Language/English/Grammar/GERUNDS

When do we use the GERUND?

verbs ending in -ing, ex: doing

After verbs that express likes/dislikes

like, love, enjoy, dislike, hate, don't mind, can't stand ...

Example :

• She likes doing crossword puzzles.

• He enjoys listening to music in the car.

After certain other verbs such as  :

admit, appreciate, avoid, consider, delay, deny, finish, imagine, involve, keep (on), mention, miss, postpone, suggest ...

Examples:

• Would you consider doing a few extra hours?

• Can you imagine walking such a long distance?

After prepositions :

worried/nervous/anxious about ...

Example : I'm a bit worried about driving in the snow.

interested in ...

Example : Are you interested in working for us?

instead of ...

Ex: Would you like to walk instead of taking the bus?

fond of ...

Ex: My mother is fond of doing crossword puzzles.

keen on ...

Ex: My dad is keen on watching sports on television.

look forward to ...

Ex: Our parents are looking forward to seeing us soon.

good at ...

Ex: Julie is good at making cakes.

before...

Ex: Before leaving the office, please turn off the lights.

after ...

Ex: After tidying the kitchen she went straight to bed.

After certain expressions :

it's no use ...

Ex: It's no use pleading - I won't change my mind.

it's no good ...

Ex: It's no good shouting at him - he's deaf!

there's no point in ...

Ex: There's no point in cooking food - nobody's hungry!

Related Lessons

• When use If or Whether
• Positions of Pronouns in Sentences
• Subjunctive mood
• The Hyphen and The Dash (Part 2)
• Double Object Verbs (Ditransitive verbs)
• Confusion between Adjectives and Adverbs
• Legitimate Ellipsis and False Ellipsis
• Indefinite Article
• Collocations with go
• Beside and Besides