What are gerunds or verbal nouns?

Study the following sentence:

Teaching is my job.

Teaching is a verb ending in -ing. At the same time, it is the subject of the verb is, and hence function as a noun. (Only nouns or noun equivalents can serve as subjects and objects.) Such a form of the verb ending in -ing and used as a noun is called a gerund or a verbal noun.

Uses of the gerund

The gerund has the following uses.

As the subject of a verb

A gerund can be the subject of a verb.

Smoking is injurious to health.
Cycling is healthier than driving.
Trespassing is prohibited.

As subject complement

A gerund can serve as the complement of a subject.

Our primary need is eradicating poverty.
His mistake was neglecting his health.

As the object of a verb

A gerund can be the object of a verb.

I enjoy swimming in the sea.
He loves driving fast cars.

As the object of a preposition

A gerund can be the object of a preposition.

He is good at singing.
The boy was arrested for stealing a loaf of bread.

Gerunds as simple nouns

Many gerunds are now treated as simple nouns. Most of them take articles before them and form plurals with -s.

Partings are always painful. (Parting is a gerund derived from the verb part.)
I have had three fillings.
The lightning struck the building.

Certain verbs and adjectives are followed by a preposition. We cannot use an infinitive after them. Instead, we use an -ing form.

I am thinking of visiting my grandparents. (NOT I am thinking of to visit my grandparents.)
We were prevented from entering the hall. (NOT We were prevented from to enter the hall.)
You must refrain from making such remarks. (NOT You must refrain from to make such remarks.)

Other verbs and adjectives that are usually followed by a preposition are: interested in, keen on, absent from, desirous of, despair of, fond of, confident of, insist on, stop from, abstain from and prohibit from.

Sections in this article

Phrases
Prepositional phrases
Appositives
Verbal phrases
Participle phrases
Infinitive phrases
Gerund phrases
Adjective clauses
Noun clauses
-ing Forms