GRAMMAR POINTS

I. Gerund
 A gerund is a form of a verb that ends in -ing that is used as a noun. As you may know, a
verb is a word that refers to actions or states of being, and a noun is a word that we use to
refer to people, places, things, and ideas. A gerund is like a blend of verbs and nouns. It
looks like a verb, but it acts like a noun. For example, the word swimming is an example of a
gerund. We can use the word swimming in a sentence as a noun to refer to the act of moving
around in water as in Swimming is fun. When used in sentences, gerunds are treated as third
person singular nouns (like he, she, and it).
 A gerund phrase is a phrase that includes the gerund, its objects, and its modifiers. Because
they are derived from verbs, gerunds can take objects or be modified by adverbs. Just like
noun phrases, gerund phrases are treated as nouns in sentences. In the sentence I love
carefully collecting action figures, the gerund phrase carefully collecting action figures is the
direct object (phrase).
 To turn a verb into a gerund, all you need to do is add -ing to the base form of a verb. The
base form is the form of a verb you will find if you look up a verb in our dictionary. When
making a gerund, there are a few things to watch out for:
o Unless a verb ends in -ee or -ie, we drop the final -e in a verb before adding -ing as in
joking, taking, and making.
o If a verb ends in -ee, add -ing like normal as in agreeing, fleeing, and seeing.
o If a verb ends in -ie, replace it with –y before adding -ing as in lying (lie), tying (tie), and
dying (die).
 As with present participles, sometimes we double a final consonant when making a gerund.
For example, the gerund of run is running. Generally speaking, these are the rules of when to
double a final consonant to form a gerund:
o If a one-syllable verb ends in consonant-vowel-consonant, double the final consonant, as
in strumming, cutting, blurring, and spinning.
o Rule 1 is ignored if the verb ends in –w or –y as in knowing or playing.
o For longer verbs that end in consonant-vowel-consonant, we only double the final
consonant if the last syllable is stressed:
o Stressed: omitting, referring, forgetting
o Unstressed: visiting, eliciting, fidgeting
 List of gerunds
You can turn any verb you want (except a modal verb) into a gerund. Here is a list of gerunds
formed from a variety of verbs:
singing
meditating
cooking
being
having
dancing
philosophizing
Examples of gerunds in a sentence
1. Baking is one of my favorite hobbies.
2. She loves reading books to the children at the library.
3. When it comes to hunting deer, nobody is better than Leroy.
4. Katey much prefers playing with kittens to raising them.
5. The movie star has a very strenuous fitness routine that involves dieting, jogging, sprinting,
running, and lifting weights.
6. How do gerunds function?
7. Just like nouns and noun phrases, gerunds and gerund phrases can be used in several
different ways in sentences. In general, there are four different ways that we use gerunds: as
subjects, subject complements, direct objects, and objects of prepositions.

 Gerunds as nouns
As stated already, gerunds look like verbs but behave like nouns. Likewise, gerund phrases
behave like noun phrases. In practice, this means that gerunds and gerund phrases can be the
subject of sentences/clauses or be the subject complement connected to the subject by an
auxiliary verb (helping verb). Let’s look at examples of each of these ideas:

Gerund as a subject: Sleeping is hard if you suffer from anxiety.

Gerund phrase as a subject: Being rude to customers won’t earn you many tips.
Gerund as a subject complement: His favorite activity is reading.
Gerund phrase as a subject complement: The thing she hated most about school was getting up
early.
Gerunds as objects
Just like nouns and noun phrases, gerunds and gerund phrases can be used as objects in
sentences/clauses. They can be used as both direct objects as well as objects of prepositions:
Gerund as a direct object: Helena has mastered fencing.
Gerund phrase as a direct object: They hate mowing the lawn.
Gerund as an object of a preposition: He quickly resorted to begging.
Gerund phrase as an object of a preposition: Holidays are perfect for visiting family.

II. Present Simple tense with state verbs

Some English verbs, called state verbs, are almost always used in simple rather than continuous
tenses. These verbs are most often about thoughts, feelings, possession or the senses, and are
usually considered as a state or condition that’s either true or false, not as something that is in
the process of happening. For example:
I want to get a new t-shirt. [state is true]
I don’t want to get a new t-shirt [state is false]
(not I am wanting/ am not wanting to get a new t-shirt.) [in process]
 Most common state verbs
1. State verbs for describing thoughts:
believe, know, mean, realise, recognise, remember, suppose, understand, feel (as in believe),
think (as in believe), For example:
I believe that recycling is important. (Not I am believing)
He knows that man. (Not He is knowing)
They feel we should take more time to reconsider. (Not They are feeling)
We think that’s a great idea. (Not We are thinking)
Note: Feel and think are not state verbs when the are describing the action:
I’m thinking about what to do this weekend.
He said he is feeling sick today.
 State verbs for describing feelings:
Vocabulary for talking about feelings – like, dislike, love, hate, want, wish, prefer, adore,
despise, For example:
I like this new TV show. (Not I am liking)
She dislikes the business course. (Not she is disliking)
 State verbs for describing possession:
Belong, have, have got, own, possess, For example:
This book belongs to my mother. (Not this book is belonging)
I have three pets. (Not I am having)
Note: Have can be continuous when it does not mean ‘possess’ (usually when it’s an auxiliary):
They are having lunch at the moment.
We are having a great time on holiday.
 State verbs for describing senses: Smell, taste, hear, see, For example:
This sauce tastes wonderful. (Not this sauce is tasting)
I hear you better now, the call audio is fixed. (Not I am hearing)
Do you see that building over there? (Not Are you seeing)
Note: We use “can” with sense verbs to show we are talking about this present moment:
(right now) I can see the beach from the window.
(right now) I can hear music from the room next door.
Note: Taste and smell can be continuous when they describe the action:
I’m tasting the sauce to see if it needs more salt.
They are smelling different perfumes in the boutique.
Note: See can be continuous when it means ‘meet’:
Are you seeing Lisa today?
Note: Listen to, watch and look at are not state verbs and can be continuous:
He is listening to music while she is watching a film.
 Other state verbs:
Contain, deserve, fit, seem, look (as in seem), look like, matter, weigh, For example:
This food contains nuts.
She weighs 65 kilos.
Note: Weigh can also be continuous when it describes the action:
She is weighing her suitcase.
 The use of the present continuous tense with state verbs
State verbs, which are also known as stative verbs, describe the way that something IS. On the
other hand, we use dynamic verbs to talk about actions and events: things that happen.
Whereas we usually use state verbs with the present simple tense, it wouldn’t be fair to let you
go without a few examples of how we use these verbs with the present continuous.
If I want to emphasise that something is temporary or happening now, around the present time, I
can sometimes use the present continuous tense with these state verbs.
This week I am working with the marketing department. I am loving it!.
I am really loving the recommendations from Netflix at the moment!
These two sentences describe temporary situations, we know this because of the phrases “this
week” and “at the moment”. The first sentence means that right now I am loving my job, but
that will probably change when I stop working with the marketing department. The second
sentence means that I am enjoying the recommendations from Netflix, right now, but that will
probably change in the future.