It has the same form as the present participle: running, working, speaking, etc.

It can be used:

1. as subject of a sentence >Talking about work is work
2. after prepositions > By thinking, … against staying in bed
3. after certain verbs
4. in noun compounds: > a waiting room

1. Subject

Either infinitive or gerund can be the subject of a sentence when an action is being considered in a general sense

• It is easier to speak English than to speak French
  > Speaking English is easier than speaking French
• Not smoking is difficult

After the verb to find we can omit the verb to be:

• He found that parking was difficult
  >He found parking difficult (usually/always)
  > He found it difficult to park (in that particular occasion)

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2. Verbs followed by the gerund as the object of the sentence:

ex. I usually avoid talking to him

I detest going to the cinema

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It is used in short prohibition:

• No smoking,
• No spitting

When followed by an object:

• Do not feed the lions
• Do not touch these wires.

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3. Gerund after prepositions

• He is good at telling lies.
• I am quite used in waiting in queues.
• He is thinking of emigrating.
• I do not care for standing in queues.
• I am looking forward to reading the book.

ATTENTION!!

To after the auxiliary verbs be, have, ought, used and after going is part of the infinitive of the following verb (I have to go to school tomorrow).
To is also placed after love, like, hate, want, try, hope, mean to avoid repetition of an infinitive already mentioned:

• Did you buy cheese?
  No, I meant to, but the shop was shut.

Otherwise ‘to’ after a verb will probably be a preposition and will be followed by a noun, or a gerund.

A good way of finding out whether a ‘to’ is a preposition or a part of an infinitive is to see if it is possible to put a noun/pronoun after it. This ‘to’ therefore is a preposition, and verbs used after ‘to’ must be gerunds.

• I am accustomed to it/the dark.
  > I am accustomed to working hard.

But

• I have to book >>> since the sentence does not make sense >> I have to write a book.
  

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4. Verbs + possessive adjective/pronoun object + gerund

A number of verbs and prepositions can be followed directly by the gerund or by possessive adjective/pronoun object + gerund.

a. If the verb or verb+preposition is followed by the gerund, the gerund refers to the subject of the verb:

• Tom insisted on reading the document (Tom read it)

If we put a possessive adjective or pronoun before the gerund it refers to the person denoted by the possessive:

• Tom insisted on my/me reading the document (I had to read it)

b. Useful verbs and expressions which can take either constructions are:
dislike, like (negative), dread, fancy, mean, mind, involve, propose, recollect, remember, resent, save, stop, suggest, understand, approve/disapprove of, insist on, object to, it’s non good/use, there’s no point in, what’s the point of.

• He disliked working late. // he disliked me/my working late.
• I object to pay twice for the same thing // I object to his/him paying twice for the same thing.

c. In formal English the possessive adjective is used with the gerund. But in spoken and less formal English we very often use the pronoun. It is recommended to use the pronoun.

5. Nouns with gerunds.

In very formal English the possessive case is used:

• I do not remember my mother’s complaining about prices.
  

But it is much more usual to omit the ‘s:

• I do not remember my mother complaining.

6. Perfect gerund

It can be used instead of the present form of the gerund when we are refering to a past action:

• He was accused of deserting his ship
  >> He was accused of having deserted his ship.

7. Passive gerund

Ex.: Present: being written
Past. Having been written

• He was punished by being sent to bed early
• I remember being taken to Paris as a small child
• The car showed no sign of having been touched.

Exercise