1. Gerunds
ESL 11B

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

3. 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!

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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

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

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

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

10. 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.

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

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

13. 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.

14. 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.

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

16. 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.

17. 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

18. 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.

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

20. 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.

21. 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.

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

23. “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.

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