How to use Gerunds and Way to use Gerunds in English Grammar.

Today we are going to learn about What is a gerund? and How to use Gerunds and Way to use Gerunds in English Grammar.

What is a gerund?

Gerunds are something we use all the time in English. When we use verb in place of a noun then it is called a gerund. A gerund is basically verb + ing.

For example:

Go – Going
Eat – Eating
Play – Playing
Read – Reading
Diet – Dieting
Run – Running
Cook – Cooking
Have – Having

Many students get confused and think that gerunds are always continuous tenses, but that is not true. Gerunds have different functions and that’s why in this article, I’m going to discuss about four simple situations how to use Gerunds in English.

How to use Gerunds in a sentence?

1. Subject of a sentence or phrase:-

When we use gerunds as the subject of a sentence or phrase, remember the sentences have two parts the subject part and the object part and the difference between one and the other is the verb.

Subject + Verb + Object.

For example:

English is very important nowadays.
‘English’ is the subject ‘is’ is the verb, and ‘very important nowadays’ is the object.

We usually use nouns or noun phrases in the subject position, like English. But what happens if I want to express an action? If you need to use a verb, then in that case, we need to use a gerund.

Learning English is very important nowadays.

Some more examples:

1. Racing is my favorite sports.
2. Walking by the sea is a great way to relax,
3. Teaching is a really good
4. Going to long drive is a best way to feel happiness.

So remember, when we use a verb as the subject of a sentence or phrase, we need to use a gerund.

2. After a preposition:-

The second situation in which we use gerunds is after a preposition. When we use a verb after a proposition, we need to use a gerund.

For example:

1. I’ve always been crazy about travelling.
2. Many people can’t live without using their mobile
3. My brother is afraid of swimming in the swimming pool
4. Some people are very good at racing.

So remember, if you use a verb after a preposition, you need to use a gerund.

3. After certain verbs:-

The third situation in which we can use gerunds is after certain verbs. There are some verbs that can be followed by another verb. So we will have a verb number one and the verb number two.

The verb number one will decide which form verb number two should have, which can be a gerund or a two infinitive. Some verbs that are followed by gerund when appearing in position one.

For example:

1. I admit cheating on the test.
2. Keep doing, I’m sure you’ll succeed soon.

Other verbs are suggest, mind etc.

1. They suggested staying in the hotel.
2. Do you mind opening the door?

So remember, we use Gerunds after certain verbs like meet, keep, suggest or mind.

4.When making continuous tenses:-

We use Gerunds is when making continuous tenses. To make a continuous tense, we need to conjugate verb to be and then use the Gerund.

For example:

1. I am learning
2. I was learning
3. I have been learning
4. I will be learning
5. My mom was watching TV when I called her.
6. I haven’t been feeling very well lately.

So remember, we use Gerunds to create continuous tenses, but also as the subject of a sentence after prepositions and after certain verbs.

I hope you understand how to use and when to use Gerunds. If you have any doubt about this topic you can comment below.And to practice your English in real life, because there’s no better way to improve your English than putting it into real practice with English speakers from all over the world.