Gerunds (-ing)
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:
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
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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?
- I am
used to driving on the left.
- I used
to drive on the left.
Hide answer
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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:
But
sometimes the second verb must be in gerund form, for example:
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:
- Gerunds
as subject
- Gerunds
as object
- Gerunds
as subjective complement
- Gerunds
as object of preposition
- Gerunds
after word “NO”
- Gerunds
after possessive adjective
- Gerunds
after certain verbs
- 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.
