Gerund

THE GERUND

1.     Form and use

The gerund has exactly the same form as the present participle: running, speaking, working, etc.

It can be used in the following ways:

(a)               As subject of a sentence                         : Dancing bored him.

(b)               As complement of a verb                       : Her hobby is painting.

(c)                After prepositions                                  : He was accused of smuggling.

(d)               After certain verbs                                 : I wanted traveling to Lombok.

(e)                In noun compounds                               : a diving board (a board for diving off).

2.     The gerund as subject

Either infinitive or gerund can be the subject of a sentence when an action is being considered in a general sense.

¨      It is easier to read French than to speak it or

¨      Reading French is easier than speaking it.

The gerund, like the infinitive, can be the subject of a clause placed after believe, consider, discover, expect, find, think, wonder etc.

After find we can omit that and the verb be, i.e. we can say:

1.      He found that parking was difficult.

2.      I think that writting is fun.

3.      Sinta expect that getting high salary in the job.

The gerund is used in short prohibitions:

      No smoking.               No waiting.                 No fishing.

But these cannot be followed by an object, so prohibitions involving an object are usually expressed by an imperative:

      Do not touch these wires.       Do not feed the lions.

3.     Gerund after prepositions

A.       When a verb is paced immediately after a preposition the gerund form must be used:

What can you do besides typing?

I have no objection to hearing your story again.

He is good at diving. She is fond of climbing.

He was fined for being drunk in charge of a car.

After swimming I felt cold.

She disapproves of jogging.

What about leaving it here and collecting it later?

He is thinking of emigrating.

I’m sorry for keeping you waiting.

Aren’t you interested in making money?

B.       A number of verb + preposition/adverb combinations (‘phrasal verbs’) take the gerund. The most common of these are be for/against, care for, give up, keep on, eave off, look forward to, put off, see about, take to.

I don’t care for standing in queues.

Eventually the dogs left off barking.

I am looking forward to meeting her.

He put off making a decision till he had more information.

He took to ringing us up in the middle of the night.

4.     Verbs followed by the gerund

A.       The most important of these are:

Admit          = mengakui	Detest       = membenci
Anticipate   = mengharapkan	Dislike      = membenci
Appreciate   = menghargai	Escape      = melarikan diri
Avoid            = menghindari	Excuse      = membebaskan
Consider      = mempertimbangkan	Fancy        = mengira
Defer            = menunda	Finish       = menyelesaikan
Delay           = menunda	Forgive     = memaafkan
Deny            = menyangkal	Imagine    = membayangkan
Miss             = kehilangan	Keep         = menjaga
Pardon        = mengampuni	Enjoy        = menikmati
Postpone     = menunda	Mean         = Bermaksud
Practice      = mempraktekan	Mind          = memperhatikan
Prevent       = mencegah	Involve      = melibatkan
Propose      = mengusulkan	Stop           = berhenti
Resent        = membenci	Suggest      = menyarankan
Resist         = menolak	Understand= mengerti
Risk           = mengambil resiko	Help            = menolong
Save            = menyimpan	Want            = ingin

                                                                                   

B.       Example of verb + gerund sentences:

He admitted taking the money. Avoid over-eating.

Would you consider selling the property?

She dreads getting old. Do you enjoy teaching?

Putting in a new window will involve cutting away part of the roof.

He kept complaining. He didn’t want to risk getting wet.

I can’t understand his/him leaving his wife.

I couldn’t help laughing. It’s no good/use arguing.

5.     Verbs + possessive adjective/pronoun object + gerund

A.       If the verb or verb + preposition is followed directly by the gerund, the gerund refers to the subject of the verb:

Tom insisted on reading the letter. (Tom to read it)

But if we put a possessive adjective or pronoun before the gerund, the gerund refers to the person denoted by the possessive adjective/pronoun:

            He insisted on my/me reading it. (I had to read it).

B.       Useful verbs and expressions which can take either construction are:

Dislike = tidak suka	Approve = menyetujui	it's no use = tidak ada gunanya
Dread  = takut	Disapprove of = tidak menyetujui	insist on = bersikeras
Fancy  = menyukai	Insist on  = menuntut
Dislike = membenci	It’s no good = tidak baik
Mean   = bersungguh-sungguh	Object to = menolak untuk
Mind  = hat-hati	There’s no point in             =	tidak ada gunanya
Recollect = mengingat kembali	Whats the point of              =	apa inti dari
Remember = mengingat	Resent = benci

            Examples :

1.      He disliked working late.

2.      I object to his/him making private calls on this phone.

3.      He resented my/me being promoted before him.

C.       Excuse, forgive, pardon and prevent are not followed directly by the gerund but take either possessive adjective/pronoun + gerund or pronoun + preposition + gerund:

1.      Forgive me for ringing you up so early.

2.      You can’t prevent his/him spending his own money.

3.      I appreciate you giving me so much of your time.

D.       Possessive adjective and pronoun object compared.

In formal English the possessive adjective is used with the gerund. But in informal English we very often use the pronoun. The student therefore has a choice of forms, but is recommended to use the pronoun.

With stop meaning ‘prevent’ the pronoun is more usual than the possessive adjective:

           I can’t stop him writing to the papers.

E.       Nouns with gerunds

In very formal English the possessive case is used:

I don’t remember my mother complaining.

6.     The verb mind

A.          This verb is used chiefly in the interrogative and negative:

Would you mind waiting a moment?

I don’t mind walking.

B.          It can be followed directly by a gerund, or by a noun/pronoun or possessive adjective + gerund:

1.       I don’t mind living here.

 (I live here and don’t object to it).

2.      He didn’t mind Ann leaving home.

(Ann left home and he was quite happy about it).

C.          Would you mind?  Is one of the most usual ways of making a request:

Would you mind not smoking? (Please don’t smoke).

Would you mind moving your car? (Please move it).

D.          Mind can never be followed by an infinitive.

7.     The passive gerund

Present            : being written

Past                  : having been written

He was punished be being sent to bed without any supper.

I remember being taken to Paris as a small child.

The safe showed no signs of having been touched.