Getting along with Gerunds

Swati Rai

Among the many confusing aspects of learning Grammar in the English Language, Gerunds is a primary one. A gerund is a word formed from a verb that acts as a noun. For example- ‘running’  (run+ing) or playing (play+ing) the most important marker of its recognition is the suffix ‘ing’. So; swimming, drawing, painting are all gerunds. Some more examples of Gerunds in sentences:

Walking is great for your health.

Becoming a doctor is what he dreams of.

I enjoy swimming.

However, the usage of Gerunds looks easier than it actually is. There are likely two problems that crop up in their correct usage. One is when it is mistakenly understood to be a present participle (as used in the present and past continuous form of the verb ) and the second is the question of, which one out of gerund or infinitive to use, and when?

A clear way to address the first problem is by noting that only gerunds act as nouns, not present participle, even though both may be -ing form. Notice the following sentences :

I am going to the market ( Present participle showing action of the Subject ‘I’ )

I avoid going to the market. ( A gerund that shows an activity)

Now to address the second problem, look at the following examples.

- I suggested going out for lunch.

- I suggested to go for lunch

Sentence one is with the gerund, is the correct one . This is because we can only use a gerund after the verb ‘suggest.’ In the same way, some verbs can be used only with infinitives, whereas some others may be used with either infinitives or gerund such as the verb ‘like’. So these are essentially verb patterns in sentences. Some of the verbs that take only a gerund are– ‘avoid’, ‘dislike’, ‘escape’, ‘delay’.

A few basic rules come handy in familiarising oneself with the appropriate use of gerunds. Only gerunds are used after prepositions (with one exception of ‘but’ as a preposition). I talked him out of going there. Sometimes, ‘but’ can also play the role of a preposition. When it is used so, it is the same in meaning as ‘except’, and then only an infinitive goes with it. For example in the sentence- ‘I had no option but listen to my mother.’ When you talk about an activity, you usually use a gerund. For example, ‘I stopped playing’, and many other activities may be shown using the verb ‘go’ – as in, ‘ go shopping’ ‘go jumping’ et al.

The answer to understanding gerunds is to constantly familiarise oneself with its pattern of appearance with other verbs. Good luck and get going! J

The writer is a CELTA certified communication skills trainer. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/raiswatirai )

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