When is a verb not a verb? When it is a gerund! A gerund is a verb that is used as a noun in a sentence. It is formed by adding -ing to the base verb. Here is an example.
In this sentence, we take the verb drive and make it a gerund by removing the -e and adding -ing. What role does the word driving have in the example sentence? I hope you answered "subject!" In this sentence, driving is a thing. (A noun represents a person, place, thing, idea.) Not all words with "ing" are gerrunds. For example:
In this example, the verb adding is NOT a gerund. It does not act as a noun in the sentence. It is still a verb. The subject of this sentence is we, a pronoun. (Remember all subjects must be a noun or pronoun.) In this sentence, adding describes the action of what Julia is doing. A verb with -ing that still acts as a verb in a sentence is called the present participle. Here are links to webpages where you can read more about gerunds and practice recognizing and using them. You Tube videos: |