Gerund


A gerund is any of various nonfinite verb forms in various languages; most often, but not exclusively, one that functions as a noun. In English it has the properties of both verb and noun, such as being modifiable by an adverb and being able to take a direct object. The term "-ing form" is often used in English to refer to the gerund specifically. Traditional grammar makes a distinction within -ing forms between present participles and gerunds, a distinction that is not observed in such modern, linguistically informed grammars as A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language and The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language.

Traditional use of the term

The Latin gerund, in a restricted set of syntactic contexts, denotes the sense of the verb in isolation after certain prepositions, and in certain uses of the genitive, dative, and ablative cases. It is very rarely combined with dependent sentence elements such as Object. To express such concepts, the construction with the adjectival gerundive is preferred. By contrast, the term gerund has been used in the grammatical description of other languages to label verbal nouns used in a wide range of syntactic contexts and with a full range of clause elements.
Thus, English grammar uses gerund to mean an -ing form used in non-finite clauses such as playing on computers. This is not a normal use for a Latin gerund. Moreover, the clause may function within a sentence as subject or object, which is impossible for a Latin gerund.
The contrast with the Latin gerund is also clear when the clause consists of a single word.
Latin never uses the gerund in this way, since the infinitive is available.
Traditional English grammar distinguishes non-finite clauses used as above from adverbial use, adjective-like modification of nouns, and use in finite progressive forms
In these uses playing is traditionally labelled a participle.
Traditional grammar also distinguishes -ing forms with exclusively noun properties as in
The objection to the term gerund in English grammar is that -ing forms are frequently used in ways that do not conform to the clear-cut three-way distinction made by traditional grammar into gerunds, participles and nouns.

Latin gerund

Form

The Latin gerund is a form of the verb. It is composed of:
For example,
laud--a--nd--um, -ī, -ōFirst conjugationlaudandum'the act of praising'
mon--e--nd--um, -ī, -ōSecond conjugationmonendum'the act of warning'
leg--e--nd--um, -ī, -ōThird conjugationlegendum'the act of reading'
capi--e--nd--um, -ī, -ōThird conjugationcapiendum'the act of taking'
audi--e--nd--um, -ī, -ōFourth conjugationaudiendum'the act of hearing'

Related gerundive forms are composed in a similar way with adjectival inflexional endings.

Function

The four inflections are used for a limited range of grammatical functions
CaseFunctionExampleTranslationNotes
NominativeSubjectno exampleinfinitive used
AccusativeObjectno exampleinfinitive used
After prepositioncanes alere ad venandum'to rear dogs for hunting'after ad, in, ob and occasionally other prepositions
GenitiveModifying abstract nounpugnandi tempus'time for fighting'nouns include occasio, tempus, causa, gratia
DativeExpressing purposeauscultando operam dare'apply effort to listening'after verbs e.g. studeo, operam dare and adjectives e.g. natus, optimus
AblativeInstrumentalpugnando cepimus'we took by fighting'became undistinguishable from participle use, thus providing the gerundio forms in Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese, which are used instead of forms derived from Latin present participles

These functions could be fulfilled by other abstract nouns derived from verbs such as vẽnãtiõ 'hunting'. Gerunds are distinct in two ways.
  1. Every Latin verb can regularly form a gerund
  2. A gerund may function syntactically in the same way as a finite verb. Typically the gerund of a finite verb may be followed by a direct object e.g. ad discernendum vocis verbis figuras 'for discerning figures of speech', hominem investigando opera dabo 'I will devote effort to investigating the man'.
When people first wrote grammars of languages such as English, and based them on works of Latin grammar, they adopted the term gerund to label non-finite verb forms with these two properties.

Gerunds in various languages

Meanings of the term gerund as used in relation to various languages are listed below.
In other languages, it may refer to almost any non-finite verb form; however, it most often refers to an action noun, by analogy with its use as applied to Latin.

Gerunds in English

In traditional grammars of English, the term gerund labels an important use of the form of the verb ending in -ing. Other important uses are termed
participle, and as a pure verbal noun.
An -ing form is termed gerund when it behaves as a verb within a clause ; but the resulting clause as a whole functions as a noun within the larger sentence.
For example, consider the sentence "Eating this cake is easy." Here, the gerund is the verb eating, which takes an object this cake. The entire clause eating this cake is then used as a noun, which in this case serves as the subject of the larger sentence.
An item such as eating this cake in the foregoing example is an example of a non-finite verb phrase; however, because phrases of this type do not require a subject, it is also a complete clause. A gerund clause such as this is one of the types of non-finite clause. The structure may be represented as follows:
SubjectVerbComplement
STRUCTURE OF SENTENCEEating this cakeiseasy
VerbObject
STRUCTURE OF NON-FINITE CLAUSEeatingthis cake

Formation

Non-finite verb forms ending in -ing, whether termed gerund or participle may be marked like finite forms as Continuous or Non-continuous, Perfect or Non-perfect, Active or Passive. Thus, traditional grammars have represented the gerund as having
four forms two for the active voice and two for the passive:
ActivePassive
Present or ContinuousLovingBeing loved
PerfectHaving lovedHaving been loved

The same forms are available when the term participle is used.

Examples of use

The following sentences illustrate some uses of gerund clauses, showing how such a clause serves as a noun within the larger sentence. In some cases, the clause consists of just the gerund.
Using gerunds of the appropriate auxiliary verbs, one can form gerund clauses that express perfect aspect and passive voice:
For more detail on when it is appropriate to use a gerund, see Verb patterns classified as gerund use below, and also.

Distinction from other uses of the ''-ing'' form

In traditional grammars, gerunds are distinguished from other uses of a verb's -ing form: the present participle, and the pure verbal noun or deverbal noun.
The distinction between gerund and present participles is not recognised in modern reference grammars, since many uses are ambiguous.

Roles of "gerund" clauses in a sentence

Non finite -ing clauses may have the following roles in a sentence:
In traditional grammars the term gerund is not used for roles F, G, and H.
Thus
For more details and examples, see -ing: uses.

"Gerund" clauses with a specified subject

In traditional grammars, a grammatical subject has been defined in such a way that it occurs only in finite clauses, where it is liable to "agree" with the "number" of the finite verb form. Nevertheless, non-finite clauses imply a "doer" of the verb, even if that doer is indefinite "someone or something". For example,
Often the "doer" is clearly signalled
However, the "doer" may not be indefinite or already expressed in the sentence. Rather it must be overtly specified, typically in a position immediately before the non-finite verb
The "doer" expression is not the grammatical subject of a finite clause, so objective them is used rather than subjective they.
Traditional grammarians may object to the term subject for these "doers". And prescriptive grammarians go further, objecting to the use of forms more appropriate to the subjects of finite clauses. The argument is that this results in two noun expressions with no grammatical connection. They prefer to express the "doer" by a possessive form, such as used with ordinary nouns:
The possessive construction with -ing clauses is actually very rare in present-day English. Works of fiction show a moderate frequency, but the construction is highly infrequent in other types of text.
Prescriptivists do not object when the non-finite clause modifies a noun phrase
The sense of the cat as notional subject of licking is disregarded. Rather they see the cat as exclusively the object of I saw The modifying phrase licking the cream is therefore described as a participle use.
Henry Fowler claims that the use of a non-possessive noun to precede a gerund arose as a result of confusion with the above usage with a participle, and should thus be called fused participle or geriple.
It has been argued that if the prescriptive rule is followed, the difference between the two forms may be used to make a slight distinction in meaning:
However, Quirk et al. show that the range of senses of -ing forms with possessive and non-possessive subjects is far more diverse and nuanced:
These sentence exemplify a spectrum of senses from more noun-like to more verb--like. At the extremes of the spectrum they place


In some cases, particularly with a non-personal subject, the use of the possessive before a gerund may be considered redundant even in quite a formal register. For example, "There is no chance of the snow falling".

Verb patterns classified as "gerund" use

The term gerund describes certain uses of -ing clauses as 'complementation' of individual English verbs, that is to say the choice of class that are allowable after that word.
The principal choices of clauses are
Historically, the -ing suffix was attached to a limited number of verbs to form abstract nouns, which were used as the object of verbs such as like. The use was extended in various ways: the suffix became attachable to all verbs; the nouns acquired verb-like characteristics; the range of verbs allowed to introduce the form spread by analogy first to other verbs expressing emotion, then by analogy to other semantic groups of verbs associated with abstract noun objects; finally the use spread from verbs taking one-word objects to other semantically related groups verbs.
The present-day result of these developments is that the verbs followed by -ing forms tend to fall into semantic classes. The following groups have been derived from analysis of the commonest verbs in the COBUILD data bank:
Pattern 4a: ''I remember seeing her come''
Pattern 5a: ''She kept coming''
In addition, the COBUILD team identifies four groups of verbs followed by -ing forms that are hard to class as objects. In the verb + -ing object construction the action or state expressed by the verb can be separated from the action or state expressed by the -ing form. In the following groups, the senses are inseparable, jointly expressing a single complex action or state. Some grammarians do not recognise all these patterns as gerund use.
Pattern 4b: ''I remember her coming''
Verbs with this pattern do not normally allow the 'subject' of the -ing clause to be used in an equivalent passive construction such as *She is remembered coming.

The COBUILD Guide analyses her coming as the single object of I remember.
Many of the verbs that allow pattern 4a also allow this pattern.
Pattern 5b: ''We kept her coming''
In contrast to Pattern 4b, these verbs allow the 'subject' of the -ing clauses to be used in an equivalent passive construction such as She was kept coming.


The COBUILD guide analyses her coming as a string of two objects of We kept:– her and coming.
Pattern 6a: ''She ended up coming''
These verbs refer to starting, spending or ending time.

The following -ing form is an adverbial, traditionally classed as a participle rather than a gerund.
Pattern 6b: ''She wasted time coming''
These verbs also relate to time. The object generally expresses this concept.

However, the object of busy or occupy must be a reflexive pronoun e.g. She busied herself coming.

The following -ing form is an adverbial, generally classed as a participle rather than a gerund.

Verbs followed by either "gerund" or to-infinitive pattern

Like the -ing suffix, the to-infinitive spread historically from a narrow original use, a prepositional phrase referring to future time. Like the -ing form it spread to all English verbs and to form non-finite clauses. Like the -ing form, it spread by analogy to use with words of similar meaning.
A number of verbs now belong in more than one class in their choice of 'complementation'.
Patterns 4a and 3a: ''I remember seeing her come'' and ''She remembered to come''
Patterns 4a, 4b, 3a and 3b: ''I remember coming'', ''She remembered to come'', ''I remember her coming'' and ''I reminded her to come''
Patterns 4a and 3b: ''I remember coming'' and ''I reminded her to come''
Patterns 4b and 3b: ''I remember her coming'' and ''I reminded her to come''
Patterns 5a and 3a: ''She kept coming'' and ''She remembered to come''

Verbs followed by either "gerund" or bare infinitive pattern

Patterns 4b and 2: ''I remember her coming'' and ''I saw her come''

Borrowings of English -ing forms in other languages

English verb forms ending in -ing are sometimes borrowed into other languages. In some cases, they become pseudo-anglicisms, taking on new meanings or uses not found in English. For instance, camping means "campsite" in many languages, while parking often means a car park. Both these words are treated as nouns, with none of the features of the gerund in English. For more details and examples, see -ing words in other languages.