a) Gerund

The gerund looks exactly the same as a present participle, but it is useful to understand the difference between the two. The gerund always has the same function as a noun (although it looks like a verb). Some uses of the gerund are covered on this page. A separate page deals with verbs that are followed by the gerund.

The gerund as the subject of the sentence

Examples

• Eating people is wrong.
• Hunting tigers is dangerous.
• Flying makes me nervous.
• Brushing your teeth is important.
• Smoking causes lung cancer.

The gerund as the complement of the verb ‘to be’

Examples

• One of his duties is attending meetings.
• The hardest thing about learning English is understanding the gerund.
• One of life’s pleasures is having breakfast in bed.

The gerund after prepositions

The gerund must be used when a verb comes after a preposition. This is also true of certain expressions ending in a preposition, for example the expressions in spite of & there’s no point in.

Examples

• Can you sneeze without opening your mouth?
• She is good at painting.
• She avoided him by walking on the opposite side of the road.
• We arrived in Madrid after driving all night.
• My father decided against postponing his trip to Hungary.
• There’s no point in waiting.
• In spite of missing the train, we arrived on time.

The gerund after phrasal verbs

Phrasal verbs are composed of a verb + preposition or adverb.

Examples

• When will you give up smoking?
• She always puts off going to the dentist.
• He kept on asking for money.
• Jim ended up buying a new TV after his old one broke.

There are some phrasal verbs that include the word “to” as a preposition for example to look forward to, to take to, to be accustomed to, to get around to, & to be used to. It is important to recognise that the word “to” is a preposition in these cases because it must be followed by a gerund. It is not part of the infinitive form of the verb. You can check whether “to” is a preposition or part of the infinitive. If you can put the pronoun “it” after the word “to” and form a meaningful sentence, then the word “to” is a preposition and must be followed by a gerund.

Examples

• I look forward to hearing from you soon.
• I look forward to it.
• I am used to waiting for buses.
• I am used to it.
• She didn’t really take to studying English.
• She didn’t really take to it.
• When will you get around to mowing the grass?
• When will you get around to it?

The gerund in compound nouns

In compound nouns using the gerund, it is clear that the meaning is that of a noun, not of a continuous verb. For example, with the word “swimming pool” it is a pool for swimming in, it is not a pool that is swimming.

Examples

• I am giving Sally a driving lesson.
• They have a swimming pool in their back yard.
• I bought some new running shoes.

The gerund after some expressions

The gerund is necessary after the expressions can’t help, can’t stand, to be worth, & it’s no use.

Examples

• She couldn’t help falling in love with him.
• I can’t stand being stuck in traffic jams.
• It’s no use trying to escape.
• It might be worth phoning the station to check the time of the train.

Verbs followed by gerunds

The gerund is commonly used after quite a few different verbs. The most important of these verbs are shown below. All of these verbs can be followed by nouns instead of gerunds. Remember, gerunds always function as nouns in sentences. Some of these verbs can also be followed by a that-clause. The verbs that require additional usage explanation are displayed as links which lead to more detailed pages.

Verbs which can be followed by nouns or gerunds

avoid	celebrate	consider	contemplate	defer	delay	detest
dislike	dread	enjoy	entail	escape	excuse	finish
forgive	involve	keep	loathe	mind	miss	pardon
postpone	prevent	resent	resist	risk	save	stop

Examples

• I avoid going to the dentist.
• I avoid chocolate.
• I miss taking walks in the morning.
• I miss England.
• I have finished working.
• I have finished the cake.

Using “dread”

Dread is normally followed by the gerund or a possessive adjective + the gerund. The most common exception is when dread is followed by the infinitive when used with think, in the expression I dread to think. Dread can also be followed by a noun.

Examples

• I dread diving off the high board.
• I dread driving at night.
• I dread your leaving someday.
• I dread his losing his way home.
• I dread to think what might happen.
• I dread to think about him disappearing.
• I dread conflict.
• I dread the night.

Using “Excuse”, “Forgive”, and “Pardon”

Excuse, forgive, & pardon can be followed by an object + the gerund or for + an object + the gerund (both common in spoken English). These three verbs can also be followed by a possessive adjective + the gerund, but this is more formal and less likely to be used in spoken English. These examples are marked with an asterisk (*). Excuse, forgive, & pardon can also be followed by nouns.

Examples

• Excuse me interrupting.
• Excuse me for interrupting.
• *Excuse my interrupting.
• Excuse the interruption.
• I can’t forgive him lying to me.
• I can’t forgive him for lying to me.
• *I can’t forgive his lying to me.
• I can’t forgive his lies.

Using “Prevent”

Prevent is often followed either by a possessive adjective + gerund or by an object + from + gerund. Prevent can also be followed by the gerund directly when the subject is unnecessary, and it can be followed by a noun.

Examples

• You can’t prevent my leaving.
• You can’t prevent me from leaving.
• I want to prevent his getting sick.
• I want to prevent him from getting sick.
• This campaign is designed to prevent drowning.
• Preventing stealing is our main goal this year.
• We are working to prevent forest fires.
• This vaccine will prevent malária.

Using “Stop”

Stop + gerund means that an action in progress ends. There is no causal relationship between the two verbs.

Examples

• I stopped working for them last year.
• I have stopped cycling to work.
• Could you stop bringing your dog to the office?
• He stopped eating meat in January.

Stop + infinitive means to interrupt an activity in order to do something else, so the infinitive is used to express the purpose of stopping.

Examples

• I stopped to have lunch at 12:00.
• It’s difficult to concentrate on what you are doing if you have to stop to answer the phone every five minutes.
• We stopped to look at the wildflowers.
• I stopped to take a break, but I’ll start again soon.

Verbs which can be followed by nouns, gerunds, or a that-clause

acknowledge	admit	anticipate	appreciate	deny	imagine	mean
mention	propose	recall	recollect	report	suggest	understand

Examples

• I can’t imagine living in that big house.
• I can’t imagine a purple unicorn in my yard.
• I can’t imagine that he lied on purpose.
• I understand French.
• I understand fishing pretty well.
• I understand that you would prefer to stay.

Using “Appreciate”

Appreciate is followed by the gerund alone when the gerund refers to the subject of a clause, but it is followed by a possessive adjective + the gerund when the gerund does not refer to the subject. Appreciate can also be followed by a noun.

Examples

• I appreciate having time off work.
• I appreciate your giving me time off work.
• I appreciate time off work.
• We appreciate eating chocolate cake.
• We appreciate his eating our chocolate cake.
• We appreciate chocolate cake.

Using “Mean”

Mean + gerund expresses what the result of an action will be, or what will be necessary. The word mean could be replaced by the word involve.

Examples

• If you take that job in London it will mean travelling for two hours every day.
• We could take the ferry to France, but that will mean spending a night in a hotel.
• Buying this jacket now means not buying another until next year.
• Leaving school would mean finding a job.

Mean + infinitive expresses an intention or a plan. The word mean could be replaced by the word intend.

Examples

• Did you mean to dial this number?
• I mean to finish this job by the end of the week!
• I didn’t mean to hurt you.
• I meant to return the books on time.

Using “Propose”

Propose + gerund means suggest. In this forumlation, it has the same meaning as when followed by a that-clause.

Examples

• John proposed going to the debate.
• I proposed having lunch together.
• Who proposed eating at this restaurant?
• I propose that we buy a smaller car.
• I propose buying a smaller car.

Propose + infinitive means intend or offer.

Examples

• The Government proposes to bring in new laws.
• I propose to finish this meeting tomorrow.
• He proposed to go so I didn’t have to.
• Janet has proposed to take notes and circulate them afterwards.

Using “Suggest”

Suggest can be used in three different ways with identical or similar meanings. The construction may be a bit complicated to master, so pay attention to detail. Suggest can be followed directly by a gerund, or by a possessive adjective + a gerund when the gerund doesn’t refer to the subject of the sentence.

Examples

• He suggested going to Glastonbury.
• He suggested my going to Glastonbury.
• I suggested visiting your grandmother.
• I suggested your visiting your grandmother.

Suggest can also be followed by that + subject + should + verb, but in these clauses both that and should may be omitted, leaving the subject directly after the verb suggest.

Examples

• He suggests that I should go to New York.
• He suggests that I go to New York.
• He suggests I should go to New York.
• He suggests I go to New York.

Suggest can be followed by a noun if the meaning is clear from the context.

Examples

• What kind of ice cream are you having? I suggest chocolate.
• I suggest Jim for this project.
• He suggested the Toyota Prius instead of another hybrid car.
• If you are allergic to hair, I suggest a bird or a fish as a pet.

Finally, suggest may be followed by a question word + the infinitive.

Examples

• He suggested where to go.
• I suggested what to see.
• You suggested when to leave.
• They suggested which coat to buy.

Some verbs can be followed by a gerund or by an infinitive. When this is the case, the meaning of the two will be identical for some verbs, but different for others. Detailed pages go into the individual verbs which can be followed by a gerund or an infinitive with equivalent meaning and verbs which can be followed by a gerund or an infinitive with different meanings.

Gerund equals infinitive

Some verbs can be followed either by a gerund or by an infinitive and there is little or no difference in meaning between the two. The links lead to more detailed pages explaining the different uses and meanings of each verb.

Verbs which can be followed by a gerund, an infinitive, or a noun

• allow
• attempt
• begin
• bother
• cease
• continue
• deserve
• neglect
• omit
• permit
• start

Examples

• He began walking towards the museum.
• He began to walk towards the museum.
• He began his book.

Using “Allow”

Allow can be followed by an object + the infinitive, by a gerund, or by a noun. The gerund is used when the subject of the action the gerund describes is unnecessary, as in for general statements.

Examples

• Her parents allowed her to go to the party.
• Her parents don’t allow smoking in the house.
• My parents don’t allow dogs.

Using “Deserve”

Deserve can be followed by the infinitive, by the gerund or by a noun. The usage of the gerund with deserve is not very common. It is mainly used with passive constructions or where there is a passive meaning.

Examples

• Your proposals deserve to be considered in detail.
• These ideas deserve discussing.
• You deserve some ice cream.

Verbs which can be followed by a gerund, an infinitive, a noun, or a that-clause

• fear
• hate
• like
• love
• intend
• prefer
• recommend

Examples

• I recommend arriving at 8:00.
• I recommend that you arrive at 8:00.
• I recommend you to arrive at 8:00.
• I recommend this book.

Using “Hate”, “Like”, & “Love”

The verbs hate, love, like, & prefer are usually followed by a gerund when the meaning is general, and by the infinitive when they refer to a particular time or situation. You must always use the infinitive with the expressions would love to, would hate to, etc. These verbs can also be followed by a that-clause or by a noun.

Examples

• I hate to tell you, but Uncle Jim is coming this weekend.
• I hate looking after elderly relatives!
• I hate mushrooms.
• I hate that he lied to you.
• I love dancing.
• I love to dance at the jazz club.
• I would love to dance with you.
• I love ballet.
• I love that you remembered my birthday!

Gerund does not equal infinitive

Some verbs can be followed by a gerund and an infinitive but the meaning of the sentence is different in one case than in the other. The links on this page lead to more detailed pages describing the meanings of different constructions of this type.

Verbs that can be followed by the gerund, the infinitive, or a noun

• come
• go on
• stop
• try

Using “Come”

Come + gerund is like other verbs of movement followed by the gerund. It means that the subject is doing something as they move.

Examples

• She came running across the field.
• The horse came racing around the corner.
• My dog always comes bounding out of the car.
• When I call you, please come running.

Come + infinitive can mean that something happens or develops, perhaps outside the subject’s control.

Examples

• At first I thought he was crazy, but I’ve come to appreciate his sense of humour.
• How did you come to be outside the wrong house?
• The book has come to mean something quite different for me.
• I have come to see that you were right all along.

Come + infinitive can also mean that the infinitive verb indicates the purpose of coming. This is a similar usage to other verbs of movement followed by the infinitive.

Examples

• I came to see the new exhibition.
• We came to watch a movie.
• Will you come to eat dinner?

Using “Go on”

Go on + gerund means to continue with the action in the gerund.

Examples

• He went on speaking for two hours.
• I can’t go on working like this – I’m exhausted.
• Even after I apologized, he went on being angry for another month.
• The show will go on playing through the end of the year.

Go on + infinitive means to do the next action, which is often the next stage in a process described in the context.

Examples

• After introducing her proposal, she went on to explain the benefits for the company.
• John Smith worked in local government for five years, then went on to become a Member of Parliament.
• After making dinner, I went on to set the table.
• When you’re done with your soup, you can go on to serve the main dish.

Using “Stop”

Stop + gerund means that an action in progress ends. There is no causal relationship between the two verbs.

Examples

• I stopped working for them last year.
• I have stopped cycling to work.
• Could you stop bringing your dog to the office?
• He stopped eating meat in January.

Stop + infinitive means to interrupt an activity in order to do something else, so the infinitive is used to express the purpose of stopping.

Examples

• I stopped to have lunch at 12:00.
• It’s difficult to concentrate on what you are doing if you have to stop to answer the phone every five minutes.
• We stopped to look at the wildflowers.
• I stopped to take a break, but I’ll start again soon.

Using “Try”

Try + gerund means to experiment with an action.

Examples

• If you have problems sleeping, you could try doing some yoga before you go to bed.
• Why don’t you try drinking some warm milk?
• I would like to try driving a tank.
• Have you ever tried eating snake?

Try + infinitive means to make an effort to do something. It may be something very difficult or even impossible.

Examples

• The surgeons tried to save his life but he died on the operating table.
• We’ll try to phone at 6 o’clock, but it might be hard to find a public telephone.
• Could you try to fix my shoes by tomorrow?
• He tries to be quiet but he’s always been a noisy child.

Verbs that can be followed by a gerund, an infinitive, a noun, or a that-clause

• forget
• mean
• regret
• remember

Using “Forget”, “Regret”, & “Remember”

When forget, regret and remember are followed by a gerund, the gerund refers to an action that happened earlier than the main verb. The gerund could be replaced by the present perfect participle in these sentences to make the sequence of events more explicit. Forget is frequently used with never in the simple future form.

Examples

• I remember locking the door. = I remember having locked the door.
• He regretted speaking so rudely. = He regretted having spoken so rudely.
• I don’t remember losing my glasses. = I don’t remember having lost my glasses.
• I will never forget meeting my boss for the first time.

When these verbs are followed by a infinitive, the infinitive refers to an action happening at the same time of the main verb, or later.

Examples

• This morning I remembered to lock the door. (= the remembering came first, then the locking)
• Do not forget to buy some eggs. (= the not forgetting comes first, then the buying eggs)
• I forgot to bring my books to school. (= first I forgot, then I didn’t bring my books.)
• We regret to announce the late arrival of the 12.45 from Paddington. (= our regrets come before the announcement)

Using “Mean”

Mean + gerund expresses what the result of an action will be, or what will be necessary. The word mean could be replaced by the word involve.

Examples

• If you take that job in London it will mean travelling for two hours every day.
• We could take the ferry to France, but that will mean spending a night in a hotel.
• Buying this jacket now means not buying another until next year.
• Leaving school would mean finding a job.

Mean + infinitive expresses an intention or a plan. The word mean could be replaced by the word intend.

Examples

• Did you mean to dial this number?
• I mean to finish this job by the end of the week!
• I didn’t mean to hurt you.
• I meant to return the books on time.