The Gerund Is Formed by Adding Ing to the Stem and It Can Occur As a Subject Or an Object

The Gerund

The gerund is formed by adding –ing to the stem and it can occur as a subject or an object in a sentence.

Ski ing is fun. (= subject) I like surf ing. (= object).

I. The gerund as an object:

These verbs are followed by –ing: (the gerund is used as an object)  to enjoy I enjoy not having to do my homework on Sundays.  to finish I’ll do the shopping when I’ve finished cleaning up my flat.  to stop Sally stopped eating meat years ago.  to give up Paula has given up smoking.  to imagine I can imagine living in California.  to miss I miss talking to my friends from my old school.  to practice To practice means doing something regularly.

The following verbs can be followed by –ing or to (infinitive) with no difference in meaning.

 to begin / to start It has started/begun raining. It has started /begun to rain.  to hate Wendy hates taking the bus. Wendy hates to take the bus.  to like / to love I like/love riding my bike. I like/love to ride my bike.  to prefer We prefer watching a film. We prefer to watch a film.

II. The gerund after certain prepositions

The gerund can also be used after a preposition (e.g. about, at, of, in, to) You must learn the following combinations!!!

 (to) be good at Sarah is good at acting.  a dream about She has a dream about moving to California.  (to) think of She thinks of having a better life there.  (to) be scared of A lot of people are scared of walking alone at night.  Thanks for Thanks for showing me the pictures.  (to) believe in I believe in winning this match.  (to) dream of I dream of living in the USA.  (to) look forward to I’m looking forward to seeing you in summer.  (to) be fed up with I’m fed up with listening to this nonsense.  (to) be interested in Are you interested in working for us?  the chance of You can get the chance of working for us.