Gerund

Gerund

ü  Definition of Gerund

The gerund is –ing form of the verb used as a noun. Notice that the gerund has same form as the present participle. However, it functions differently  in the sentence. [1]

A gerund ( base form of verb  -ing ) is a verb that function like a noun.[2]

                                                                                        

ü  Functins of Gerund

Ø As Subject

§  The Gerund as Subject of Verb

A gerund can be a subject of a sentence.

For instance:

1.    Playing tennis is fun.  (Betty Schampfer Azar, 1999 : 297).

2.    Drinking too much coffee is bad for your health. (Marjorie Fuchs and Margaret Bonner, 2000 : 199).

3.    Reading French is easier than speaking. ( A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, 1986 : 228).

4.    Writing a book needs many references. (Yusran Pora, 2002 : 354).

5.    Her cleaning the house every day is not necessary. (Marcela Frank, 1972 : 315).

§  The Gerund as Subjective Complement

For Instance:

1.    My favorite sport is swimming. (George E. Wishon and Julia M. Burks, 1980 : 268).

2.    What her husband insists on is her cleaning the house every day. (Marcela Frank, 1972 : 315).

3.    My task is giving on enlightenment to you. (Yusran Pora, 2002 : 356).

4.    The function of that store is distributing several books. (Yusran Pora, 2002 : 356).

5.    Joel’s favorite sport is fishing. (George E. Wishon and Julia M. Burks, 1980 : 269).

6.    Her hobby is painting. ( A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, 1986 : 228).

Ø As Object

§  The Gerund as Object of Verv / After Certain Verbs

As has been shown, when gerunds follow verbs, they function as direct object of those verbs. The sentence pattern thus formed is noun + Verb + noun, a pattern that requires a transitive verb. However, only certain verb can be followed by gerunds.[3]

Gerunds are used as the objects of certain verbs.[4]

Here is a reference list of some of the more common verbs that can be followed by gerunds, together with illustrative sentences.

Admit                          The thief admitted stealling the money.

Appreciate                  Patrice would appreciate hearing from money.

Avoid                          After their quarrel, she has avoided meeting him.

Consider                     Joel has already consider continuing his studies.

Continue                     He will continue studying.

Defer                          Please defer paying the bill until after January.

Delay                          He delayed writing the letter until the last minute.

 Deny                          When questioned, the boy denied cheating on the exam.

Detest                         How I detest her singing !

Enjoy                           After a hectic week, they enjoyed spending a day at home.

Escape                        By some miracle Jery escaped being hurt in the fihgt.

Finish                         When the lights went out, he had barely finished putting his room in order.

Forgive                       I cannot forgive your not writing to me.

Imagine                       I cannot imagine doing that again !

Keep (contiue)          Angela is so homesick she keeps hoping for a letter from home.

Mind (dislike)             I do not mind working this summer.

Miss                             Since I moved to the city, I miss walking in the woods.

Notice                         Have you noticed Danny’s swimming lately ?

Postpone                    Howard had to pospone leaving for college.

Practice                      Please practice writing that exercise again.

Prevant                       Nothing can prevant John’s winning the race.

Quit                             Quit chatting and carry on with your book.

Resent                         Lisa resents having to work overtime.

Risk                             I would not risk missing the book.

Resist                          She cannot resist buying every pretty dress she sees.

Suggest                       I suggest having a cup of coffee before we leave.

Stop                             Jerry’s father stopped stuttering when he relaxed.

Try (experiment)      Please try solving the problem by yourself.

Understand                I really cannot understand his doing something like that.

(George E. Wishon and Julia M. Burks, 1980 : 269 - 270).

The other certains verb

Mention                                  (Betty Schampfer Azar, 1999 : 302)

Anticipate                               ( A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, 1986 : 230)

Discuss                                   (Betty Schampfer Azar, 1999 : 302)

Dislike                                     ( A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, 1986 : 230)

Recollect                                 ( A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, 1986 : 230)

Remember                             ( A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, 1986 : 230)

Recommend                           (Marcela Frank, 1972 : 323)

Tolerate                                  (Marcela Frank, 1972 : 323)

Cannot help                            (Marcela Frank, 1972 : 323)

                                                                                                            dread

( A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, 1986 : 230)                  excuse

                                                                                                            involve

                                                                                                            loathe

                                                                                                            pardon

                                                                                                            propose

( A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, 1986 : 230)                  mean (= involve)

                                                                                                            fancy (= imagine)

                                                                                                            can’t stand

                                                                                                            it’s no use/good

Acknowledge                                                                         Necessiate

Advocate                                                                                Relinguish

Contemplate                                                                           Relish

Disclaim                                                                                  Renounce

Encourage                  (Marcela Frank, 1972 : 323)                        Report

Entail                                                                                       Sanctian

Evade                                                                                      Shirk

Facilate                                                                                   Urge

Justify                                                                                      Withold

For instance:

1)       When the professor entered the room, the students stopped talking. (Betty Schampfer Azar, 1999 : 302).

2)       I’ve considered joining a gym. (Marjorie Fuchs and Margaret Bonner, 2000 : 199).

3)       He mentioned meeting the governor at the reception. (Marcela Frank, 1972 : 323)

4)       She dreads getting old. ( A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, 1986 : 231)

5)       He detests writing letters. old. ( A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, 1986 : 231).

6)       It’s no good/use arguing. old. ( A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, 1986 : 231).

7)       Fancy meeting you ! old. ( A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, 1986 : 231).

8)       He kept complaing. old. ( A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, 1986 : 231).

9)       He didn’t want to risk getting wet. old. ( A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, 1986 : 231).

§  The Gerund as Object of Preposition / After Preposition

A gerund is frequently used as the object of a preposition.[5]

For instance:

a.         I am tired of camping. (George E. Wishon and Julia M. Burks, 1980 : 269).

b.        We talked about going to Canada for our vacation. (Betty Schampfer Azar, 1999 : 298)

c.         I’m interested in learning more about your work. (Betty Schampfer Azar, 1999 : 298)

d.        The council insists on voting. (Marjorie Fuchs and Margaret Bonner, 2000 : 203)

e.         What can you do besides typing ? ( A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, 1986 : 229)

f.          Touch your toes without bending your knees ! ( A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, 1986 : 229)

g.         After swimming I felt cold ( A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, 1986 : 229).

h.        He is thinking of emigrating. ( A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, 1986 : 229)

i.           I’m sorry for keeping you waiting. ( A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, 1986 : 229)

·       to is a preposition, no part of an infitive form, so a gerund follows.

For instance:

a)   I look forward to going home next month. (Betty Schampfer Azar, 1999 : 298)

b)  He took to ringing us up in the middle of the night. ( A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, 1986 : 229).

c)   I’m used to taking the rain. (Marjorie Fuchs and Margaret Bonner, 2000 : 203)

d)  I look forward to not having to study next summer. (Marjorie Fuchs and Margaret Bonner, 2000 : 202)

e)   I’m accustomed to sleeping with the window open. (Betty Schampfer Azar, 1999 : 298)

·       Negative form not precedes a gerund

For instance:

a.    She believes in not compromosing. (Marjorie Fuchs and Margaret Bonner, 2000 : 202)

b.    We talked about not going to the meeting, but finally decided we should go. (Betty Schampfer Azar, 1999 : 298)

·       Many common expressions are made up of a verb or an adjective followed by a gerund.

For instance:

A.        He is bored with working in a store. (Marjorie Fuchs and Margaret Bonner, 2000 : 203)

B.        We were afraid of falling. (Raymond Muphy, 1994 : 130)

C.         She is fond of cilmbing. ( A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, 1986 : 229)

D.        He is very careless about keeping appointments. (Marcela Frank, 1972 : 326)

E.         I was annoyed by the dog’s barking all night. (Marcela Frank, 1972 : 326)

Ø The Gerund is used in Short Prohibitions

For instance:

1)  No smoking ( A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, 1986 : 228)

2)  No waiting ( A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, 1986 : 228)

3)  No fishing ( A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, 1986 : 228)

4)  No smoking is allowed in this class room. (Marcela Frank, 1972 : 321)

5)  No trespassing on these premises will be permitted. (Marcela Frank, 1972 : 321)

But, these cannot be followed by an object.

References

Azar, Betty Schampfer. 1999. Understanding and Using English Grammar. America: Pearson Education.

Frank, Marcela. 1972. Modern English A Practical Reference Guide. New York: Prentice-Hall.

Fuchs, Marjorie and Margaret Bonner. 2000. Grammar Express Intermediate. America: Pearson Longman.

Murphy, Raymond. 1994. English Grammar in Use. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Pora, Yusran. 2002. Develop Your Vocabulary Grammar and Idiom. Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajara.

Thomson, A.j. and A.V. Martinet. 1986. A Practical English Grammar. New York: Oxford.

Wishon, George E. And Julia M. Burks. 1980. Let’s Write English. New York: Litton Educational Publishing International.

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[1] Geoge Wishon E. And Julia M. Burks, Let’s Write English, (New York:Litton Educational Publishing, 1980), h 268.

[2] Marjorie Fuchs and Margaret Bonner, Grammar Express Intermediate, (America: Pearson Longman, 2000), h 199.

[3] eoge Wishon E. And Julia M. Burks, Let’s Write English, (New York:Litton Educational Publishing, 1980), h 269.

[4] Marjorie Fuchs and Margaret Bonner, Grammar Express Intermediate, (America: Pearson Longman, 2000), h 199.

[5] Betty Schampfer Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, 3rd Ed (America: Pearson Education, 1999), h 298.