Gerunds
There are three main types of verbals. We are going to discuss each one of them in detail to give you a better idea of what they do. The three types are gerunds, participles, and infinitives. Each one of these does something different but they all have some similarities as well. The definition of a verbal is something that is based on a verb and expresses actions or state of being. The first one we are going to discuss is the gerund.
Gerunds are verbals ending in -ing. Gerunds mainly function as nouns in the sentence. They can also function as the subject, subject complement, direct object, and object of the preposition.
examples: Gerund as a subject- Flying might satisfy your desire to try something new.
Gerund as a direct object- The crowd did not appreciate my dancing.
Gerund as a subject complement- My cat’s favorite activity is eating.
Gerund as an object of preposition- The police arrested him for speeding.
Gerunds can also be phrases in sentences. A gerund phrase is a group of words consisting of a gerund and the modifier and or pronoun or noun phrase that function as the direct object, indirect object, or complement of the action or state expressed in the gerund.
examples: Gerund phrase as a subject- Finding a needle in a haystack would be easier than what we’re trying to do.
Gerund phrase as a direct object- I hope that you appreciate my offering you this opportunity.
Gerund phrase as a subject complement- Newt’s favorite tactic has been lying to his constituents.
Gerund phrase as the object of the preposition- You might get into trouble for faking an illness to avoid work.
Gerund phrase as the subject- Being the boss made Jeff feel uneasy.
Gerunds virtually never require any punctuation with them.
Most of this information and some of the examples came from the Purdue University website on grammar. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_verbals.html