Gerunds

The gerund is the -ing form of the verb when it is used as a noun.

For example, the word "driving" is a gerund in this sentence:

• Driving a car is not easy at all!

But it is not in this sentence:

• Look! He's driving and talking on the phone.

In the above sentence "driving" is a present participle, and the whole sentence is in the Present Continuous.

Use

a) After prepositions

We use gerunds when the verb is immediately after a preposition.

• He's looking forward to seeing his family again.
• I'm thinking of going to Hawaii.

b) As subjects

We use gerunds when we are talking about an action or activity in a general way.

• I like lying on the beach.
• Using gerunds is not hard.