The use of -ing

Gerunds are words that are formed with verbs but act as nouns. They’re very easy to spot since every gerund is a verb with ing tacked to its tail. There are no exceptions to this rule.

Like all things grammar, gerunds do take a tiny bit of detective work to spot. The problem here is that present participles also end with the letters ing. Besides being able to spot gerunds, you should be able to tell the difference between a gerund and a present participle.

Let’s go back to the definition of a gerund for a moment. Remember that gerunds are words that are formed with verbs but act as nouns. Present participles do not act as nouns. Instead, they act as modifiers or complete progressive verbs. To find gerunds in sentences, just look for a verb + ing that is used as a noun. It’s that simple.

This comparison between gerunds and infinitives will give a clearer idea about the difference of each one.