(1) This particular passage focuses on the gerund. Is there a verb of likes/dislikes before the gerund? 6. Just like nouns and noun phrases, gerunds and gerund phrases can be used in several different ways in sentences. Remember, we promised you a chart. An example: Learning to confront his problems is an important part of [character's] growth and maturity in the novel. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. For example: In the case when the action described by the gerund occurred before the action expressed by the personal form, passive is used. Noun + Infinitive. As an exception, we note the existence of verbs, after which, it would seem, the passive should be used, but the active is used. If you look up the definition of gerund (pronounced JER-und), you will find that it means "an English noun formed from a verb by adding -ing" ; that is, a present participle used as a noun. A whole gerund phrase functions in a sentence just like a noun, and can act as a subject, an object, or a predicate nominative. Smoking causes cancer.Step 2, Use a gerund as the complement of the verb "to be." If you have a complement verb that you're pairing with the verb "to be," then you'll need to use the gerund form. We do. In other situations, it won't. 2. For instance, if you are conveying the fact that you like to play football during your free time, you can say, ' Playing football is my favourite leisure time activity' or ' I like playing football in my leisure time.' These are the two most common ways to differentiate a gerund from an infinitive and to use both of them correctly. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The second gerund is also an object here. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. If you use the to do form after these verbs, then you are referring to something in the future. We use a gerund when a verb is situated at the very beginning of a sentence. Alison enjoys not eating fatty food, and she's lost a lot of weight. By using our site, you agree to our. * The Centre is packed. It's appropriate to use a gerund if the action verb is the subject of the sentence. We could also use this gerund phrase as an indirect object. A gerund phrase will follow these rules, which can help you identify a gerund phrase in a sentence: 1 The phrase will always start with a gerund. 6.I can't stand Tom's speaking German. -ing words are gerunds only if they are functioning as nouns. Rule 2: Both gerunds and infinitives can be used as objects of a sentence. Answer (1 of 6): The explanations of earlier posters seem to have answered the question whether a gerund can be used in the middle of a sentence, but let me reiterate what they said because I feel this is important. I made dinner before getting home. The verb is the action the person or thing takes or the description of the person or thing. Get: The Fast Phrase Finder The worlds FIRST spreadsheet of fluency phrases. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. The most popular preposition is of, which is used in constructions such as. The gerund after prepositions They are quite common, especially in spoken English. If the action expressed by the gerund is performed on a person or an object, then the passive form will be used. ), She stopped to sit down. (She stopped walking so that she could sit down. (3) I. Dont confuse gerunds with the present participle, which we often use in continuous tense forms, for example. : I saw him asking for food near the gas station. Hence, we use a gerund in a function of an object of a possessive pronoun. Here, we use a gerund after a preposition, with the gerund being an object of a preposition. 6 Object of a preposition: I blocked out a few hours this Sunday for biking. Dont forget to get your car keys this time. admit to (doing) approve of (doing) Level up your tech skills and stay ahead of the curve. 7 simple ways to master the use of gerunds. Most often we can observe the setting of the gerund after prepositions. Adjective + Infinitive. : She got an answer after asking a question. Sentence types can also be combined. Eating meat contributes to global warming. admit to (doing) {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/3\/3e\/Prepare-a-Lecture-Step-8-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Prepare-a-Lecture-Step-8-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/3\/3e\/Prepare-a-Lecture-Step-8-Version-2.jpg\/aid9225609-v4-728px-Prepare-a-Lecture-Step-8-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"