Gerunds are verbs that end in ~ing and work as a noun in a sentence. They are found in places where usually we use a noun:

  • Working in Human Resources is a challenging job.
  • Granting that request may be impossible.
  • We were talking about increasing your salary.
  • Please continue piling your garbage outside.

We can make negative gerunds by using not + gerund

  • Not going to my country during the winter is a good idea.
  • Have you ever considered not working there?

There are four ways English uses gerunds in practice:

Subjects

The subject of the sentence is usually a noun, and so a gerund is also common.

  • Having to wake up early everyday is not my favourite thing.
  • Going to bed and waking up late is my preferred way to live.

Objects of Prepositions


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