Gerund is the name given to the present participle form of a verb that is used as a noun. In the following sentences the gerund is shown in red:
- Smoking is bad for your health. (gerund as subject)
- A popular hobby in England is stamp-collecting. (gerund as complement)
- I dislike shopping. (gerund as object)
Gerunds are not difficult to use as subjects or complements, as in the above sentences. The problem arises when the learner wants to use the verb-noun as an object and does not know whether the gerund or the infinitive is required. Here are some examples of the variety of use:
- She doesn't enjoy working on Sundays. (gerund only)
- She objects to working on Sundays. (gerund only)
- She agreed to work on Sunday. (infinitive only)
- She hates to work on Sundays. / She hates working on Sundays. (both infinitive and gerund possible: same meaning)
- She stopped eating. (gerund - meaning: she did not eat any more)
- She stopped to eat. (infinitive - meaning: she stopped what she was doing and started to eat)
This is a difficult aspect of English grammar. The learner must use the dictionary carefully case-by-case to make the correct choice of gerund or infinitive.
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