Gerund as Subject
Identify the gerund and explain its function in this sentence: "Swimming is my favorite hobby."
What is "Swimming." Function: subject of the sentence (names the activity that is the favorite hobby).
Identify the gerund acting as a direct object: "She practices sketching every day."
Gerund: "Sketching." Function: direct object of "practices."
Identify the gerund used as a predicate noun: "Her favorite activity is baking."
Gerund: "Baking." Function: predicate noun (complements "is" and renames "Her favorite activity").
Identify the gerund object of the preposition: "She is good at drawing."
Gerund: "Drawing." Preposition: "at." Function: object of the preposition "at."
A person, place, thing or idea
What is a noun?
Choose the gerund subject in this sentence "I enjoy reading before bed."
Gerund subject: "Reading." Rewritten: "Reading before bed is something I enjoy." (Gerund phrase as subject.)
In the sentence "They admitted cheating on the test," explain how the gerund is functioning and why it is a direct object.
Gerund: "Cheating." Function: direct object of "admitted" — it receives the action of admitting.
In the sentence "His job is teaching middle school," label the gerund and explain why it is a predicate noun.
Gerund: "Teaching." Function: predicate noun following linking verb "is" and renaming "His job."
In "After finishing the homework, he watched TV," identify the gerund (or participle) and explain whether it is acting as object of a preposition or something else.
In "After finishing the homework, he watched TV." — "finishing the homework" is a gerund phrase functioning as the object of the preposition "after." (Note: some grammars call it a participial/verb-ing clause used adverbially; for high school level, treat as a gerund phrase functioning as object of preposition.)
The action word - tells what the noun is doing
What is a verb?
Explain why the underlined word is a gerund acting as subject: "Running every morning keeps her healthy."
Gerund: "Running." Function: subject; "running every morning" is a gerund phrase acting as the subject that keeps her healthy.
Rewrite this sentence so the gerund is the direct object: "To swim is her dream." (Keep the same meaning.)
Rewritten: "Swimming is her dream." Gerund: "Swimming" now serves as the subject or, depending on structure, you could write "Her dream is swimming," where "swimming" is predicate noun. If you want direct object specifically: "She dreams of swimming" (gerund as object of preposition).
Rewrite this sentence so the gerund acts as a predicate noun: "What I love most is to travel." (Keep meaning.)
Rewritten: "What I love most is traveling." Gerund: "Traveling" — predicate noun renaming "what I love most."
Explain the function of the gerund in this sentence: "He apologized for arriving late." Identify the preposition and its object.
Gerund: "Arriving." Preposition: "for." Function: object of the preposition "for" (object of apology).
These words modify or describe nouns, adjectives, or verbs (two words)
What are adjectives and adverbs?
Combine these two ideas into one sentence using a gerund as the subject: "He likes to paint. It helps him relax." Then identify the gerund and describe its role.
Combined: "Painting helps him relax." Gerund: "Painting" — functions as the subject of the sentence.
Identify the direct object gerund and explain its relationship to the verb in: "We avoided discussing the issue during dinner."
Gerund: "Discussing the issue." Function: direct object of "avoided." "The issue" is the object within the gerund phrase.
Explain how the gerund phrase functions as a predicate noun in: "Their main concern is keeping costs low."
Gerund phrase: "Keeping costs low." Function: predicate noun; it renames "Their main concern." "Costs" is the object inside the gerund phrase; "low" modifies costs.
Transform this phrase into a full sentence where the gerund is the object of a preposition: "By / study hard" — create a complete sentence and label the gerund's role.
Example sentence: "By studying hard, she passed the exam." Gerund: "Studying" — object of preposition "by"; "hard" modifies studying.
These are loations in time and place
What are prepositions?
Analyze the sentence and explain how the gerund phrase functions as the subject: "Learning a new language quickly requires focused practice."
Gerund phrase: "Learning a new language quickly." Function: subject; it names the activity that requires focused practice. Modifiers: "a new language" (object of learning), "quickly" (adverb modifying learning).
Analyze the sentence: "The committee postponed approving the new policy." Identify the gerund (or gerund phrase), explain why it is a direct object, and describe any object modifiers.
Gerund phrase: "Approving the new policy." Function: direct object of "postponed." "The new policy" is the object within the gerund phrase; "approving" is the gerund.
Analyze and explain: "The best part of the summer was swimming in the lake every afternoon." Identify the gerund phrase used as a predicate noun and discuss any modifiers or objects within the phrase.
Gerund phrase: "Swimming in the lake every afternoon." Function: predicate noun following "was"; inside the phrase "swimming" is the gerund, "in the lake" is a prepositional phrase modifying swimming, "every afternoon" is an adverbial time modifier.
Analyze the sentence: "They succeeded in convincing the board to extend the deadline." Identify the gerund phrase that functions as the object of the preposition, and explain its internal structure (object, modifiers, etc.).
Gerund phrase: "Convincing the board to extend the deadline." Function: object of the preposition "in." Internal structure: "convincing" (gerund), "the board" (direct object of convincing), "to extend the deadline" (infinitive phrase functioning as complement of convincing).
These connect one idea to the next
What are conjunctions?