A gerund phrase will begin with a gerund, an ing word, and will include other modifiers and/or objects. Gerund phrases always function as nouns, so they will be subjects, subject complements, or objects in the sentence. When a verb ends in -ing, it may be a gerund or a present participle. It is important to understand that they are not the same.
When we use a verb in -ing form more like a noun,
it is usually a gerund:
- Fishing is fun.
When we use a verb in -ing form more like a verb
or an adjective, it is usually a present participle:
- Anthony is fishing.
- I have a boring teacher.
Gerunds as Subject, Object or Complement
Try to think of gerunds as verbs in noun form.
Like nouns, gerunds can be the subject, object or
complement of a sentence:
- Smoking costs a lot of money.
- I don't like writing.
- My favourite occupation is reading.
But, like a verb, a gerund can also have an object
itself. In this case, the whole expression [gerund + object] can be the
subject, object or complement of the sentence.
- Smoking cigarettes costs a lot of money.
- I don't like writing letters.
- My favourite occupation is reading detective stories.
Like nouns, we can use gerunds with adjectives
(including articles and other determiners):
- pointless questioning
- a settling of debts
- the making of Titanic
- his drinking of alcohol
But when we use a gerund with an article, it does not
usually take a direct object:
- a settling of debts (not a settling debts)
- Making "Titanic" was expensive.
- The making of "Titanic" was expensive.
Do you see the difference in these two sentences? In
one, "reading" is a gerund (noun). In the other "reading"
is a present participle (verb).
- My favourite occupation is reading.
- My favourite niece is reading.
Hide answer
reading as gerund
(noun)
|
Main Verb
|
Complement
|
My favourite occupation
|
is
|
reading.
|
My favourite occupation
|
is
|
football.
|
reading as present
participle (verb)
|
Auxiliary Verb
|
Main Verb
|
My favourite niece
|
is
|
reading.
|
My favourite niece
|
has
|
finished.
|
Gerunds after Prepositions
This is a good rule. It has no exceptions!
If we want to use a verb after a preposition, it must
be a gerund. It is impossible to use an infinitive after a preposition. So for
example, we say:
- I will call you after arriving at the office.
- Please have a drink before leaving.
- I am looking forward to meeting you.
- Do you object to working late?
- Tara always dreams about going on holiday.
Notice that you could replace all the above gerunds
with "real" nouns:
- I will call you after my arrival at the office.
- Please have a drink before your departure.
- I am looking forward to our lunch.
- Do you object to this job?
- Tara always dreams about holidays.
The above rule has no exceptions!
So why is "to" followed by "driving" in 1 and by "drive" in 2?
So why is "to" followed by "driving" in 1 and by "drive" in 2?
1.
I am used to driving
on the left.
2.
I used to drive
on the left.
Hide answer
to as preposition
|
Preposition
|
|
I am used
|
to
|
driving on the left.
|
I am used
|
to
|
animals.
|
to as infinitive
|
Infinitive
|
|
I used
|
to drive
|
on the left
|
I used
|
to smoke.
|
Gerunds in Passive Sense
We often use a gerund after the verbs need, require
and want. In this case, the gerund has a passive sense.
- I have three shirts that need washing. (need to be washed)
- This letter requires signing. (needs to be signed)
- The house wants repainting. (needs to be repainted)
The expression "something wants
doing" is not normally used in American English.
Gerunds after Certain Verbs
We sometimes use one verb after another verb. Often
the second verb is in the infinitive form, for example:
- I want to eat.
But sometimes the second verb must be in gerund form,
for example:
- I dislike eating.
This depends on the first verb. Here is a list
of verbs that are usually followed by a verb in gerund form:
- admit, appreciate, avoid, carry on, consider, defer, delay, deny, detest, dislike, endure, enjoy, escape, excuse, face, feel like, finish, forgive, give up, can't help, imagine, involve, leave off, mention, mind, miss, postpone, practise, put off, report, resent, risk, can't stand, suggest, understand
Look at these examples:
- She is considering having a holiday.
- Do you feel like going out?
- I can't help falling in love with you.
- I can't stand not seeing you.
Some verbs can be followed by the gerund form or
the infinitive form without a big change in meaning: begin, continue, hate,
intend, like, love, prefer, propose, start
- I like to play tennis.
- I like playing tennis.
- It started to rain.
- It started raining.
Recognize a gerund phrase when you see one.
A gerund phrase will begin with a gerund, an ing word, and will include other modifiers and/or objects. Gerund phrases always function as nouns, so they will be subjects, subject complements, or objects in the sentence. Read these examples:
Eating
ice cream on a windy day
can be a messy experience if you have long, untamed hair.
Eating ice
cream on a windy day =
subject of the verb can be.
A more disastrous
activity for long-haired people is blowing giant bubble
gum bubbles with the car windows down.
Blowing giant
bubble gum bubbles with the car windows down = subject complement of the verb is.
Wild food adventures
require getting your hair cut to a short, safe length.
Getting your
hair cut to a short, safe length = direct object of the verb require.Don't mistake a gerund phrase for a present participle phrase.
Gerund and present participle phrases are easy to confuse because they both begin with an ing word. The difference is that a gerund phrase will always function as a noun while a present participle phrase describes another word in the sentence. Check out these examples:
Jamming
too much clothing into a washing machine will result in disaster.
Jamming too
much clothing into a washing machine = gerund phrase, the subject of the verb will result.
Jamming
too much clothing into the washing machine, Aamir saved $1.25 but had to tolerate the curious
stares of other laundry patrons as his machine bucked and rumbled with the
heavy load.
Jamming too
much clothing into the washing machine = present participle phrase describing Aamir.
Bernard hates buttering toast with a fork.
Buttering toast
with a fork = gerund
phrase, the direct object of the verb hates.
Buttering
toast with a fork, Bernard
vowed that he would finally wash the week's worth of dirty dishes piled in the
sink.
Buttering toast
with a fork = present
participle phrase describing Bernard.
My dog's most annoying
habit is hogging the middle of the bed.
Hogging the
middle of the bed = gerund
phrase, the subject complement of the linking verb is.
Last night I had to
sleep on the couch because I found my dog Floyd hogging
the middle of the bed.
Hogging the
middle of the bed =
present participle phrase describing Floyd.
Gerunds
Gerunds adalah kara kerja (verb) yang ditambah ing (verb + ing) dan berfungsi sebagai
kata benda (noun). Dengan kata lain, gerund adalah kata kerja yang
dibendakan/diubah menjadi kata benda dengan menambahkan ing.
Dalam kalimat bahasa Inggris, gerunds mempunyai peran
sebagai:
1.
Gerunds as subject
2.
Gerunds as object
3.
Gerunds as subjective
complement
4.
Gerunds as object of
preposition
5.
Gerunds after word “NO”
6.
Gerunds after possessive
adjective
7.
Gerunds after certain
verbs
8.
Gerunds as appositive
1) Gerunds as subject
Berikut ini contoh-contoh gerunds yang berfungsi
sebagai subject:
Reading is not my hobby.
Swimming is better than running.
Hiking can be very strenuous.
2) Gerunds as object
I like reading.
She goes swimming
every morning.
Their favorite sport is running.
3) Gerunds as Subjective
Complement
Gerund sebagai pelengkap subjek
dalam kalimat biasanya selalu didahului to be yang terletak di
antara subject dan subjective complement, contoh:
Her favorite sport is swimming.
4) Gerunds as object of
preposition
Gerund sebagai objek dari preposisi terletak setelah
preposisi, misalnya; for, before, without, in, at, after, dll.
Contoh;
I will wash the dishes after eating.
You cannot be rich man without working.
5) Gerunds after “NO”
Dalam kalimat larangan, kita sering memakai kata “No”
dan setelahnya biasanya diletakkan verb + ing yaitu gerunds. Contoh:
No Smoking!
No parking
in this area!
Gerunds juga sering kita jumpai setelah possessive
adjective. Misalnya:
Thanks for your
coming.
7) Gerunds after certain
verbs
Dalam bahasa Inggris, ada beberapa kata kerja tertentu
yang bila kita ingin memasukan kata kerja sesudah kata kerja tersebut, maka
kata kerja setelahnya harusnya berbentuk gerund atau verb + ing.
Berikut ini daftar kata kerja-kata kerja tersebut
beserta contoh kalimatnya:
Admit
: He admitted cheating on the test.
Advise
: The doctor generally advised drinking low-fat milk.
8) Gerunds as appositive
Gerund sebagai aposisi atau penegas dalam
kalimat, contoh:
· His method, shooting
and killing, eventually came to an
end.
· She has a bad habit, gambling.
· Her favorite exercise, swimming in the pool, makes her body strong.
· That difficult work, sawing hard woo, makes him exhausted
Participles
Used as Adjectives
Both
present and past participles are used with the verbs to
be and to have to
create
common verb tenses, but they can also be used as adjectives. Since
there
is a slight difference in meaning between the present and the past
participles
when they are used as adjectives, it is very important to choose the
appropriate
form.
►Present
participles are formed by adding –ing to
the verb stem. As an
adjective,
a present participle modifies a noun that affects someone or
something
else.
The
new song is interesting.
The
new song was interesting.
►Past
participles are formed by adding –ed, to
the verb stem, but some of the
irregular
forms may end in –d, –en, –n, or –t. As
an adjective, a past participle
modifies
a noun that is affected by someone or something else.
The
fans are interested in the new song.
The
fans were interested in the new song.
►Participles
generally come before the noun they modify. They may also be
linked
to the subject of the sentence by a linking verb such as to be or to
feel.
The
park is a frightening place at night.
Steve felt frightened as he
walked alone in the park at night.
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