11. The Gerund - ing | Beginner
The Gerund -ing
Introduction
1) The gerund looks exactly the same as the present participle but the gerund always has
the same function as a noun (although it looks like a verb).
Cooking at home can help you save a lot of money.
2) The gerund is a noun made from a verb by adding -ing.
Verbs ending in -e drop -e and add -ing.
make – making, write – writing
Verbs with one syllable, ending in one vowel and one consonant, double the consonant and
add -ing.
knit – knitting, swim – swimming
Verbs ending -ie change -ie to -y and add -ing.
lie – lying, die – dying
The gerund can be made negative by adding not.
The best thing for your health is not smoking.
The gerund can function as:
a) the subject of the sentence.
Smoking causes lung cancer.
Flying makes him anxious.
b) the complement of the verb to be.
One of her duties was writing weekly reports.
The hardest thing about learning Russian is memorizing the verbs of movement.