gerunds

[andrewhines]

Please Help!!

My English Teacher Is Working With Us On Diagramming Sentences That Have Gerund Phrases. I Am Not Having Fun Right Now I Am Not Really Understanding This. Can Anyone Help Me!!
Thanks,
Andrew

[Casiopea]

Welcome, Andrew.

A gerund is a noun, so it can go anywhere a noun can go. That is, it can function as a subject, an object, an indirect object, and as a subject complement, but never as a verb. For example,

Subject: Swimming is fun.
=> "Swimming" is a gerund. It functions as the subject of the sentence.

Object: I like swimming.
=> "swimming" is a gerund. It functions as the object of the verb "like".

Grammar Trick: gerunds can be replaced by the word "what", like this,

[1] What is fun?
[2] I like what?

Gerunds look like Present Participles:

Gerund: Swimming is fun.
=> Subject. "Swimming" is a thing. A sport, a hobby, an interest.

Present Participle: Swimming lessons are fun. / Lessons are fun.
=> Adjective. "Swimming" tells us what kind of lessons are fun.

Present Participles: They are swimming.
=> "are swimming" is an action, not a thing.

Present participles function as adjectives and as part of a verb. Gerunds cannot do that.

What are some of the sentences you're working on now?

Try out these sites:
http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/gerund.htm
http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/gerundphrase.htm