What is the term for a verb form ending in -ing that is used as a noun?

What is the term for a verb form ending in -ing that is used as a noun?

• A. Gerund
• B. Participle
• C. Infinitive
• D. Noun

Answer: (A)

An -ing form that functions as a noun is called a gerund. In English, some verb forms ending in -ing can take the place of a noun in a sentence. They can be the subject, as in “Swimming is fun,” the direct object, as in “I enjoy swimming,” or the object of a preposition, as in “before swimming, I stretch.” A gerund behaves like a noun, even though it looks like a verb. This is different from a participle, which uses the -ing form to describe or modify a noun (for example, “the running water”), and from an infinitive, which uses to plus the base verb (for example, “to swim”). So the -ing form used as a noun is specifically a gerund.

An -ing form that functions as a noun is called a gerund. In English, some verb forms ending in -ing can take the place of a noun in a sentence. They can be the subject, as in “Swimming is fun,” the direct object, as in “I enjoy swimming,” or the object of a preposition, as in “before swimming, I stretch.” A gerund behaves like a noun, even though it looks like a verb. This is different from a participle, which uses the -ing form to describe or modify a noun (for example, “the running water”), and from an infinitive, which uses to plus the base verb (for example, “to swim”). So the -ing form used as a noun is specifically a gerund.