Gerund

Podcast 1 · Introduction

Gerund

A documentary-style narration: origin, meaning, and feel.

Part of speech

noun

Pronunciation

JEH-rund  /ˈdʒɛrənd/

Definition

A verbal noun in English formed by adding -ing to a verb, which functions as a noun in a sentence — for example, 'swimming' in 'swimming is good exercise'; in Latin, the gerund is a verbal noun used in all cases except the nominative.

Plain meaning

A gerund is a verb form ending in -ing that functions as a noun. 'Running is fun' — running is a gerund. It names an activity as if it were a thing.

Register

Technical and grammatical. Used in linguistics, language teaching, and grammar instruction. A word that only specialists and language learners encounter in daily life.