath? |
| Advise | I advise selling your old car |
| Appreciate | I appreciate your making the effort to come |
| Avoid | I try to avoid going shopping on Saturdays |
| Busy | She's busy writing out the wedding invitations |
| Can’t stand/help | Can't help falling in love |
| Complete | He's just completed filming his 1st film |
| Consider | We're considering selling the house |
| Contemplate | I'm contemplating going abroad for a year |
| Delay | I think we should delay deciding about this until next year |
| Deny | He denies breaking the window |
| Detest | I detest having to get up when it’s dark outside |
| Dread | I'm dreading having to meet his parents |
| Enjoy | I enjoy meeting people and seeing new places |
| Escape | How to escape going to school? |
| Excuse | Excuse my interrupting you |
| Envisage | When do you envisage finishing the project? |
| Fancy | I didn't fancy swimming in that water |
| Feel like | I feel like going for a swim |
| Finish | Have you finished reading that magazine? |
| Imagine | Imagine spending all that money on a coat! |
| Justify | The fact that we are at war does not justify treating innocent people as criminals |
| Keep | He keeps trying to distract me |
| Mind/don’t mind | Do you have a boyfriend, if you don't mind me asking? |
| Miss | I only just missed being run over by a bus this morning |
| Permit | The prison authorities permit visiting only once a month |
| Postpone | We've had to postpone going to France because the children are ill |
| Practise | His written French is very good but he needs to practise speaking it |
| Put off | All this rain really puts you off going out after work |
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I'm going to quit smoking |
| Recall | A place I recall visiting when I was young |
| Report | Spies reported seeing a build-up of soldiers |
| Resent | He resents having to explain his work to other people |
| Resist | She couldn’t resist asking him about his date |
| Resume | He stopped to take a sip of water and then resumed speaking |
| Risk | He risked losing his house when his company went bankrupt |
| Suggest | I suggested putting the matter to the committee |
| Tolerate | He won’t tolerate anyone questioning his decisions |
| Worth | It's worth trying |
3. Gerunds can serve as an object after a noun and a preposition:
| Apology (for) | Please accept my apology for being so late |
| Art (of) | The art of baking |
| Astonishment (at) | He could not conceal his astonishment at seeing them together |
| Chance (of) | There is no chance of seeing him till Monday |
| Disappointment (at) | The disappointment of doing something amazing while no one was watching |
| Experience (in) | How was your experience in doing a research project? |
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Fear of flying is a fear of being on an airplane |
| Habit (of) | To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life |
| Idea (of) | She has an idea of becoming an engineer |
| Importance (of) | The Importance of Being Earnest |
| Intention (of) | I have no intention of going to the wedding |
| Interest (in) | Interest in becoming a police officer |
| Method (of) | Principles and methods of teaching |
| Necessity (of) | The necessity of learning English cannot be overstated |
| Objection (to) | Do you have any objections to working overtime if necessary? |
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The reason I would like to study in Britain is to have the opportunity of working for Dyson |
| Plan (for) | I have worked out a plan for making a lot of money |
| Pleasure (of) | I'd travel a thousand miles just for the pleasure of meeting you |
| Possibility (of) | He talked about the possibility of getting married |
| Preparation (for) | Preparations for opening of the new school |
| Problem (of) | They discussed the problem of bullying in schools |
| Process (of) | The process of obtaining a driver's license |
| Reason (for) | One of his reasons for coming to England was to make money |
| Surprise (at) | They couldn't conceal their surprise at seeing us together |
| Way (of) | A way of doing things |
4. Gerunds can appear at the beginning of a sentence when used as a subject or act as an object following the verb:
Swimming is pleasant.
My greatest pleasure is travelling.
He enjoyed sitting in the sun.
5. Some verbs can be followed either by a gerund or by an infinitive and there is little or no difference in meaning between the two:
| To allow | You're not allowed talking/to talk during the exam |
| To attempt | He attempted escaping/to escape through a window |
| To begin | Jane has just begun learning/to learn to drive |
| To bother | You'd have found it if you'd bothered looking/to look |
| To cease |
He will cease being/to be prime minister |
| To intend | We intend to go. They intend going |
| To permit | Weather that permits sailing/you are permitted to smoke |
| To recommend | I recommend visiting Paris/I recommend that you visit Paris |
| To start | They started building/to build the house in January |
The verbs hate, like/dislike, love, prefer are followed by gerunds if we are talking about general situations:
I like going to the cinema. (I always enjoy it)
I hate ironing. (I always hate it)
The verbs hate, like/dislike, love, prefer are followed by infinitives if we are talking about particular situation:
I hate to play tennis on Sunday mornings.
I like to swim in the mornings.
Some verbs can be followed by a gerund or infinitive but with a change in meaning:
Remember
+ gerund = remember something you did before
I remember locking the door.
+ infinitive = remember something and then do it
I remembered to buy bread.
Forget
+ gerund = forget something you did before (opposite of Rememeber + gerund)
I forget locking the door.
+ infinitive = forget to do something (opposite of Remember + infinitive)
Don't forget to buy bread.
Try
+ gerund = I made an experiment
It was too hot in the room. I tried opening the window.
+ infinitive = I made an attempt
I tried to open the window, but I couldn't because it was stuck.
Stop
+gerund = to not do something any more
I stopped working for this company.
+ infinitive = to not do something in order to do something else
I stopped to have a break.
Regret (I'm sorry)
+gerund = I apologize for a previuous action
I regret telling my friend my biggest secret.
+ infinitive = I apologize for something that will happen
I regret to inform you that you have not been selected for interview.
Go on
+ gerund = we want to say that a previous activity continues
After dinner he went on showing us his photos.
+ infinitive = we want to describe an activity that follows a previous action and is somehow connected to
He gave us a lecture on the Greek history. And then he went on to show us his photos from Greece.