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An -ing form is termed gerund when it behaves as a verb within a clause (so that it may be modified by an adverb or have an object); but the resulting clause as a whole (sometimes consisting of only one word, the gerund itself) functions as a noun within the larger sentence. For example, consider the sentence "Eating this cake is easy."
A gerund is a verb form that appears in positions that are usually reserved for nouns. In English, a gerund has the same form as a progressive active participle and so ends in -ing. Gerunds typically appear as subject or object noun phrases or even as the object of a preposition:
English adjectives, as with other word classes, cannot in general be identified as such by their form, [24] although many of them are formed from nouns or other words by the addition of a suffix, such as -al (habitual), -ful (blissful), -ic (atomic), -ish (impish, youngish), -ous (hazardous), etc.; or from other adjectives using a prefix ...
The underlined words in the following examples are considered non-finite clauses, e.g. a. Bill stopping the project was a big disappointment. – Non-finite gerund clause b. Bill's stopping of the project was a big disappointment. – Gerund with noun status a. We've heard about Susan attempting a solution. – Non-finite gerund clause b.
More examples can be found at Verb patterns with the gerund. English has a number of ergative verbs : verbs which can be used either intransitively or transitively, where in the intransitive use it is the subject that is receiving the action, and in the transitive use the direct object is receiving the action while the subject is causing it.
In some situations, the distinction between gerund/participle uses and deverbal uses may be lost, particularly when the -ing word appears on its own. For example, in "I like swimming", it is not clear whether swimming is intended as a gerund (as it would be in "I like swimming fast"), or as a pure noun (as in "I like competitive swimming ...
An example of a verbal noun in English is 'sacking' as in the sentence "The sacking of the city was an epochal event" (wherein sacking is a gerund form of the verb sack). A verbal noun, as a type of nonfinite verb form, is a term that some grammarians still use when referring to gerunds, gerundives, supines, and nominal forms of infinitives.
Many uses of gerunds are thus similar to noun uses of the infinitive. Uses of gerunds and gerund phrases are illustrated below: As subject or predicative expression: Solving problems is satisfying. My favorite activity is spotting butterflies. As object of certain verbs that admit such constructions: I like solving problems. We tried restarting ...