Syntactic functions of the Gerund

In а sentence the Gerund is often used as a part of a gerundial phrase or a gerundial construction. They can perform the following syntactic functions:

Subject

Reading books will do you а lot of good.

Your trying to help pleased him a lot.

It can be introduced by it or there:

It ’s no use trying to persuade him.

There is no smoking here.

There is no use arguing now.

Predicative

This was sharing а dream, and yet it wasn’t as silly as dreaming.

His only duty was keeping the yard clean.

A part of а compound verbal predicate

а) as а part of а compound verbal modal predicate with the verbs or expressions having modal meaning:

She felt like telling everybody the truth about the accident.

b) as а part of а compound verbal aspect predicate with the verbs denoting the beginning, duration or cessation of the action:

She had stopped shivering too, in the last few minutes.

Note: Gerundial constructions are seldom used after these verbs. When they are used they perform the function of the direct object: She would stop his dating this girl if she could.

Object

а) Gerunds and / or gerundial constructions can be used as а direct object after the following verbs:

Avoid, afford (after this verb only а gerundial construction is used), appreciate, bear, consider, contemplate, defer, delay, deny, deserve, detest, discuss, dislike, encourage, endure, enjoy, escape, excuse, face, fancy, forbid, forget, forgive, hate, (cannot) help, imagine, involve, justify, like, loathe, love, mention, mind (in interrogative and negative sentences), miss, need, postpone, practice, prefer, prevent, prohibit, recommend, regret, remember, resent, resist, risk, save (sb), (cannot) stand, suggest, tolerate, understand, want, and the adjectives busy and worth.

I couldn’t avoid speaking to him.

Imagine standing there, mouth open.

They don’t mind paying for driving lessons.

The skirt needs pressing.

The book is worth reading.

We cannot afford your ruining our lives.

b) Gerunds can be used as а prepositional object after the following verbs:

admit to, accuse (sb) of, burst out, carry on, discourage from, excuse (sb) for, forbid sb from, forgive smb for, get round to, give up, hear of, keep from, leave off, prevent smb from, prohibit sb from, stop (sb) from, stop short of, succeed in, suspect (sb) of, take to, talk into / out of, thank (sb) for, warn (sb) against;

Don’t give up trying.

He stopped short of saying what he thought.

Some of the verbs take a direct object besides the object expressed by a gerund:

Don’t blame him for being late.

They suspected him of hiding the facts.

Cora joins me in sending greetings.

She suspects David of having read her diary.

I thanked him again for lending me а car.

Both gerunds and/or gerundial constructions can be used after the following verbs and phrases:

Verbs: agree to, apologize for, approve of, count on, blame (sb) for, boast about / of, care for, complain about / of, decide against, depend on, insist on, join in, look forward to, object to, persist in, put off, rely on, result in, save from, speak of, think of;

Phrases like be aware of, be annoyed at, be astonished at, be afraid of, be ashamed of, be capable of, be certain of, be clever at, be delighted at, be disappointed at, be excited about / at, be engaged in, be fond of, be grateful for, be guilty of, be ignorant of, be indignant at, be interested in, be involved in, be pleased (displeased) at, be proud of, be responsible for, be sorry for / about, be sure of, be surprised at, be tired of, be used to, get used to, get round to etc.

She boasted of having won.

She was aware of а chill striking upwards.

She was aware of being manipulated.

You should apologize for (his) coming late.

Imagine doing it all over again!

Can you imagine her doing it?

She is always annoyed at his banging the doors.

There are also verbs after which gerundial constructions can be used as direct objects, while gerunds are used as prepositional ones:

We cannot prevent his finding out the facts.

We cannot prevent him from finding out the facts.

I suspect something strange happening there.

I suspect them of doing these strange things.

The pronoun it can be used as a preparatory object for the gerund:

I think it no use waiting for them.

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