[Grammar] Is Spending a Gerund?

[Hồ Quang Trung]

I know that the phrase spending two much on presents in this sentence below is a Gerund Phrase:

Spending two much on presents is unwise.

However, how about spending in the next example:

The research and development spending has gradually increased.

I check Cambridge Dictionary (Online), spending is clearly a noun, meaning the money that is used for a particular purpose, especially by a government or organization. So, can I consider spending a Gerund in this instance above or it is just a noun that has nothing to do with Gerund definitions?

I have been wondering about this matter because a friend of mine asked me that if spending is a Gerund (because it has an -ing form), why does it not take the first place in a phrase like spending two much on presents or swimming in the winter? For her, if spending is put in the last position as in the research and development spending, it is not a Gerund. Instead, it is a different word and has a different meaning compared to spending (two much on presents). One spending is a Gerund pointing out the action of spending on something while the other spending is a Noun (in an -ing form) (in other words, it is just a normal noun) meaning the money used. Is this argument convincing?

 

[MikeNewYork]

Gerunds act as nouns. In both of your examples, "spending" is a gerund. In your first example "two" should be "too". In your first example, the gerund is the subject of the sentence and comes first. In your second example, the gerund is the subject of the sentence but it is preceded by "the research and development" which acts as an adjective modifying the gerund noun.

 

[Hồ Quang Trung]

Gerunds act as nouns. In both of your examples, "spending" is a gerund. In your first example "two" should be "too". In your first example, the gerund is the subject of the sentence and comes first. In your second example, the gerund is the subject of the sentence but it is preceded by "the research and development" which acts as an adjective modifying the gerund noun.

Thank you very much, I made a mistake between two and too.

I often meet Gerund in a Gerund Phrase in which Gerunds come first as you said. Hence, it is a bit confusing to me when spending follows some words in a Noun Phrase as such.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Gerunds, like other nouns can be modified by adjectives. Unlike other nouns, they can also take direct objects. That is because they are verbals,