 Using gerunds. What is a gerund? A gerund is a verb used as a noun. Gerunds usually have I-N-G endings. Let's look at some examples. Camping is a fun pastime. I enjoy watching old movies. He plans on surfing tomorrow. There are many ways to use gerunds. Here are some of the most common. As a subject, as an object, after prepositions. Number one, as a subject. Subjects usually come at the beginning of a sentence. Subjects are topics of sentences. With gerunds as subjects, the focus is on an activity. For example, skiing is my favorite sport. Hiking can be very strenuous. Cooking well takes a lot of time. Two, as an object. Objects usually come after verbs in a sentence. Certain verbs have gerunds as objects. See the list below. For example, we like taking pictures. I finished doing my homework. He quit smoking yesterday. Here's a list of verbs followed by gerunds. Admit. Advise. Anticipate. Appreciate. Attempt. Avoid. Begin. Can't help. Complete. Consider. Delay. Deny. Discuss. Dislike. Enjoy. Finish. Forget. Go. Hate. Hesitate. Imagine. Intend. Keep. Like. Love. Mention. Mind. Miss. Neglect. Post-pone. Practice. Prefer. Quit. Recall. Recollect. Recommend. Regret. Remember. Resent. Resist. Risk. Start. Stop. Suggest. Threaten. Tolerate. Try. Understand. The words with stars, or asterisks, can also be followed by two plus verb, infinitives. But that's the topic of another video. Three, after prepositions. Gerunds follow prepositions as objects or in expressions. For example, I thought about playing tennis. About is a preposition, and playing tennis is the object of the preposition. She gave up eating desserts. In this case, gave up is a phrasal verb, followed by a gerund. We're very fond of singing. Be fond of is an expression with a preposition, followed by a gerund here. Gerunds and more. Gerunds can be followed by objects and other words. For example, playing the piano helps her relax. I'm tired of washing the dishes. Walking briskly is good exercise. Notes. Not all verb-ing forms are gerunds. For example, swimming is lots of fun. This is a gerund. Swimming is the topic or subject of the sentence. We love swimming. Swimming is the object, in this case. And it's talking about an activity. That is a gerund. He is swimming now. This is not a gerund. It's a main verb. Talking about what he is doing now. Her swimming suit is pink. In this case, swimming is an adjective. More examples. I like writing golf carts. Writing a golf cart is fun. These are two examples of gerunds. The man writing the golf cart is my dad. In this case, writing is not a gerund. Writing the golf cart is a phrase which describes the man or tells which man it is. More notes. On words and phrases that are not gerunds. Driving down the road, I saw my daughter. In this case, the phrase is telling when or where I was when I saw my daughter. I saw my daughter driving down the road. In this case, it's telling where she was, so it's not a gerund. My daughter, driving down the road, waved at me. This is not a gerund either. To review. Gerunds are ing forms of verbs, functioning as nouns. They can be used as subjects, as objects, or after prepositions. Ready for a quiz? Indicate whether the italicized words are gerunds or not. Just say yes or no. Feel free to pause the video if you need more time for this. Here are the answers. 1. Reading novels is my favorite hobby. Yes, this is a gerund. 2. Mr. Sheen is cleaning the kitchen sink. No, this is a main verb. 3. I regret paying so much for the computer. Yes, this is a gerund. 4. Mom thanked Tom for mowing the lawn. Yes. 5. Our closing time is eleven o'clock. No, closing is describing time. 6. We look forward to working with you. Yes. 7. Working is the object of the preposition two or the phrase look forward to. 7. While fixing the roof, he found a bird's nest. No, this is not a gerund. 8. Seeing is believing. Yes, both of these are gerunds. The second one, believing, is actually a compliment, which functions as a noun, in this case. We will not go into details on that. How did you do? Did you get them all right? Good for you. Thanks for watching. Please remember to give us a thumbs up in the comments section below. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our channel. To learn more about this and other topics, click on the link above or check out our websites for more free English learning resources, eslgold.com and freeenglishstudy.com.