Brief Summary
This lesson explains what gerunds are, how they are used, and common mistakes to avoid. Gerunds are verb forms ending in "-ing" that function as nouns. They can be used as subjects, after prepositions, after certain verbs and expressions, and as objects of prepositions. The lesson also highlights the difference between gerunds and present continuous verbs.
- Gerunds are verb forms ending in "-ing" that function as nouns.
- Gerunds can be used as subjects, after prepositions, after certain verbs and expressions, and as objects of prepositions.
- It's important not to confuse gerunds with present continuous verbs.
The lesson begins by addressing the confusion between gerunds and present continuous verbs, using the example of "cooking" in two sentences: "I am cooking dinner" and "Cooking is my passion." In the first sentence, "cooking" is a verb in the present continuous form, while in the second, it is a gerund acting as the subject of the sentence. A gerund is a combination of a verb and "ing" that functions as a noun. For example, "swimming is good for health," where "swimming" is an activity and the subject of the sentence.
Gerunds look like verbs but behave like nouns. For instance, in the sentence "Swimming is good for health," swimming is an activity that acts as the subject. Similarly, in "Reading keeps your mind sharp," reading functions as the subject. Another example is "Listening to music relaxes me," where listening is a noun. Also, "Learning new skills is important," where learning is the subject.
Gerunds are used in five common situations. First, as the subject of a sentence, such as "Dancing makes me happy," where dancing is an activity working as the subject. Another example is "Reading improves your vocabulary," where reading also works as a subject.
The second use of gerunds is after prepositions. For example, "I am good at singing," where "at" is a preposition followed by the gerund "singing." Similarly, "She is afraid of feeling" and "He is afraid of defeat" use "of" as a preposition followed by a gerund. After prepositions, the "-ing" form of the verb, i.e., the gerund, is always used. The third use of gerunds is after certain verbs like enjoy, avoid, finish, suggest, keep, mind, and consider. These verbs are always followed by a gerund. For instance, "I enjoy dancing at weddings," "She avoids talking to strangers," and "I finished cleaning the house before dinner." Other examples include "I suggest taking a break," "He keeps asking silly questions," "Do you mind opening the window?" and "I am considering joining the new course."
Gerunds are also used after certain expressions or phrases like "be busy," "it's no use," "can't help," and "look forward to." For example, "We were busy cleaning the house all day," "It's no use arguing with him," "I can't help laughing at that joke," and "I look forward to meeting you soon." A common mistake is to say "I look forward to meet you," which is incorrect; the correct form is "I look forward to meeting you." The final use of gerunds is as an object after prepositions, following the structure verb + preposition + gerund. For example, "She is interested in learning English," where "interested" is the verb, "in" is the preposition, and "learning" is the gerund. Other examples include "He apologized for being late" and "Thinking of going to Goa."
The lesson concludes by asking viewers to identify the verb, preposition, and gerund in the sentence "He is afraid of speaking in public" in the comments. It also reiterates not to confuse "-ing" verbs and gerunds, noting that "-ing" verbs come in the continuous tense and act as gerunds or objects.
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Transcript
Full transcript of “-ing Verbs vs Gerunds – Stop the Confusion! Every -ing Word is NOT a Verb! | English Grammar Lesson”. Click a timestamp to open the video at that moment. Need another video? Use the YouTube transcript generator.
0:00 [MUSIC] Hello and welcome back to LearnX. There are two sentences on your screen. I am cooking dinner. Cooking is my passion. Cooking has been used in both the sentences. But is the meaning and use of both the same? Think about it. no way. This confusion occurs between gerent and ING verbs. There is a verb in the first sentence. The verb in the Present Continuous form and the second sentence in cooking is the gerund. That means it is the subject of the sentence. He is acting like a noun. So we will clear this confusion in today's lesson.
0:50 In today's lesson we are going to learn what are gerents ? How are they used? What rules should be followed? And what are some common mistakes that should be avoided? I am Ananya and you are watching learnx. So let's get started. First, let us understand what gerunds are? Gerund is a combination of verb plus ing. But it functions like a noun. Remember that the gerund looks like a verb but behaves like a noun. For example, swimming is good for health. Here, swimming is a combination of the verb and ing.
1:38 But here swimming is an activity. That means it has become a subject. Meaning, swimming is playing the role of a noun here. I hope you got it. In short swimming is good for health. Next example reading keeps your mind sharp. Reading is an activity. But here he is working as a subject. That means reading makes your brain sharp. Let us look at some more examples. Listening to music. Relaxes me. Here too, listening is an activity. There is no action here. Here listening is a noun. That means listening to music relaxes me.
2:24 Learning new skills is important. Here also the subject is learning sentences. This means that learning new skills is essential. Now let us understand where we use gerentes. Gerents are used in five common situations. The first one is as a subject of the sentence which we just saw. Example: Dancing makes me happy. Here dancing is an activity and working as a subject. Reading improves your vocabulary. Again reading is working as a subject here. In both these sentences, dancing and reading are not verbs but gerunds. Both of these words
3:10 work as a subject. The second use of gerunds is after prepositions. That means we always use gerund after prepositions. Like I am good at singing. At is a preposition and what comes after it is the gerund in the ing form. She is afraid of feeling. He is afraid of defeat. Again of is a preposition followed by a gerund. Keep in mind that after prepositions, the ing form of the verb i.e. gerund is always used. If you say that I am good at singing then it will be wrong. Always I am good at singing will come and not sing. The
3:57 third use of gerunds is after certain verbs. Like enjoy, avoid, finish, suggest, keep, mind, consider. All these verbs will always be followed by a gerund. That means the next word will always come in the ING form. Let's look at some examples. I enjoy dancing at weddings. I love dancing at weddings or I enjoy it. Now see, after enjoy, ING form has come. Enjoy dancing. She avoids talking to strangers. She avoids talking to strangers. After again avoid comes the ing form. Avoid stocking. I finished cleaning the house before dinner. I
4:45 cleaned the house before dinner. Finished cleaning. Right? Finish is a verb. After that the ING form came. And cleaning is a gerund here. I suggest taking a break. I recommend taking a break. Again is a suggest verb, taking is a gerund. He keeps asking silly questions. Keep is a verb and asking is a gerund. That means he keeps asking stupid questions again and again. Do you mind opening the window? Would you mind if I opened the window? Right? So here also mind is a verb and the opening is a gerund. I am considering joining the new course. I am thinking of joining a new course.
5:32 So you see, after some special verbs the next word comes in the ing form i.e. gerund. Next, we use the gerund after certain expressions or phrases. Like be busy it's no use can't help look forward to. Let's look at examples. We were busy cleaning the house all day. We were busy cleaning the house the whole day. It's no use arguing with him. There is no use in quarreling with him. I can't help laughing at that joke. I could n't stop myself from laughing at that joke. I look forward to meeting you soon. I am waiting to meet you. Now this is where
6:20 mistakes often occur. People say I look forward to meet you. He is wrong. The next word that comes after look forward to will always be ING. Look forward to meeting you. That means the gerund will always be used. Do n't make this mistake. The next use of gerund is as an object after prepositions. That is, the structure is verb plus preposition plus gerund. If your sentence has a verb plus a preposition, it will always be followed by a gerund. For example, she is interested in learning English. Here interested is a verb. These are prepositions. Learning is the gerund. I hope
7:07 you got it. Let us look at some more examples. He was apologized for being late. Right? The apolized verb is for is the preposition followed by being which is a gerund. And thinking of going to Goa. Thinking is the verb of preposition and going is the gerund. He is afraid of speaking in public. Now you tell me in the comments what is the verb in this sentence? What is a preposition? And what is a gerund? Don't confuse ing verbs and gerentes. I ng verbs come in the continuous tense and act as gerents or objects. Let us now see
7:54 how much you have understood from this lesson. There are two questions and four options given on your screen. You have to choose the correct option and fill in the blanks. Write your answers in the comments. So that's it for today. I hope you enjoyed today's lesson and your confusion about gerunds was cleared. I will meet you soon with another new English lesson. Till then as usual keep learning and keep practicing English. Buy for now.
