Gerunds
It can be difficult to know when you can use gerunds, a bare infinitive or ‘to’ + infinitive, and whether it is correct. A gerund is an –ing ending. For example, running, enjoying, playing etc. So, there are three rules as to when you need to use the gerund (verb + –ing):
When to use gerunds in English
- We use gerunds after specific verbs that usually always take the gerund form afterwards.
- We use the gerund after prepositions, e.g., until, by, before etc.
- The gerund is used as the subject or the object of a sentence, e.g., playing football is great.
We use gerunds after specific verbs that usually always take the gerund form
| Verbs that take gerunds | Examples |
|---|---|
| Fancy | She fancies leaving early. |
| Discuss | I’ve discussed going on vacation with her. |
| Avoid | Mary usually avoids partying. |
| Keep | I keep insisting to her. |
| Recommend | Harry recommends getting a head-start. |
| Suggest | Joseph had suggested travelling to Paris. |
| Mind | I don’t mind getting dirty. |
| Dislike | She really dislikes smoking. |
| Enjoy | Let’s enjoy spending our time together. |
| Finish | I’ll finish running through your work. |
| Risk | Don’t risk losing your job. |
| Can’t help | Harry can’t help cheating. |
| Can’t stand | Maria can’t stand getting up early. |
| Appreciate | Samuel appreciates being able to come. |
| Practise | I will have been practising swimming for two years by tomorrow. |
| Postpone | Please don’t postpone meeting the venture capitalist. |
| Miss | She was missing studying. |
| Delay | They delayed flying. |
| Consider | I shall consider coming tonight. |
| Involve | My education involves learning lots about geography. |
| Deny | The accused denied stealing. |
| Complete | They will complete training in thirty minutes. |
| Understand | I understand living here is difficult. |
| Tolerate | The courts won’t tolerate shouting. |
| Mention | I think he mentioned leaving at around 20:00h. |
| Imagine | Last night she imagined arriving late. |
| Recall | The man recalled saving the guy’s life. |
| Report | The journalist reported interviewing the chief in stuff. |
| Anticipate | You must anticipate arriving at that time. |
Gerunds (verb + –ing) must be used after prepositions
Prepositions include simple prepositions, double prepositions, participial prepositions, compound prepositions, phrasal prepositions.
| Prepositions | Examples |
|---|---|
| Before | Before arriving, please take your shoes off. |
| Of | I received a lot of complaining. |
| By | By discovering the new properties we were able to go ahead. |
| Until | Not until writing my book did I know. |
| For | For smoking in the hallway, you will be punished. |
| Through | I’ll go through with taking the choice. |
| Under | Under ‘pressing the button’. |
| Over | I’ll speak to her over handling the situation properly. |
| Aside from | Aside from not knowing the problem she hadn’t met anyone previously. |
| Pursuant to | The clause states that pursuant to finalising the deal, we must… |
| According to | Well, according to him, opening the account there isn’t a good idea. |
| Upon | Upon arriving in New York we suddenly got lost. |
| Amid | We were amid making some very serious decisions. |
| Without | Don’t speak to him without consulting me first. |
We use the gerund (verb + –ing) as a subject or an object of a sentence
| Subjects | Examples |
|---|---|
| Smoking | Smoking is an unhealthy habit. |
| Imagining | Imagining things instead of telling the truth isn’t a good idea. |
| Getting | Getting out of this city is my main priority. |
| Telling | Telling lies is not a good idea. |
| Jumping | Jumping is fun. |
| Objects | Examples |
|---|---|
| Taking | I liked your taking part in the activity. |
| Understanding | I let him know that understanding the issue is vital. |
| Leaving | You mustn’t tell Ann over my leaving late today. |
| Telling | Explain to her about my telling off. |
