by Jennie Ruby
Nouns are things. We use nouns to name physical objects in our world, such as books, telephone, desk. We also have nouns that name abstract things such as love, intelligence, and theory. But when we need to name an action or a behavior, nothing works better than a verb. We use the -ing form of a verb as a noun to name an action: singing, walking, running. The grammar term for an -ing verb used as a noun to name an action or behavior is gerund.
A gerund can be the subject of a sentence, just as any noun can:
- Walking is good exercise.
A gerund can be the direct object of a verb, just as a noun can:
- This week’s exercise plan includes running.
A gerund can also belong to someone, just as a noun can:
- Her singing was superb.
- Her leaving was a surprise.
- I did not mind his standing by the door.
A common error speakers and writers of English make is failing to use the possessive pronoun in front of a gerund:
- *I did not mind him standing by the door.*
To avoid this error, ask whether you are talking about the person, or an action or behavior belonging to the person:
- I saw him standing by the door. (I saw a person, him, not a behavior.)
- I did not mind his standing by the door. (What I didn’t mind was a behavior, his standing there, not a person.)
Watch for these -ing verb acting as nouns, until next week, when we meet the -ing verb in another non-verb role: as an adjective.
About the Author: Jennie Ruby is a veteran IconLogic trainer and author with titles such as "Essentials of Access 2000" and "Editing with MS Word 2003 and Adobe Acrobat 7" to her credit. Jennie specializes in electronic editing. At the American Psychological Association, she was manager of electronic publishing and manager of technical editing and journal production. Jennie has an M.A. from George Washington University and is a Certified Technical Trainer (Chauncey Group). She is a publishing professional with 20 years of experience in writing, editing and desktop publishing.
Want help with a grammar issue? Email us your troubles and we’ll turn Jennie loose!