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Ask for help > Verbs or Gerunds?
Verbs or Gerunds?
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rach81
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Verbs or Gerunds?
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Hi everybody,
I �m confused. Are verbs ending in -ing considered verbs or are they called gerunds?
Because in my opinion I think they �re gerunds. For example WALK is a verb but WALKING is not.
Ex. I always WALK to school every morning. WALK there is a verb but in the sentence, WALKING is a good exercise. WALKING in this sentence isn �t.
Even when your sentence is My favorite exercise is WALKING. Still walking in this sentence is not considered as a verb. The verb is IS and WALKING is a subjective complement which is still a gerund.
What is your idea about this? �Cause I have observed that most teachers in English consider this -ing forms as verbs but I don �t. �Cause if I will consider them as verbs my students will say that the sentence: SHE WALKING EVERY MORNING is correct which is not. I have seen some worksheets considering -ing forms as verbs. Is this correct?
I don �t mean to offend anybody. It �s just that now I �m confused. Do you have any explanation about this?
Thanks in advance!
Hugs :o)
rach
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24 Apr 2009
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lorinmexico
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I think the difference is how the -ing word is being used in the sentence. In the sentence.
I am walking to school now. the verb is "am walking". It �s a verb because of its usage in the sentence. In the sentence, Walking is good exercise. Walking is a gerund because it is functioning as a noun or as the subject of the sentence.
It has been a couple of years since I �ve studied this, but if memory serves me correctly, the "-ing" form is called a gerund when it is being used as a noun in the sentence
Hope this helps,
Lori in Mexico |
24 Apr 2009
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rach81
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Hi lorin,
Yah you �re right "am walking" is the verb phrase but can we consider "walking" alone in that sentence a verb or if my students will say the verb in the sentence "I am walking" is "walking" alone should I consider it? Beacuse for example if I will give an activity and say Give examples of verbs and my students will say: walking, singing, laughing, eating.....shall I consider them as verbs? �Cause in my class I don �t and some teachers do. I don �t want to correct them unless I �m really sure of it and I might offend them if I do correct them.
Sorry if I ask too many questions!
hugs :o)
rach |
24 Apr 2009
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Carla Horne
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Hi Rach,
What part of speech a word is usually depends on how it is used in a sentence. Gerunds are verb forms ending in -ing that are acting as nouns. For example, "Walking is good exercise" ; however, in the following sentence, "I am walking to school." the word "walking" is the present participle. The verb phrase would be "am walking." I hope this helps.
Carla 
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24 Apr 2009
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Ossimar
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Hi, Rach,
You are right. Gerunds are not verbs. They are verbal nouns. -ing forms can be considered verbs if they are used in progressive forms, usually after the auxilary "be".
Ossimar
April 24, 2009 |
24 Apr 2009
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Spagman63
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Walking can also be used as an adjective. Like: Is it a walking stick? If the -ing form has a being verb before it, we usually consider it a present continuous/progressive form. Like this : I am walking with my stick. We call these particpial adjectives if they go before a noun.
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24 Apr 2009
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ameliarator
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This is an interesting question. �In my opinion a gerund is a verb ending in "ing" which can also function as an adjective ("interesting" for example) or a subject/object ("Swimming in fun/I like swimming.") The reason that I refer to a gerund as a type of verb is that I find it useful for students to think about sentences in terms of "auxiliary verb" and "main verb." �In my experience it is easier for students to understand "I am singing" and "I have sung" if they see that both have the same basic structure (Subject + auxiliary verb + main verb) |
24 Apr 2009
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maripa
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the ing form of the verb can be either present participle or gerund. When it is used for the formation of the continuous tenses (present coninuous/past continuous etc) or as an adjective (interesting/amazing etc) it is present participle. When it is used as a noun (I like swimming/listening to music can be quite relaxing) it is a gerund. When the sentence is in a continuous tense then the verb consists of both the verb to be and the participle-ing form (he is working hard-verb=is working �/ � they were having dinner- verb=were having) |
24 Apr 2009
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evl422
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There are a few interesting examples of gerund usage here:
http://www.english-at-home.com/grammar/how-to-use-gerunds/
As a native speaker myself, my advice would be to avoid too much time on whether to call something a verb or a gerund (the vast majority of native speakers certainly wouldn �t have a clue!) and concentrate on having your students form meaningful sentences instead.
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24 Apr 2009
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