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What is a GERUND? 😣Confusing English Grammar


well hey there I’m Emma from English
what is a gerund do you know I can tell
you that I didn’t even know what a
gerund was before I started studying to
be a teacher but native English speakers
use jaren’s a lot in English all the
time whether we realize it or not so
it’s important that you understand them
too and in today’s lesson I’m going to
show you how okay I’m gonna start by
answering your question in the simplest
way possible what is a gerund jaren’s
look like a verb but they’re actually a
noun okay perhaps you still don’t know
what that means we all know that a verb
is an action right we do a verb for
example I jug every morning but
sometimes I just want to talk about an
action not do it jogging is one of my
favorite ways to exercise I love jogging
I’m talking about jogging as an action
I’m not jogging right now I’m just
talking about something that I love to
do so in other words I’m referring to
the action of jogging as a noun or a
thing so I’ve just used the gerund
that’s a gerund I used a word that looks
like a verb as a noun so that’s not too
difficult is it and if you think this
video will be helpful for any of your
friends then share it with them you know
the one that really needs some help with
their English tell them to subscribe I
make new videos answering your trickiest
English questions here every week so how
can we recognize the gerund what does it
look like
well the gerund is formed by adding
ing to the base form of the verb or the
bare infinitive form so the base form is
jog with IMG jogging I love jogging jog
is the base form jogging is the gerund
so obviously the reason why this is
confusing is because this looks a lot
like the continuous form of the verb
right so to recognize a gerund you need
to pay attention to how it’s used in a
sentence and I’ve got a test for you I
absolutely love singing but performing
in public makes me really nervous
standing on a stage in front of a crowd
is terrifying
so did you hear all of those gerunds did
you recognize them let’s take a closer
look I absolutely love singing but
performing in public makes me really
nervous standing on stage in front of a
crowd is terrifying
okay so far we’ve learned generally what
a gerund is and how to make a gerund so
here’s the next question
when and how do we use Jarrod’s just
like nouns gerron’s can be used in many
different situations they can be used as
the subject of a sentence the object of
a sentence they can be used after
prepositions they can be used with fixed
expressions and we can sometimes use a
gerund after another verb oh that’s a
lot of different possibilities so let’s
break them down together firstly you can
use a gerund when you want to use a verb
as the subject of a sentence or a phrase
volunteering is a great way to give back
to your community eating fruits and
vegetables is important for a healthy
studying jaren’s doesn’t have to be
frustrating okay so now it’s your turn I
want you to write a sentence in the
comments below this video to practice
tell me what can be frustrating or what
else is important to your health write a
sentence write an answer to that
question in the comments below this
video and make sure you’re using a
gerund not just a noun we’re practicing
gerunds today right pause the video if
you need to but tell me what frustrates
you in the comments next you can use a
gerund as the object of a sentence now
there are some very common verbs that
take gerunds as objects love like enjoy
prefer dislike hate all of these verbs
can be followed by a gerund I really
like cooking but my fiancee is a much
better cook than me she really enjoys
taking pictures of sunsets
I prefer buying meat from my local
butcher okay it’s your turn now what do
you dislike doing what do you prefer
doing write your sentence in the
comments below when you see a verb after
a preposition it’s actually often a
gerund
you remember prepositions right I talked
about them here in this lesson if you
need a refresher they’re words like on
at in under behind without she walked
out of the room without saying a word
and so these rules about prepositions
include expressions that end in
prepositions like in spite of in spite
of training for years she got knocked
there is no point in
there is no point in taking your jacket
fed up with I’m fed up with asking you
to be quiet there are some really common
expressions that are followed by gerunds
– really you do just need to memorize
these ones like can’t help I can’t help
being a perfectionist can’t stand I
can’t stand working with people who
always show up late it’s no use
it’s no use leaving a message she never
to be worth it’s not worth spending so
much money these are all really common
expressions that are followed by a
gerund and guess what it’s your turn
again it’s your turn to write a sentence
what are some of the things that you
can’t stand doing write it in the
comments below now you may also see
Jones used after another verb now some
verbs can be followed by a gerund or the
to infinitive and this can be a little
confusing because actually choosing one
or the other can change the overall
meaning of a sentence because in one
sentence the word is a noun and in the
other it’s a verb so for example I’ll
never forget driving along the coast of
Sicily
it was truly stunning don’t forget to
take your grandma to the supermarket
I’ve actually opened a can of worms
there so I’ve made an extra lesson a
separate lesson about gerunds and
infinitives and you can watch it right
here on the English Channel next week
it’s going to be my next lesson so I’ll
go over more details about the
difference between
infinitives and gerunds in that lesson
make sure you subscribe so you don’t
miss it so let’s practice what we’ve
learnt already in this lesson I want you
to find the gerund in each of the
examples that I’m about to put here and
tell me is it being used as a subject
and object after a preposition or with
an expression
it’s no use avoiding him he’ll keep
what’s the gerund avoiding right and
it’s a gerund used with a common
expression it’s no use
it’s no use of voiding it’s no use
asking do you feel like watching a
horror movie or a romantic film which is
the gerund and it’s a gerund used as an
object isn’t it not realizing that one
of my kids is sick is one of my biggest
fears
so the gerund is realizing and it’s a
gerund to use as a subject used as a
subject in spite of being injured she’s
still managed to finish the marathon so
the gerund is being and it’s adjourned
used after a preposition so do you feel
a little more confident about gerrans
now I’m going to go down into the
comments and check your sentences now so
I can make sure that you’ve been using
your gerunds correctly and for all of
those other pesky English topics make
sure you subscribe to the English
Channel I cover new topics and tips
every week just
these ones I’ll see you in the next lesson
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