Gerunds as Subject, Object or Complement

[Fırat]

Try to think of gerunds as verbs in noun form.

Like nouns, gerunds can be the subject, object or complement of a sentence:

* Smoking costs a lot of money.
* I don't like writing.
* My favourite occupation is reading.

But, like a verb, a gerund can also have an object itself. In this case, the whole expression [gerund + object] can be the subject, object or complement of the sentence.

* Smoking cigarettes costs a lot of money.
* I don't like writing letters.
* My favourite occupation is reading detective stories.

Like nouns, we can use gerunds with adjectives (including articles and other determiners):

* pointless questioning
* a settling of debts
* the making of Titanic
* his drinking of alcohol

But when we use a gerund with an article, it does not usually take a direct object:

* a settling of debts (not a settling debts)
* Making "Titanic" was expensive.
* The making of "Titanic" was expensive.

Look at this example :

# Gerunds (-ing)
# Gerunds after Prepositions
# Gerunds after Certain Verbs
# Gerunds in Passive Sense