THE GERUND

Gerunds

Before that – what is a phrase?

A phrase is a word or collection of words that do NOT have both a subject and verb.

In other words, a phrase cannot be a sentence.

HOW DO YOU EVEN PRONOUNCE IT?

What in the world?

EXAMPLES:

1.BOATING IS MY FAVORITE SUMMER ACTIVITY.

2.SHE ASKED HIM TO STOP HITTING.

3.WE ALL FELT SHE WAS OUT OF TURN BY TALKING OUT OF TURN.

4.THE PROBLEM IS THEIR CONSTANT FIGHTING.

Gerund - a verb form ending in _ing that is used as a noun

EXAMPLES:

1.THEIR PARTYING WOKE UP THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

2.MISSY’S CRYING WAS TOTALLY INAPPROPRIATE.

Hint: nouns or pronouns directly before gerunds should be possessive (his, her, their, or nouns with apostrophes)

EXAMPLES:

1.RUNNING INTO AN OLD FRIEND, ANGIE DECIDED TO MISS HER

DATE. (This is a participle – it describes Angie)

2.I WAS LISTENING, BUT I COULDN’T HEAR ANYTHING.(Listening is

part of the verb – it’s not a gerund)

Warning: Gerunds can be easily confused with present participles used as adjectives or parts of verb phrases.

EXAMPLES:

1.WALKING AROUND THE LAKE MAKES ME FEEL HAPPY.

2.I CAN’T TOLERATE EATING WITH YOUR MOUTH OPEN.

3.THE ONLY ACTIVITY THE DOG ENJOYED WAS BARKING AT

SQUIRRELS.

4.SHE FOUND JOY IN TEACHING WELL.

Gerund Phrase – consists of a gerund and its modifiers and

complements. The entire phrase is used as a noun

Try it!

1. I have always been grateful to my parents for naming me John.

2. Can you touch the floor without bending your knees?

3. Taking accurate measurements of the skin is the first step.

More practice

4. The final steps involve forming the eyes, tongue and ears.

5. The next task is making a detailed drawing of the contours of the animal.

6. We enjoyed running around the park.

Now take out the clickers!