On this page, we will learn about gerunds, what they are, why they are important in the IELTS exam, and how they are used.
A gerund is a combination of a verb and a noun. It has the appearance of a verb but behaves like a noun. A gerund is a verb like swimming, for instance. The act of moving about in water can be described using the term swimming in a phrase, as in Swimming is enjoyable. In this section we will go through about gerunds.
In the IELTS exam and in your everyday English, gerunds are a crucial grammar structure to comprehend and be proficient with.
They are nouns that are created by appending the suffix "-ing" to a verb.
Look at this sentence; the gerunds are highlighted in yellow.
For the IELTS exam, learning vocabulary is crucial. Knowing a wide variety of terms can help you with all of the other portions of the test, even if it's crucial to not ignore your other skills in speaking, reading, writing, and listening. Unfortunately, many students don't like to take the time necessary to comprehend each term in its entirety, yet not taking vocabulary seriously could be a costly error.
Examples of the words both before and after the modification are provided below:
| Verb | Gerund |
|---|---|
| Learn | Learning |
| Speak | Speaking |
| Read | Reading |
| Write | Writing |
| Listen | Listening |
| Know | Knowing |
| Take | Taking |
| Spend | Spend |
| As a subject |
|---|
| Walking is a very good exercise. Keep in mind that a gerund requires a singular verb; in this example, "is." Even if there are several objects, the verb must be singular: Eating apples, bananas and other fruits every day is good for your health. If there are multiple, the plural verb is used instead: Swimming and jogging are both good forms of exercise. The word "not" is added before the gerund to make the statement negative. Not exercising continuously is dangerous for our health. |
| As a direct object |
| Some people like jogging to keep fit. |
| As subject complements after the verb "to be" |
| Watching American TV shows is a wonderful method to hone your English. This sentence is also commonly written this way: Watching American TV series is a good way to improve our English. |
| Objects of prepositions |
| In this usage, it is after the preposition: Another method of learning English is going through lots of fiction books. |
The second verb must be a gerund and/or an infinitive if you want to combine two verbs. You cannot say, for an example:
I always finish eat very late.
I always finish to eat very late.
It must be a gerund if "finish" is followed by another verb.
I always finish eating very late.
You simply need to master the verbs and practice using them in phrases because there isn't a specific grammatical rationale for this.
Keep in mind that some verbs can be followed by either a gerund or an infinitive, depending on the context. For example:
You like to swim. (verb + infinitive)
Or
You like swimming. (verb + gerund)
Visit the grammar lesson on infinitives for more information and the lesson on gerund and infinitive for information on verbs that take both.
Verbs that are frequently followed by a gerund (and not an infinitive) are listed below:
| VERB | EXAMPLE SENTENCE |
|---|---|
| appreciate | You appreciate me taking the time out to see you. |
| avoid | We should avoid drinking energy drinks. |
| consider | The government considered banning tiger shooting. |
| delay | You delayed paying the electricity bill this month. |
| deny | She denied committing the murder. |
| discuss | You discussed sending the kids to government school. |
| dislike | Lazy people dislike getting up early in the morning. |
| enjoy | We all enjoy having holidays. |
| finish | We always finish eating very early. |
| involve | Her job involves moving around the world a lot. |
| miss | I missed seeing my family every day. |
| postpone | We postponed marrying until we had the money. |
| practice | She practiced hitting the ball against the bat. |
| give up | We will give up smoking next month. |
| recall | You can't ever recall shouting at your kids. |
| recommend | This book recommends studying for IELTS every day. |
| resent | He resent his manager firing him from his job. |
| risk | Before you are prepared, we wouldn't risk taking |
| stop | If he stops worrying |
| suggest | He suggested studying in the USA. |
The gerund form is used when a verb comes after a preposition.
Here are some examples:
He is interested in learning a new programming language.
There are one or two disadvantages of taking pain killer medicine every time.
You passed your tests without trying too hard.
We’re worried about attending for the IELTS exam.
We got a band 7 by trying very hard.
He was shocked upon hearing the bad news.
We’re sorry for talking so tumultuous.
Understanding collocations, or words that are frequently used together, is the greatest approach to learn them.
For instance, we frequently discuss having "interest in" or the "benefits of" something.
They are also used when we use the term "go" to refer to an activity.
For example:
I wanted to go walking, but my sister said she'd prefer to go skipping instead.
Reduced adverbial clauses can likewise be created using them. Here are a few instances.
Before attempting to reduce an adverbial clause, though, you should be aware of the different restrictions that apply.
The guidelines for this will be covered in a later lesson.
While I walk, I listen to flute music.
Reduced: While walking, I listen to flute music.
Before we go out, we turned the lights and fans off.
Reduced: Before going out, we turned the lights and fans off.
I closed the doors after I got room.
Reduced: I closed the doors after getting room.
Because we were exhausted, we could not study more.
Reduced: Being exhausted, we could not study more.
As was previously stated, you shouldn't use them until you have researched and honed them; otherwise, blunders could occur.