Most students face problems with gerund phrases. They, sometimes, get confused between a gerund phrase and a present participle phrase. I find it one of the easiest phrases, if not the easiest, and I will help you master what gerund phrases are.
What is a gerund phrase in English?
Do you know what is a gerund in English? What is a gerund phrase in English grammar? You may or may not, but I bet you use them all the time; you might not be aware of how a gerund or a gerund phrase works.
Gerund phrase definition
A phrase that starts with a gerund and works as a noun in a sentence is called a gerund phrase. A gerund is a word that is formed by adding ‘ing’ at the end of an action verb. Gerund examples- playing, smoking, laughing, running, smoking, teaching, etc.
Note: A gerund phrase is a type of a noun phrase.
Gerund phrase examples
- Dancing in the rain makes me happy.
Dancing in the rain is the gerund phrase that’s working as the subject of the sentence. Dancing is the gerund, and in the rain is the prepositional phrase that’s modifying the gerund, telling us the place of the action.
- He loves going to new places.
Going to new places is the gerund phrase that’s working as the object of the verb love. Going is the gerund here, and to new places is the prepositional phrase that’s modifying the gerund, telling us the place of the action.
- Her favorite time pass is playing with kids.
In this example, playing with kids is the gerund phrase that’s working as the subject complement, renaming the subject. It is starting with the gerund playing, and with kids is the prepositional phrase that’s modifying the gerund.
- Most people are scared of speaking in front of a crowd.
Here, speaking in front of a crowd is the gerund phrase that’s working as the object of the preposition ‘of’. It is starting with the gerund speaking, and in front of a crowd is the prepositional phrase that’s modifying the gerund, talking about the place of the action.
Subject complement: it is a word or a group of words that renames or describes the subject of a sentence.
These were some examples of gerund phrases. Now, let’s understand the different roles it plays in a sentence.
Functions of a gerund phrase
A gerund phrase can play the following roles in a sentence:
- The subject of a sentence
- An object of a verb
- An object of a preposition
- A subject complement
Examples of gerund phrases as the subject
- Talking to my favorite people makes me happy.
- Listening to a language is one of the best ways to learn it.
- Teaching English is my passion.
- Meditating daily helps you to control your mind and live peacefully.
- Talking to him is not the right thing to do when he is angry.
Examples of gerund phrases as the object of a verb
Gerund phrases that work as the object of a verb are followed by a transitive verb. Here are some examples:
- I love talking to my favorite people.
- Rony hates following orders.
- Jonny always avoids answering my questions.
- My students enjoy watching my English lessons.
- She can’t imagine living without me.
Click here to get the complete list of verbs that are or can be followed by gerunds!
Examples of gerund phrases as the object of a preposition
Gerund phrases that work as the object of a preposition are followed by a preposition. Here are some examples:
- Most people are scared of facing their fears.
- I am excited about starting my online classes.
- We are looking forward to meeting Jenny and her friends.
- Ashish is amazing at making people laugh.
- I can’t think about killing a human being.
- He is not interested in helping the poor.
Examples of gerund phrases as the subject complement
Gerund phrases that work as the subject complement. Here are some examples:
- His interest is blogging about traveling.
- My love is writing poems.
- His biggest mistake was trusting that liar.
Check out an object complement in English.
How to form a gerund phrase? How to identify a gerund phrase?
A gerund phrase in English has the following components in it:
- It starts with a gerund.
- It will either have an object or a modifier after the gerund. It can have both sometimes.
- The entire phrase works as a noun. (Replace the gerund phrase with a noun to check if it really works as a noun.)
- It will always have a singular verb after it when it functions as the subject of a sentence.
- Teaching unprivileged children is a generous act.
In the above sentence, teaching unprivileged children is the gerund phrase, teaching is the gerund, and unprivileged children is the object of the gerund ‘teaching‘. It has everything a gerund phrase needs to have. We can add a modifier to the gerund phrase if we want to.
- Teaching unprivileged children free of cost is a generous act.
We have added the modifying phrase free of cost to the gerund phrase. Now, it has a gerund, an object of the gerund, and a modifying phrase.
Just like a noun, it takes the following places in a sentence:
- The subject of a sentence
- An object of a verb
- An object of a preposition
- A subject complement
Let’s take the previous example and see if it can take these places!
- Teaching unprivileged children is a generous act.
(The subject of the sentence) - I admire teaching unprivileged children.
(The object of the verb admire) - I am thinking about teaching unprivileged children.
(The object of the preposition about) - What I really love is teaching unprivileged children.
(The subject complement)
Now, we know a gerund phrase works as a noun and functions as the following: the subject, the object of a verb, the object of a preposition, and the subject complement. One more way to prove that is to replace it with a noun or a pronoun. Well, let’s do that.
- This is a generous act.
(The subject of the sentence) - I admire Rahul.
(The object of the verb admire) - I am thinking about Rahul.
(The object of the preposition about) - What I love is my dog.
(The subject complement)
How do you identify a gerund phrase?
Check the following points to identify a gerund phrase:
- It starts with a gerund and has an object of the gerund and/or a modifier in it.
- It takes the following positions within a sentence:
1. Just before the verb or verb phrase (at the beginning of a sentence)
2. Just after the verb or verb phrase
3. Just after a preposition.
- Talking to my favorite people makes me happy.
The gerund phrase is coming at the beginning of the sentence and just before the main verb makes. It is starting with a gerund talking and has a preposition to and its object my favorite people. When a gerund or a gerund phrase comes at the beginning of a sentence, it works as the subject of the sentence. - Jonny always avoids answering my questions.
Here, the gerund phrase comes right after the verb avoids and works as its object. It has a gerund answering and the object of the gerund my questions. When it comes right after the verb of a sentence, it either works as its object or as the subject complement. - My love is writing poems.
See, it’s coming right after the verb is, but it is working as the subject complement here. - Most people are scared of facing their fears.
The gerund phrase is coming after the preposition of and working as its object.
Don’t confuse gerund phrases with present participles!
It is very common to confuse gerund phrases with present participle phrases as both of them start with a present participle (V1+ing) and have objects and/or modifiers in them.
But a gerund phrase works as a noun whereas a present participle phrase works as an adjective/adverb in a sentence.
Check out present participles and present participle phrases.
Present participle phrases
- Listening to his favorite songs, Max finished editing the video.
(Listening to his favorite songs is the present participle phrase starting with the present participle listening and modifying the noun Max. It is not working as a noun here.) - We are looking for a kid wearing a red jacket.
(Wearing a red jacket is the present participle phrase starting with the present participle wearing and modifying the noun kid. )
Note: a present participle phrase is a reduced adjective clause. Also, check out reduced adverb clauses.
How do we know these are working as an adjective?
An adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun and comes right next to it: before or after it. In both these examples, the present participle phrases are modifying a noun and coming right before and after the modifying word. A gerund phrase can’t do that. Let me show you how!
- Listening to his favorite songs makes him happy. (The subject of the sentence)
- He loves listening to his favorite songs. (The object of the verb loves)
- His favorite hobby is listening to his favorite songs. (The subject complement)
- He is crazy about listening to his favorite songs. (The object of the preposition about)
Are these present participle phrases coming just before or after a noun or a pronoun? No, right? So, it’s a big sign that tells us these are not working as present participle phrases though they have all the elements to act like them. Both gerund phrases and present participle phrases are look-alike but have a different role to play in a sentence.
Now, we know everything about a gerund phrase. Feel free to share your question, doubt, or feedback in the comment section, and also, share the post with the people that need it.
For one-on-one classes, contact me at [email protected].
FAQs
What are gerund phrases?
A phrase that starts with a gerund and works as a noun in a sentence is called a gerund phrase. A gerund is a word that is formed by adding ‘ing’ at the end of an action verb. Gerund examples- playing, smoking, laughing, running, smoking, teaching, etc.
How do you identify a gerund phrase in a sentence?
We can identify a gerund phrase by understanding its components. A gerund phrase has the following components in it:
1. It starts with a gerund.
2. It will either have an object or a modifier after the gerund. It can have both sometimes.
3. The entire phrase works as a noun. (Replace the gerund phrase with a noun to check if it really works as a noun.)
4. It will always have a singular verb after it when it functions as the subject of a sentence.
What does a gerund phrase look like?
A gerund phrase starts with a gerund (a word ending with ‘ing’) and works as a noun in a sentence. It has a gerund and its object and/or a modifier.
Are all ing words gerunds?
No. Only if they function as a noun in a sentence we can call them a gerund. They can function as verbs, adverbs, adjectives, or nouns.
How do you identify a participle and a gerund in a sentence?
Both gerunds and present participle and words ending with ‘ing’, but a gerund works as a noun, and a present participle works as a verb or an adjective.
What does a gerund phrase start with?
A gerund phrase starts with a gerund (an ing form of verb) and can be followed by its object, if the gerund (verb) is transitive, or a modifier, or both an object and a modifier.
1. I love playing cricket. (gerund = playing, object = cricket)
2. They hate coming here. (gerund = coming, modifier (adverb) = here)
3. I am not scared of fighting him in Dubai. (gerund = coming, object = him, modifier (adverb) = in Dubai)
What is the purpose of gerund phrase?
A gerund phrase functions as a noun in a sentence. It can work, like any noun, as the subject, object, object of a preposition, and subject complement. The only position where a regular noun can come but a gerund or a gerund phrase can’t is the object complement.
What are the types of gerund phrase?
There are four ways (or places) of using a gerund phrase:
1. Subject
2. Object of the verb
3. Object of the preposition
4. Subject complement
What is an example of a gerund phrase?
Here are 5 examples of gerund phrases (bold):
1. Running everyday can help you lose weight.
2. Going there can be a problem for us.
3. We love doing crazy things.
4. She hates talking to me.
5. We are not thinking about leaving the organization.
What is the difference between noun phrase and gerund phrase?
Understand it this way: a gerund phrase is a type of a noun phrase. A noun phrase is a phrase that functions as a noun in a sentence. When we talk about a noun phrase, we usually refer to a regular noun phrase: a phrase headed by a regular noun with a modifier/s.
A noun phrase (regular) is headed by a regular noun and a gerund phrase is headed or starts with a gerund (V1+ing), both they function as a noun.
Noun phrase: Some people from my group want to see your new house.
Gerund phrase: Working with him is not going to save you from losing the match.
There are three types of noun phrases:
1. Regular noun phrase
2. Gerund phrase
3. Infinitive phrase
Watch the video:
Check out Yourdictionary and Grammarmonster for more examples (though unnecessary).
I hope now you know what is a gerund phrase in English, how to form it, and how to use it. Don’t keep the knowledge to yourself; empower others by sharing the post with them. See you in the next class, smart brains!
For one-on-one classes, contact me at [email protected].
What an article!! Too informative
Thank you fie your explanation. English is tricked but you go teaching step by step and I like improving my english with your classes. Practice makes perfect.
Glad you like the posts! Keep learning!
Hello, before I ask my doubts, I would like to thank you for such a clear explanation of phrases.
So, what my doubt is is the use of phrases; that is, the adjective phrases use infinitive phrases, but infinitive phrases have different functions, such as working as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. If I use an adjective, are there any particular infinitive phrases I should use, or can I use all of the infinitive phrases in adjective phrases?