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  • Hi guys, I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on gerunds. Now, in

  • this lesson, we're going to look at all the various functions that a gerund can have in

  • a sentence. So before we begin that, we should understand what a gerund is and how a gerund

  • is formed. If you look at the title, you can see that a gerund is basically a verb plus

  • "ing". So, what is it? Is it a verb? Is it a noun? Well, it's actually a verbal noun

  • which means that while it looks like a verb - like for example: in the first sentence

  • we have: "running" -, it can perform the same functions as a noun. So think of it as a verbal

  • noun, leaning more towards the noun part. Okay? So let's look at the six ways that we

  • can use a gerund. The top one says:

  • "Running is good for your heart." Now, as we've identified, "running" is the gerund.

  • And in this situation, "running" is clearly the subject of the sentence. Right? So a gerund

  • can be the subject of a sentence. Just like a noun. Right? So "running", "running" is

  • what you're talking about; the activity of running. You follow it with a verb: "is",

  • "good for your heart". Okay? So in the second one we say:

  • "He hates waking up early." Now, what is the gerund? The gerund is "waking", it's actually

  • a complete thought here: "waking up". In which position of the sentence is the gerund in

  • this sentence? So we have "he" which is the subject, we have "hates" which is the verb,

  • and then he has to hate something. Right? So, in this situation, what he hates is the

  • object, just like a noun; it can be "pizza" or anything else here. Think of it as a noun.

  • Okay, number three: "What I hate most is repeating myself." So

  • what is the subject of this sentence? Is it: "What I", is it: "What I hate", "What I hate

  • most", "What I hate most is"? Well, the complete subject is: "What I hate most" and "is", and

  • we have the gerund here: "repeating myself", so saying the same thing again and again.

  • Now, in this situation, the gerund is not actually an object because the subject is

  • not doing anything to the gerund. You're just giving more information about the subject.

  • So: "What I hate most" and then you're actually telling me what you hate most; you're giving

  • more information about it. So what you're doing is providing a subject complement. Okay?

  • Okay. Now, the next one:

  • "I saw Jim riding his bike." So you're probably getting the idea of a pattern developing here.

  • First, let's identify the gerund. The gerund is: "riding". Okay, now let's look at the

  • sentence. We have "I" which is the subject, "saw" -- the verb, "Jim". "I saw Jim", okay,

  • "Jim" is the object. Okay, now you're giving more information about Jim's actions here

  • though. "I saw Jim": what was he doing? He was: "riding his bike". So in this situation,

  • the gerund is giving more information about the object's action. So in this situation

  • it's an object complement. Okay? Sorry for my writing there.

  • And number five - a very, very common way to use gerunds and a very important rule,

  • especially for intermediate and advanced speakers: "I'm interested in improving myself." In getting

  • better. So we have: "improving" as the gerund. Now, why are we using the gerund? Why can't

  • we say: "I am interested in improve" or: "I am interested in to improve"? Well, any time

  • you have a preposition - and normally we have lots and lots of adjective and proposition

  • combinations - after the preposition, always use a gerund. So a gerund can be the object

  • of a preposition. Now, more examples of this are: "I am excited about doing something.",

  • "I am used to doing something." Okay? So it can be the object of a preposition.

  • And finally, this is a rule which is often forgotten and you can actually check out a

  • deeper explanation of it on www.engvid.com: "She doesn't like your bossing her around."

  • So we have "bossing", this means telling a person what to do. Okay? So: "She doesn't

  • like your bossing her around." Here we're using "your", we're using a possessive. So

  • in this situation, a gerund is actually the object of a possessive pronoun. Okay? So it

  • can be the object of a possessive. There we go.

  • So, as you can see, there are numerous ways that we can use a gerund. It's not just a

  • simple type of word with only one function; it has a variety of functions in a variety

  • of ways we can use it in different parts of a sentence.

  • Now, do not confuse, never confuse a gerund with a continuous verb. So if I say: "She

  • is running." Okay, I am describing her action in the moment. "Running" is not a gerund.

  • "Running" is a continuous verb in this situation. Okay? So that is really the most common confusion.

  • Don't confuse a gerund for a continuous verb. Remember: it's a verbal noun. It can perform

  • the same functions as any noun like: "pizza", "table", "car", etc.

  • So once more: a gerund can be the subject of a sentence. For example: "Smoking is bad

  • for you." "Smoking" is the subject. It can be the object of the sentence like we have

  • here: "He hates..." what does he hate? "Waking up early." It can be a subject complement.

  • "What I hate most is repeating myself." Another example of this might be: "My favourite activity

  • is hiking", for example. "I saw Jim riding his bike." Object complement. "I'm interested

  • in improving myself." So it can be the object of a preposition. Right? So any time you have

  • a preposition like: "in", "at", "on", "by", "against", "with". Okay? "ing", "ing", "ing".

  • And finally, it can be the object of a possessive. So: "She doesn't like your bossing her around."

  • Or this can even be something simple like: "I don't like her cooking." Okay? So you're

  • not describing her activity, you're describing the thing, her cooking. Or I can say: "Your

  • speaking", or: "Your listening", "Your writing needs to improve."

  • Okay guys, to test your understanding of this knowledge, as always, you can check out the

  • quiz on www.engvid.com. Take care, and good luck. And don't forget to subscribe to my

  • YouTube channel. See ya.

Hi guys, I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on gerunds. Now, in

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