Gerunds

Gerunds look a lot like verbs because they have an "ing" ending; however, they function like nouns in a sentence:

1. Swimming is fun.
2. I like swimming.
3. She is swimming.

The first two sentences use gerunds. The third is in the present continuous tense. Remember that continuous tenses are formed with the verb "be." That's how you can tell it apart from a gerund.

Gerunds follow some verbs but not others: I avoid shopping at Walmart. After the verb "avoid," you can use a gerund but not an infinitive. How do you know which verbs take gerunds, which verbs take infinitives, and which can take both? That's one of the things that makes English so difficult. It takes years to learn this through reading, listening, speaking, and writing.

For more practice with gerunds, click here. �