Grammar: Gerunds and infinitives

A gerund is the present participle (-ing) form of the verb. An infinitive is to + the base verb (the verb with no ending). Both gerunds and infinitives are action words (i.e., verbs) in meaning, but they act like nouns in the sentence. They always take a noun position: a subject or an object of the main verb.

GERUNDS:

A gerund is a verb in its -ing (present participle) from that functions as a noun that names an activity rather than a person or thing. Any action verb can be made into a gerund.

Spelling Tips:

1. - Adding -ing to most infinitives. Ex: Play-playing; do-doing.
2. - For verbs that end in -e remove the -e and add -ing. Ex: slide-sliding; ride-riding.
3. - For verbs that end in ie, change the ie to y and add ing. Ex: die -dying, tie -tying
4. - For a verb whose last syllable is written with a consonant-vowel-consonant and is stressed, double the last letter before adding ing. Ex: beg -begging, begin -beginning. However: enter -entering.