Effective study habits. Using gerund and infinitive

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Gerunds might sound like a strange term to come across in English grammar, but they describe a very common part of the language. You’ll find gerunds in virtually everything you read, write or hear – and they’re quite easy to use!
Read on to find out what exactly a gerund is, and how to make sure you’re using them correctly.

What is a gerund?

A gerund is an instance when a verb is being used in a very particular way – as a noun!
You do this by changing the infinitive form of the verb, and adding “ing” at the end.
For example, “eat” is changed to “eating”, or “write” is changed to “writing”.
Let’s take a look at some gerunds in action:
“I enjoy writing – it’s my favourite hobby.”
“She gets quite nervous about flying.”
You might notice that a gerund takes the same form as the present participle of a verb – but it has a different meaning! A present participle, by contrast – plays the role of a verb.
Take a look at this example to see how it is different from a gerund:
“They go running each morning to train for the marathon.”
Although it looks like a verb, a gerund always follows the same rules as you would with a noun –it can be used as a subject just like any other noun. If you’re not sure whether you need to use a present participle or a gerund, imagine swapping the gerund for another simple noun – does the sentence still make grammatical sense?