Gerunds and Gerund Phrases

a form of a verb ending in -ing

acts as a noun

root verb: to hike ---> add -ing ---> gerund: hiking

subject of a sentence

Ex. Hiking makes me excited

direct object of a sentence

Ex. I love hiking.

object of a preposition (of, above, to, down, etc.)

I am never tired of hiking.

Gerunds ARE the noun

Ex. Sleeping nourishes the body.

Participles describe the noun

Ex. The sleeping boy dreamed.

Eating keeps you healthy. - gerund

Eating an apple a day keeps you healthy - gerund phrase

I love studying. - gerund

I love studying my science notes! - gerund phrase

a gerund is a form of a verb that acts like a noun

ends with -ing

Because its a noun, it can function in different part of a sentence