Gerunds ESL 11B

Overview of Gerunds Subject: Dancing is fun. Object: Marvin enjoys dancing. Object of a Preposition: Marvin is good at dancing.

Overview of Gerunds Gerunds look like verbs with an –ing ending, but they act like nouns. So, to make a gerund, add “-ing” to the base form of the verb ex. Eat-ing is my favorite hobby. ex. I love surf-ing!

Overview of Gerunds All verbs have a gerund form, including stative verbs. ex. Running and surfing are my two favorite sports. ex. Owning a car is expensive. Gerunds can name an activity or situation in a general way: ex. Swimming makes me tired. ex. I don’t like studying. http://www.albany.edu/faculty/elle/aeng216/images/gerund.gif

Overview of Gerunds Gerunds are always singular and act like non-count nouns. ex. Sleeping is good for you. To make a negative gerund, add “not” before the gerund. ex. Not sleeping is bad for you.

Overview of Gerunds A gerund can be one word or a phrase. Reading is fun. gerund Reading magazines makes me sleepy. gerund + object Reading in the evening makes me sleepy. gerund + prepositional phrase

Overview of Gerunds Let’s practice! Do Exercise 1 with your partner.

Subject Gerunds Subject Gerund Verb Cooking is fun. Cooking dinner takes a lot of time. Cooking for my children makes me happy.

Subject Gerunds Gerunds can replace singular noun or pronoun subjects: Exercise makes me tired. It makes me tired. Running makes me tired.

Subject Gerunds Subject gerunds are used in general statements such as opinions, and for listing activities: eg. Jogging is good for you. eg. My favorite sports are: jogging, swimming, skiing.

Subject Gerunds Let’s practice! Do Exercises 2, 3, and 4 with your partner.

Object Gerunds Subject Verb Object Gerund She loves gardening. She enjoys working in the garden. She likes picking blueberries.

Object Gerunds Again, a gerund can replace a singular noun or pronoun object after a verb: ex. I enjoy my work. it. working. Again, put ‘not’ before a gerund to make it negative. ex. I considered not going to the party.

Object Gerunds Many common verbs and phrases are followed by gerunds: eg. Do you avoid doing homework? eg. Mark dislikes doing the dishes. eg. I had trouble running this morning.

Object Gerunds Let’s practice! Look at list of common verbs followed by OBJECT GERUNDS. Then, do Exercise 5 with your partner.

Object Gerunds 1. Likes eg. We enjoy sailing. Many verbs that come before object gerunds express: 1. Likes eg. We enjoy sailing. 2. Dislikes eg. I dislike waiting in line. 3. Feelings eg. He regrets leaving early.

Object Gerunds ‘Go’ plus gerund is used in many expressions related to recreational activities and shopping: go boating go fishing go mountain climbing go camping go hiking go shopping go canoeing go jogging go sightseeing

Object Gerunds Marie: Do you ever go swimming in the lake? ‘Go’ plus gerund Marie: Do you ever go swimming in the lake? Karen: Yes, quite often. We also go fishing on Saturdays. You should come with us sometime. Marie: That sounds great, but first I’ll have to go shopping for a fishing rod.

Object Gerunds Let’s practice! Do Exercises 6 with your partner.

Preposition + Object Gerunds A gerund or gerund phrase can be the object of a preposition. Verb Prep Gerund eg. He is thinking about going to Brazil. eg. He plans on visiting Sao Paulo. https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSkKG71JmiKqI3MH3FseDbrhLVNkeecEjqS1RIJfuBIqrivzNbR

Be + Adjective + Preposition + Gerunds Gerunds are used after many noun + preposition combinations. be + adjective + preposition + gerund eg. I am tired of lending her money. eg. He is afraid of getting a parking ticket in Los Angeles.

Object Gerunds Let’s practice! Do Exercises 7 & 8 with your partner.

“BY” + Gerund The preposition ‘BY’ + GERUND tells us how something is done: eg. I got an ‘A’ by studying hard. (How did you get an ‘A’? By studying hard.) eg. I cooked the chicken by baking it.

Preposition + Object Gerunds Let’s practice! With your partner, do Exercises 9