Gerunds

Gerund phrases Gerunds help form a second kind of verbal phrase. Gerunds are words that end with “ing” that look like they should be verbs, but in a sentence, they function as nouns.

Gerund phrases Example: Climbing Mount Everest was his lifelong ambition. What was his lifelong ambition? Climbing Mount Everest. Climbing is a noun. Climbing tells “what” was his lifelong ambition.

Gerund phrases Example: Agnes enjoys listening to chamber music. What does Agnes enjoy ? Listening to chamber music. Agnes was listening to chamber music last night. Was listening is a verb.