A ɢᴇʀᴜɴᴅ is a type of verb, in particular an -ɪɴɢ verb that heads a non-finite verb clause when that entire clause is being used as a noun phrase, typically as the subject or object of a finite clause. Not to be confused with -ɪɴɢ words that are no longer verbs, like deverbal nouns or participial adjectives, a gerund accepts only verb modifiers and arguments, not those of nouns or adjectives.
Gerunds can be placed anywhere within a sentence, and can act as the Subject or the Object of the main verb:
- I like reading.
- Reading is fun.
A common use of gerunds is the Adjective-Preposition-Gerund formula:
- I'm afraid of reading by flashlight.
- My sister is clever at reading upside down.
Caution: if the verb ends in -e, drop the -e before adding -ing
- Conceiving (correct)
- Conceiveing (incorrect)
