The Gerund

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

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:

• the subject of the sentence

Smoking causes lung cancer

Flying makes him anxious

• 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

The gerund can be used:

• after prepositions or as part of certain expressions (there's no point in, in spite of etc.)

Can your brother count to ten without looking at his fingers?

There's no point in going back to his place now

• after phrasal verbs. They are composed of a verb + preposition/adverb

I ended up buying a new computer

Rachel gave up drinking sugar drinks

Guided Practice#

• stop → ....................
• dive → ....................
• fly → ....................
• cook → ....................
• shop → ....................
• fish → ....................
• snorkel → ....................
• start → ....................

• (to eat sweets) before breakfast is a bad habit.

• The first thing you need to do to overcome loneliness (to get a hobby).

• She ruined the party by (to get drunk).

• My sister always (to put off/go) to the doctor.

Short Story using The Gerund#

-Why don't we go to the beach this weekend?

-Mmm I don't know. I'm really afraid of swimming in the ocean.

-But you can still play volleyball with us.

-I'm not good at volleyball. I keep on dropping the ball.

-You'll be our cheerleader then!

-Cheerleading is not something I like doing.

-If you make up your mind, give me a call.

Independent Practice#

Fill in the gaps.

volunteering · parking · cooking · making

1. .................... is a great way to make friends.

2. James surprised Helen by .................... her a romantic dinner.

3. .................... is not easy for someone who has 5 hours of driving experience.

4. I keep on .................... the same mistakes all over again.

Write the correct sentence.

1. He was sorry for (to shout) at his wife the day before.

2. Are you interested in (to go) to concert with me?

3. I'm tired of (to get) your packages all the time.

Answer the questions.

1. Should people give up on their dreams?

2. What are you good at?

3. Is there anything that you can't live without?