Gerunds & Verbal Nouns

Imagine your teacher has written this on the board:

Swimming is fun. I like swimming. Swimming in cold water wakes me up.

You know exactly what all three mean — no trouble at all. But then someone says, "Ah yes, the gerund is the subject in that sentence," and suddenly English feels like a secret club you weren't invited to.

Here's the thing. You already use gerunds every single day, probably several times before breakfast. "Reading's boring." "I hate waiting." "Football's more fun than homework." Every one of those "-ing" words is doing a noun's job, even though it looks exactly like a verb. That's the whole puzzle we're solving here: the same word-shape, "-ing", can be a verb in disguise or a noun in disguise, and English expects you to tell the difference without being told which one it is each time.

Nobody's born knowing this. It's genuinely one of those bits of grammar that looks simple on the surface and then does something sneaky the moment you look closely — which is exactly why it's worth a proper look, not just a rule to memorise and forget.

Before you read on, here's where we're heading. By the end of this article, you'll be able to: - Spot when an "-ing" word is a gerund (a verb used as a noun) rather than part of a verb. - Use gerunds as subjects, objects, and complements in your own sentences. - Tell a gerund apart from a present participle — the other "-ing" word that causes confusion. - Choose between gerunds and infinitives after tricky verbs like enjoy, want, and stop. - Handle the my leaving / me leaving problem without panicking in an exam.

Beginner (Foundation): Meeting Gerunds and Verbal Nouns

Let's start with the plain version. A gerund is a verb + -ing that's being used as a noun.

Think about these:

• Swimming is fun.
• I love reading.
• Running is hard work.

In each sentence, ask yourself: "What is the thing in this sentence?"

• In Swimming is fun, the thing that is fun is swimming.
• In I love reading, the thing you love is reading.

So swimming and reading are acting as nouns — even though they're built from verbs. That's a gerund: a verb turned into a noun by adding -ing.

Now, what about the phrase verbal noun, which is in our title? A verbal noun is simply the family name for any noun that's grown out of a verb — and a gerund is the main member of that family in modern English. You'll sometimes see older grammar books draw a finer line: they reserve gerund for an "-ing" form that still behaves a little like a verb (it can take its own object — reading novels — or be modified by an adverb — quietly reading), and use verbal noun more loosely for "-ing" forms that have drifted all the way into full noun territory, often appearing with the and losing their verb-like grip on an object:

• Swimming is fun. (gerund — still feels action-y)
• The swimming was fun. (verbal noun — now it feels more like "the lesson" or "the activity")

You don't need to lose sleep over exactly where the border sits — even grammarians disagree. What matters at this stage is the big idea: -ing words can count as nouns in your sentence, and when they do, we call them gerunds.

So how do you spot one in the wild? Look for a word ending in -ing that's being used as a thing — often somewhere you could swap in it:

• Drawing helps me relax. → It helps me relax. ✔
• She hates waiting. → She hates it. ✔

Common Mistake: Thinking every word ending in -ing is a gerund. It isn't. In She is running fast, running is part of the verb phrase (is running), not a noun.

Pro-Tip: If you can replace the "-ing" word with it or this thing and the sentence still works, you've probably got a gerund: - Swimming is fun → It is fun. ✔ - She is swimming → She is it. ✘ (so that one isn't a gerund)

Quick recap: - A gerund is a verb + -ing used as a noun. - Ask: is this "-ing" word the thing in the sentence? - A verbal noun is the wider family name for nouns built from verbs — gerunds are the main type you'll meet. - Not every "-ing" word is a gerund; some are just part of the verb (is running).

Intermediate (Development): How Gerunds Work in Sentences

Once you're happy that a gerund is a verb used as a noun, the next step is seeing where it can go in a sentence. Gerunds can do most of the jobs that other nouns do. Three big ones — and a fourth that trips people up in exams.

1. Gerund as subject — the gerund sits at the start and is the main thing the sentence is about:

• Reading improves your vocabulary.
• Playing video games can be relaxing.
• Walking to school keeps me fit.

Try swapping the gerund for a normal noun and the sentence still makes sense — Football improves your fitness — which proves the "-ing" word was doing noun work.

2. Gerund as object — the gerund comes after the verb and is the thing being liked, hated, avoided:

• I enjoy swimming.
• She hates losing.
• We finished packing at midnight.

Plenty of verbs are commonly followed by gerunds — you'll meet a lot more of these in exams: like, love, enjoy, hate, dislike, avoid, consider, imagine, finish, stop, practise [US: practice], suggest.

Common Mistake: Mixing up the pattern: ✔ I enjoy swimming. ✘ I enjoy to swim. (sounds wrong in almost every case)

3. Gerund as complement — something that comes after be (or verbs like seem, become) and describes or renames the subject:

• My favourite hobby is drawing.
• Her main weakness is procrastinating.
• The problem is getting everyone to agree.

We could just as easily flip these round — Drawing is my favourite hobby — same idea, same gerund, different position.

4. After a preposition — this is the one that catches people out, because prepositions demand a noun-type form after them, and English reaches for a gerund:

• She's good at drawing.
• He left without saying goodbye.
• I'm interested in coding.

Not good at to draw. Not without to say. If a sentence feels wrong right after a little word like at, in, of, or without, the missing piece is usually a gerund.

Gerund phrases. Often the gerund brings friends along — its own object or adverb — forming a gerund phrase that still acts as one single noun unit:

• Eating too much chocolate makes me feel sick.
• She enjoys playing football with her friends.

Try the "it" test on the whole phrase: It makes me feel sick. ✔ She enjoys it. ✔ The whole chunk is doing the noun's job together.

Pro-Tip: When you're planning an essay, gerunds make excellent topic sentences: Using social media has both advantages and disadvantages. Doing homework regularly helps students remember what they've learned.

Quick recap: - Gerunds can be subjects (Swimming is fun), objects (I enjoy swimming), or complements (My hobby is swimming). - After a preposition, always use a gerund: good at drawing, not good at to draw. - A gerund can bring extra words along to form a gerund phrase, which still acts as a single noun. - Use the it test to check whether an "-ing" chunk is behaving as a noun.

Advanced (Mastery): Gerunds, Participles, Infinitives, and Possessives

Now for the bits that twist people up in GCSE and A-level style questions: telling gerunds from present participles cleanly, choosing between gerunds and infinitives, and the whole my leaving / me leaving business.

Gerund vs present participle

Gerunds and present participles both end in -ing and both come from verbs. The difference is their job:

• A gerund acts as a noun.
• A present participle acts as a verb part (building a continuous tense) or an adjective (describing a noun).

Compare:

1. Running is good exercise. → running = thing = noun = gerund
2. She is running every morning. → is running = verb = present participle
3. The running water was icy cold. → running describes water = adjective = present participle

A reliable test: try swapping the "-ing" word for a plain noun. Running is good exercise → Sport is good exercise. That works, so it's a gerund. She is running → She is sport? Nonsense — so that's a participle, not a gerund. You can also try slotting in the act of: the act of running is good exercise sounds fine for a gerund, but you'd never say she is the act of running.

You don't usually need to name "present participles" in school essays, but exam questions sometimes do, and being able to say "this is a gerund used as a subject" can genuinely earn you marks.

Gerund vs infinitive after verbs

This is where English stops being tidy — and I still have to think about certain verbs myself.

Some verbs are usually followed by a gerund: I enjoy reading. She avoided talking to him. They suggested going by train.

Others are usually followed by the to-infinitive: I decided to read. She agreed to talk to him. They planned to go by train.

And some can take either, sometimes with barely a change of meaning: I like reading. / I like to read. Both fine.

But a small, important set of verbs change meaning depending on which form follows — and this is the group worth genuinely learning, because getting it wrong changes what you're actually saying:

• I stopped smoking. — I no longer smoke; the habit is finished.
• I stopped to smoke. — I paused another activity in order to smoke. A different event entirely.
• I remember locking the door. — A memory of something that already happened.
• I remembered to lock the door. — I didn't forget; I did my duty.
• Try opening the window. — Experiment; see if it helps.
• Try to open the window. — Make an effort (it might be stuck).

You don't have to memorise every verb right now — the full inventory of verb patterns properly belongs to the non-finite forms material in our Verbs & Tenses pillar. For now, notice the pattern and trust your ear: if a sentence like I enjoy to swim sounds off, it's because enjoy "wants" a gerund.

Common Mistake: Learning a fake "rule" like "you must always use a gerund after like." In real English, I like to read is completely fine — both forms exist side by side.

"My leaving" vs "me leaving"

This is one point that even adults argue about, so don't feel bad if it's new to you.

• I was surprised by my brother leaving.
• I was surprised by my brother's leaving.

In older, careful grammar, the "-ing" phrase is treated as a genuine noun, and the word before it takes the possessive form to match — my brother's leaving means, roughly, "the fact of my brother's departure." You still see this in formal writing: I object to your wasting time. We were angry about their breaking the rules.

In modern everyday English, we often say the non-possessive version instead: I object to you wasting time. We were angry about them breaking the rules. Both are widely used, and linguists genuinely disagree about how strict the rule should be — this argument even has a name, "the fused participle debate," if you ever want to impress someone at a dinner table.

My advice for school writing: in formal essays, the possessive-before-gerund pattern (your interrupting, our winning) still looks careful and polished. In speech and casual writing, the object form (you interrupting, us winning) is completely normal and won't raise an eyebrow. If a possessive sounds clunky with a long noun — the entire committee's deciding took an hour — don't force it; rephrase instead: It took the committee an hour to decide.

Pro-Tip: In speaking and informal writing: you interrupting, them arguing, us winning are all normal. In formal writing: your interrupting, their arguing, our winning looks more polished.

Quick recap: - Gerunds = -ing words used as nouns; present participles = -ing words used as verbs/adjectives. - After some verbs you need a gerund (enjoy reading); after others, an infinitive (decide to read); a few verbs change meaning depending on which you choose (stop smoking vs stop to smoke). - Both I like reading and I like to read are fine — this is a genuinely flexible area of English. - Before a gerund, possessive forms (my, your, their) are more formal; everyday English often drops them.

UK vs US Note

For this topic, UK and US English behave almost identically — there's no real transatlantic split in how gerunds work. Two small things worth flagging:

• Spelling: practise (verb) / practice (noun) is a UK distinction; US English uses practice for both, so you'll see practising [US: practicing] and favourite [US: favorite] pop up in examples.
• The possessive-before-gerund preference in formal writing is recommended by careful style guides on both sides of the Atlantic — it isn't just a British habit, though American informal writing is a touch more relaxed about the object form.

Key Takeaways

• A gerund is a verb + -ing used as a noun (Swimming is fun).
• Gerunds can be subjects, objects, complements, or follow a preposition (good at drawing).
• Not every "-ing" word is a gerund — some are present participles, doing verb or adjective work.
• Some verbs prefer gerunds, some prefer infinitives, and a few change meaning depending on which you pick.
• Using my/your/their + gerund is more formal than me/you/them + gerund.

Check Your Understanding

1. Underline the gerund in each sentence and say what job it's doing (subject, object, or complement). a) Watching cartoons helps me relax. b) My favourite activity is skateboarding. c) They avoided talking about the test.

2. Is the "-ing" word a gerund or a present participle? a) She is writing an essay. b) Writing essays can be difficult. c) The shining stars lit up the sky.

3. Choose the option that sounds more natural for school writing. a) I enjoy (to play / playing) the piano. b) They decided (to leave / leaving) early. c) She's good at (listening / to listen).

4. Rewrite using a possessive before the gerund to make the sentence more formal. a) I didn't like them talking during the film. b) We were surprised by him arriving late.

5. Write one sentence of your own using a gerund as the subject, and one using a gerund as the object.

Internal Links

• H1.1 — What Is a Noun? (for the basic idea of "thing" words this article builds on)
• H1.4 — What Is a Verb? (for the verb basics behind every gerund)
• H3.1 — Subjects and Objects in Sentences
• H3.2 — Complements and What They Do in Sentences
• Forward link: Verbs & Tenses pillar — Non-finite Verb Forms (infinitives, gerunds, and participles in full)

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