A gerund is a word that functions as a Noun. It is formed by adding the suffix -ing to the base form of a Verb.
Gerunds can be placed anywhere within a sentence, and can act as the Subject or the Object of the main verb:
- I like reading.
- Reading is fun.
A common use of gerunds is the Adjective-Preposition-Gerund formula:
- I'm afraid of reading by flashlight.
- My sister is clever at reading upside down.
Caution: if the verb ends in -e, drop the -e before adding -ing
- Conceiving (correct)
- Conceiveing (incorrect)
