Let's Learn English Grammar!

 

What is a Gerund? 

Gerund is defined as the "ing" form of a verb and has the characteristics of a noun also. Means verb + 'ing' = gerund ( behaves like a noun )

 For example: writing, walking, running etc.

Example: (a) He is fond of fishing. (b) She is good at swimming.
Fishing = Fish (verb) + 'ing'. In this case fishing is 'noun'. Thus it is a gerund.
Some verbs followed by preposition/ adverb take gerund. The most common of such are: be for/against, care for, give up, keep on, leave off, look forward to, put off, see about, take to etc.
Example: (a) we don't care for standing in queues.
Standing (gerund) = Stand (verb) + 'ing'.
care = verb, for = preposition.
'Forgive', 'Excuse', 'Pardon', 'Prevent' take either possessive adjective + pronoun + gerund  or  pronoun + preposition + gerund.
 
Example: (a) We can't prevent him from wasting his own money.
                (b) Please forgive my for calling you so early.
 him (pronoun) + from (preposition) + wasting (gerund)
 

A position is always followed by a gerund not by an infinitive. This is a good rule. It has no expectations. If we want to use a verb after a preposition, it must be a gerund.