What are gerunds and gerund phrases, English

Assignment Help:

What are gerunds and gerund phrases?

A gerund is a present participle used as a noun. A present participle is a verb formed by adding "-ing" to the infinitive of the verb.

A gerund phrase starts with a present participle and includes other words that work with the participle. The entire unit functions as noun in the sentence.

A gerund phrase can contain complements and modifiers.

Examples of gerund phrases

1. Studying marine life was Rachel Carson’s career.
"Studying" is the present participle; "marine life" is the direct object of the participle, telling us what is studied. The entire gerund phrase functions as the subject of the sentence.

2. She devoted herself to protecting the environment.
"Protecting" is the present participle; "the environment" is the direct object of the participle, telling us what is protected. The entire gerund phrase functions as the object of the preposition "to."

3. She loved informing the world about the need to protect endangered species.
"Informing" is the present participle; "the world" is the direct object of the participle, telling us who is informed; "about the need to protect endangered species" is a phrase modifying the participle. (Notice the adjectival infinitive phrase modifying "need.")

Confusing "-ing" words

  • Since a gerund is made from a present participle, it is easy to confuse it with other forms that use the present participle. A participial phrase that uses a present participle is always used as an adjective. Be careful not to mix it up with a gerund phrase, which is always used as a noun.
  • The present participle is also used in the progressive verb form. Be careful to look at how the present participle is being used in the sentence. If it is part of the verb phrase, it is not a gerund.

Related Discussions:- What are gerunds and gerund phrases

Answer, Ask question #Minimum 100 words accepShe waited patiently for her t...

Ask question #Minimum 100 words accepShe waited patiently for her turn on line at the New Age bookstore. Answer adjective adverb noun verb ted#

Asignment, from your reading of maru,demostrate that indeed the masarwa fac...

from your reading of maru,demostrate that indeed the masarwa face a lot of discrimination

Word formation, Hi! Hope you are really good. I want to ask about word form...

Hi! Hope you are really good. I want to ask about word formation with examples. Thanks in advance.

Civil disobedience, what are the circumstances that would force you to be l...

what are the circumstances that would force you to be like thoreau

How to make chronological resumes, Chronological Resumes Resumes format...

Chronological Resumes Resumes formats: Chronological vs. Functional There are several basic formats for resumes, and they can be combined or altered to some extent. The main

Draw the parse tree - pumping lemma, 1. Given the following grammar S à 0A0...

1. Given the following grammar S à 0A0 | 1B1 | BB; A à C; B à S | A; C à S | ε, (a) (Derivation) Given a left-most and right-most derivation of a string 01001110 (b) (Parse tree

Manage database instances, Assume that you are responsible for selecting a ...

Assume that you are responsible for selecting a new DBMS product for Sohar Hospital

Summarize the story "am i blue", Question 1 How did the landlord's daughte...

Question 1 How did the landlord's daughter obtain the three goats? Question 2 What is the moral of the story ‘The Fortune-Teller'? Question 3 Describe the end of the sto

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd