Gerund Phrases
Justen Brock
What is a Gerund?
a form that is derived from a verb but that functions as a noun, in English ending in an ing
Examples : The man enjoyed reading.
The gerund would be reading
The boy hated running.
The gerund would be running
Gerund Phrase
A gerund phrase will begin with a gerund an and will include other modifiers
Examples : The boy loved playing soccer
The gerund phrase would be playing soccer
The old man loved walking outside
The gerund phrase would be walking outside
How to use Gerund Phrases
A Gerund Phrase will always function as a noun.
The man was running
This is not a gerund phrase. it does end with an ing word but the word running is used as a verb not a noun. You can tell because the word was is used making this a participle phrase instead of a gerund phrase.
The man liked running
This is a gerund phrase because the word running is used as a noun. The word liked causes running to function as a noun. Verbs ending with an ed modify verbs with an ing to be used as a noun.