Martes, Agosto 9, 2011

Gerunds as Subject, Object or Complement

Posted by Teacher Shane | Martes, Agosto 9, 2011 | Category: |

Try to think of gerunds as verbs in noun form.
Like nouns, gerunds can be the subject, object or complement of a sentence:
  • Smoking costs a lot of money.
  • I don't like writing.
  • My favourite occupation is reading.
But, like a verb, a gerund can also have an object itself. In this case, the whole expression [gerund + object] can be the subject, object or complement of the sentence.
  • Smoking cigarettes costs a lot of money.
  • I don't like writing letters.
  • My favourite occupation is reading detective stories.
Like nouns, we can use gerunds with adjectives (including articles and other determiners):
  • pointless questioning
  • a settling of debts
  • the making of Titanic
  • his drinking of alcohol
But when we use a gerund with an article, it does not usually take a direct object:
  • a settling of debts (not a settling debts)
  • Making "Titanic" was expensive.
  • The making of "Titanic" was expensive.
Source: www.englishclub.com

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