#ing words

[theyuniversity]

Yo, Grammar: What's up with gerunds?

Great question!

You are asking about gerunds (words that end in "ing" and look like verbs but are actually functioning as nouns.)

Gerunds are often difficult to identify because they look exactly like common verbs. The following examples use gerunds:

And since gerunds are nouns, they take possessive pronouns. Observe how possessive pronouns precede nouns; in the same way, watch how they precede gerunds:

• My cat keeps our neighbors awake. ("Cat" is a noun.)

• My snoring keeps our neighbors awake. ("Snoring" is a noun.)

• Your dog cheers me up when I'm sad. ("Dog" is a noun.)

• Your being silly cheers me up when I'm sad. ("Being" is a noun.)

For a more thorough explanation of gerunds, click here.