I don’t know about you, but I like identifying and using gerunds. A gerund is a word that usually ends in “-ing” that is used as a noun in a sentence but isn’t really a noun. It usually looks like a verb, an action word: learning, using, enjoying, etc.
Consider the sentence “Driving can be dangerous.” At first glance, it seems there are no nouns in the sentence, so how can it be considered a sentence? After all, sentences need a noun and a verb, right? Not necessarily! It’s more correct to say that sentences need a subject and a predicate. A gerund can act as a sentence’s subject in lieu of an actual noun.
So from a grammar standpoint, gerunds should be treated just as nouns in sentence structure. This is where it gets a little awkward in everyday conversation. You will hear some people forming their sentences as if a gerund is something that one can possess; that is, they will say something like “your driving scares me.” That sentence construction probably sounds pretty normal to most of us.
Here’s a different one: “We talked about my wanting to get hired.” Here, “wanting” is a gerund that functions as something that is “mine.” Some of us might be inclined to say “me wanting” since it seems so much like a verb, an action word that I am doing, but its function in this sentence is as a noun!
Next time you find yourself using a word that seems like a verb but functions as a noun, recognize that you are using a gerund!
Can you think of some fun ways to use gerunds? Let’s hear it!