1. The Verb + -ing used as a Noun or Gerund

Gerund is the –ing form of a verb, and is used in the same ways as a noun. It is used as a subject or as an object in a sentence. It can also be used as a subject and an object within the same sentence, as follow: a) Washing his car is the only thing he does almost every Sunday. b) She prefers any of the household chores to mopping. c) Skipping to him is a better alternative to jogging. The gerunds in the above sentences (washing, mopping, skipping, and jogging) are –ing forms of the verbs: wash, mop, skip and jog. In (a), washing is the noun acting as the subject in the sentence. In (b), mopping is the object in the sentence (the object of the preposition to.) In (c), the two gerunds – skipping and jogging – act as subject and object of the same sentence. a) Using Gerund as Subjects or Objects The gerunds are used as subjects or objects of a verb Watching television is a waste of time. Attending church regularly is important. Smoking is very bad for you. Working in a foreign country can be very difficult. Learning a foreign language can be a real challenge. My sister does not like cooking. Every morning she goes jogging. b) Verb + gerund A gerund is used as the object of the verb, and it usually comes after the verb. A preposition is not needed between the verb and the gerund. EXAMPLE: They discussed getting married. (NOT: They discussed to getting married.) I like walking in the rain. (Verb like followed by gerund walking) She enjoys playing with her puppies. The dog stopped barking when I gave it a bone. He has just finished painting the room. Neil has consistently denied murdering his estranged wife. We can use be used to / get used to + –ing form of the verb I was used to watching birds on the hill side, but I never have the time now. Sarah is used to donating her blood at the medical centre. After his wife died, he had to get used to looking after the kids on his own. A negative statement using not can be used before the –ing form. I am frustrated not having enough money to buy her a birthday present. c) Phrasal Verbs + Gerund A phrasal verb consists of a verb and a preposition which together have its own meaning. EXAMPLE: cut down = to reduce the amount of something. The following phrasal verbs + gerund are in bold. Julia carried on talking even though no one was listening. (Phrasal verb: carried on) Jack keeps on scratching his head and we wonder why. (Phrasal verb: keeps on) Jill gave up smoking last year. He doesn't know when he'll get around to doing the roof repair. We stayed up watching the movie late last night. d) Prepositions + Gerund When there is a preposition + verb, we must use an –ing form for the verb. Prepositions + gerund are in bold as follow: He is addicted to playing online games. His parents were well accustomed to working hard. She is very excited about meeting him for the first time. Julia is very pleased with getting the desired exam results. He will always be remembered for winning the first gold medal for the country. We apologized for arriving late. Jill has become interested in catching butterflies for fun. Jack looks forward to running his own business. We can use an –ing form after such words as before, after and since. Mr. Black usually says a prayer for good luck before going to bed. Mrs. White felt quite scared after watching two crocodiles fight. I have learned to be careful since knocking my head against the wall. e) Gerund used in other expressions It's no use crying over spilt milk. This new gadget is for opening tinned food. Where do you usually go for fishing? One thing I hate most is ironing my clothes. Now you regret being so rude to her. If only you had stopped talking and listened to her. We could go on dancing all night. She prefers having dinner at home to eating outside. I think your hair needs shampooing. f) Gerund used in compound nouns The old man moves about with the help of a walking-stick. She cleans the sitting-room almost every week. The swimming-pool was most crowded at weekends.