CONTENTS BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD

H.W. Fowler (18581933). The Kings English, 2nd ed. 1908.

Chapter II. Syntax
PARTICIPLE AND GERUND
IT is advisable to make a few remarks on the participle and gerund together
before taking them separately. As the word gerund is variously used, we first
define it. A gerund is the verbal noun identical in form with any participle,
simple or compound, that contains the termination -ing. Thus the verb write
has the active participles writing, having written, being about to write, about
to write, and the passive participles written, having been written, being
written, about to be written, being about to be written. Any of these except
written, about to write, about to be written, may be a gerund also; but while
the participle is an adjective, the gerund is a noun, differing from other nouns
in retaining its power (if the active gerund of a transitive verb) of directly
governing another noun.
Both these are of great importance for our purpose. The participle itself, even
when confusion with the other cannot occur, is much abused; and the slovenly
uses of it that were good enough in Burke's time are now recognized
solecisms. Again, the identity between the two forms leads to loose and
unaccountable gerund constructions that will probably be swept away, as so
many other laxities have been, with the advance of grammatical
consciousness. We shall have to deal with both these points at some length.

It is indeed no wonder that the forms in -ing should require close attention.
Exactly how many old English terminations -ing is heir to is a question debated
by historical grammarians, which we are not competent to answer. But we may
point out that writing may now be (1) participleI was writing; I saw him
writing; writing piously, he acts profanely, (2) gerund or full verbal nounI
object to your writing that, (3) hybrid between gerund and participleI do
not mind you writing it, (4) detached verbal nounWriting is an acquired
art, (5) concrete nounThis writing is illegible. Moreover, the verbal noun
writing has the synonym to write, obligatory instead of it in some connexions,


better in some, worse in some, and impossible in others; compare, for
instance: I do not like the trouble of writing; I shall not take the trouble to
write; the trouble of writing is too much for him; it is a trouble to write; writing
is a trouble. The grammatical difficulties, that is, are complicated by
considerations of idiom.
In these preliminary remarks, however, it is only with the distinction or want of
distinction between participle and gerund that we are concerned. The
participle is an adjective, and should be in agreement with a noun or pronoun;
the gerund is a noun, of which it should be possible to say clearly whether, and
why, it is in the subjective, objective, or possessive case, as we can of other
nouns. That the distinction is often obscured, partly in consequence of the
history of the language, will be clear from one or two facts and examples.
The man is building contains what we should all now call, whether it is so or
not historically, a participle or verbal adjective: the house is building (older but
still living and correct English for the house is being built) contains, as its
remarkable difference of meaning prepares us to believe, a gerund or verbal
noun, once governed by a now lost preposition.
In He stopped, laughing we have a participle; in He stopped laughing, a verbal
noun governed directly by the verb; in He burst out laughing, a verbal noun
governed by a vanished preposition.
Present usage does not bear out the definite modern ideas of the distinction
between participle and gerund as respectively adjective and noun. So long as
that usage continues, there are various degrees of ambiguity, illustrated by the
three following examples. It would be impossible to say, whatever the context,
whether the writer of the first intended a gerund or a participle. In the second,
a previous sentence would probably have decided the question. In the third,
though grammar (again as modified by present usage) leaves the question
open, the meaning of the sentence is practically decisive by itself.
Can he conceive Matthew Arnold permitting such a book to be written and
published about himself?Times.
And no doubt that end will be secured by the Commission sitting in Paris.
Times.


Those who know least of them [the virtues] know very well how much they are
concerned in other people having them.Morley.

In the second of these, if sitting is a participle, the meaning is that the end will
be secured by the Commission, which is described by way of identification as
the one sitting in Paris. If sitting is gerund, the end will be secured by the wise
choice of Paris and not another place for its scene. If Commission's were
written, there could be no doubt the latter was the meaning. With
Commission, there is, by present usage, absolutely no means of deciding
between the two meanings apart from possible light in the context. In the
third, common sense is able to tell us, though grammar gives the question up,
that what is interesting is not the other people who have them, but the
question whether other people have them.
We shall, in the section on the gerund, take up the decided position that all
gerunds ought to be made distinguishable from participles. We are quite
aware, however, that in the first place a language does not remodel itself to
suit the grammarian's fancy for neat classification; that secondly the confusion
is not merely wanton or ignorant, but the result of natural development; that
thirdly the change involves some inconveniences, especially to hurried and
careless writers. On the other hand it is certain that the permanent tendency
in language is towards the correct and logical, not from it; it is merely hoped
that the considerable number of instances here collected may attract the
attention of some writers who have not been aware of the question, and
perhaps convince them that the distinction is a useful one, that a writer ought
to know and let us know whether he is using a participle or a gerund, and that
to abandon the gerund when it cannot be distinguished without clumsiness
need cause no difficulty to any but the very unskilful in handling words.






CONTENTS BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD
Gerund
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In Latin and English grammar, the gerund is a non-finite verb form that can
function as a noun. The English gerund ends in -ing (as in I enjoy playing
basketball); the same verb form also serves as the English present participle
(which has an adjectival or adverbial function), and as a pure verbal noun. The
gerund is the form that names the action of the verb (for instance, playing is
the action of "to play"). In some cases, a noun ending in -ing sometimes serves
as a gerund (as in I like building / I like building things, I like painting / I like
painting pictures, and I like writing / I like writing novels), while at other times
serving as a non-gerund indicating the product resulting from an action (as in I
work in that building, That is a good painting, and Her writing is good). The
latter case can often be distinguished by the presence of a determiner before
the noun, such as that, a, or her in these examples.
The Latin gerund (gerundium) is a verb form which behaves similarly to a noun,
although it can only appear in certain oblique cases. (It should not be confused
with the Latin gerundive, which is similar in form, but has a passive, adjectival
use.)
In relation to other languages, the term gerund may be applied to a form
which has noun-like uses like the Latin and English gerunds, or in some cases to
various other non-finite verb forms, such as adverbial participles.
Gerund comes from the Latin gerundium, which itself derives from the
gerundive of the Latin verb gero, namely gerundus, meaning "(which is) to be
carried out".

Contents [hide]
1 Gerunds in various languages
2 Gerunds in English
2.1 Formation


2.2 Examples of use
2.3 Distinction from other uses of the -ing form
2.4 Gerunds with a specified subject
2.5 Verb patterns with the gerund
2.5.1 Verbs followed by a gerund or a to-infinitive
2.5.1.1 With little change in meaning
2.5.1.2 With a change in meaning
2.6 Borrowings of English gerunds in other languages
3 In popular culture
4 See also
5 References
6 External links
Gerunds in various languages[edit]
Meanings of the term gerund as used in relation to various languages are listed
below.

As applied to English, it refers to the -ing form of a verb when it is used, as a
noun (for example, the verb reading in the sentence "I enjoy reading.").[1] See
the sections below for further detail.
As applied to German, Dutch, and the other continental West Germanic
languages it refers to a neuter verbal noun that is identical or similar in form to
the infinitive.
As applied to French, it refers either to the adverbial participlealso called the
gerundiveor to the present adjectival participle.


As applied to Italian, it refers to an adverbial participle (a verbal adverb), called
the gerundio, formed by appending -ando or -endo, to the verb stem, like how
litigare becomes litigando and cadere becomes cadendo.
As applied to Latin, its form is based on the participle ending, similarly to
English. The ns ending is replaced with -ndus, and the preceding or is
shortened. However, the gerund is only ever seen in the accusative form (-
ndum), genitive form (-ndi), dative form (-ndo) or ablative form (-ndo). (See
Latin conjugation.) If the gerund is needed in the nominative form, the present
infinitive is used instead.
As applied to Macedonian, it refers to the verb noun formed by adding the
suffix - (-jki) to the verb form, like in (jade, he eats) (jadejki,
while eating).
As applied to Japanese, it designates verb and verbals adjective forms in
dictionary form paired with the referral particle no, which turns the verbal into
a concept or property noun, or also can refer to the -te form of a verb.
As applied to Portuguese, it refers to an adverbial participle (a verbal adverb),
called gerndio.
As applied to Romanian, it refers to an adverbial participle (a verbal adverb),
called the gerunziu, formed by appending -nd or -ind, to the verb stem, like in
cntnd/fugind".
As applied to Spanish, it refers to an adverbial participle (a verbal adverb),
called in Spanish the gerundio.
As applied to Turkish, it refers to the Turkish verbal nouns formed by
appending -ma or -me, depending on vowel harmony,( not to confuse with the
negational -ma postfix.)
As applied to Persian, it refers to the verb's action noun, known as the ism-
masdar form (Persian: ).
As applied to Arabic, it refers to the verb's action noun, known as the masdar
form (Arabic: ). This form ends in a tanwin and is generally the
equivalent of the -ing ending in English.


As applied to Hebrew, it refers either to the verb's action noun, or to the part
of the infinitive following the infinitival prefix (also called the infinitival
construct).
In other languages, it may refer to almost any non-finite verb form; however, it
most often refers to an action noun, by analogy with its use as applied to
English or Latin.

Gerunds in English[edit]
In English, the gerund is one of the uses of the form of the verb ending in -ing
(for details of its formation and spelling, see English verbs). This same verb
form has other uses besides the gerund: it can serve as a present participle
(used adjectivally or adverbially), and as a pure verbal noun.

A gerund behaves as a verb within a clause (so that it may be modified by an
adverb or have an object); but the resulting clause as a whole (sometimes
consisting of only one word, the gerund itself) functions as a noun within the
larger sentence.

For example, consider the sentence "Eating this cake is easy." Here the gerund
is the verb eating, which takes an object this cake. The entire clause eating this
cake is then used as a noun, which in this case serves as the subject of the
larger sentence.


An item such as eating this cake in the foregoing example is an example of a
non-finite verb phrase; however, because phrases of this type do not require a
subject, it is also a complete clause. (Traditionally such an item would be
referred to as a phrase, but in modern linguistics it has become common to call
it a clause.) A gerund clause such as this is one of the types of non-finite clause.



Formation[edit]
A gerund has four forms two for the active voice and two for the passive:[2]

Active Passive
Present or Continuous Loving Being loved
Perfect Having loved Having been loved
Examples of use [edit]
The following sentences illustrate some uses of gerund clauses, showing how
such a clause serves as a noun within the larger sentence. In some cases the
clause consists of just the gerund (although in many such cases the word could
equally be analyzed as a pure verbal noun).
Swimming is fun. (gerund as subject of the sentence)
I like swimming. (gerund as direct object)
I never gave swimming all that much effort. (gerund as indirect object)
Eating biscuits in front of the television is one way to relax. (gerund clause as
subject)
Do you fancy going out? (gerund clause as direct object)
On being elected president, he moved with his family to the capital. (gerund
clause as complement of a preposition)
Using gerunds of the appropriate auxiliary verbs, one can form gerund clauses
that express perfect aspect and passive voice:

Being deceived can make someone feel angry. (passive)
Having read the book once before makes me more prepared. (perfect)
He is ashamed of having been gambling all night. (perfect progressive aspect)


For more detail on when it is appropriate to use a gerund, see Verb patterns
with the gerund below, and also Uses of English verb forms: Gerund.

Distinction from other uses of the -ing form[edit]
Gerunds are distinguished grammatically from other uses of a verb's -ing form:
the present participle (which is a non-finite verb form like the gerund, but is
adjectival or adverbial in function), and the pure verbal noun or deverbal noun.

The distinction between gerund and present participle is illustrated in the
following sentences:
John suggested asking Bill. (asking Bill is the object of the verb, i.e. a noun, so
asking is a gerund)
I heard John asking Bill. (asking Bill is adjectival, describing John, so asking is a
participle)
The distinction between the gerund and the pure verbal (deverbal) noun is that
the gerund itself behaves as a verb, forming a verb phrase which is then used
as a noun, whereas the pure noun does not in any way behave grammatically
as a verb.[3] This is illustrated in the following examples:

I like playing football. (playing takes an object, so is a gerund)
Her playing of the Bach fugues was inspiring. (playing takes a prepositional
phrase rather than an object; not a gerund)
For more details and examples of the distinctions introduced here, see -ing:
uses.

Gerunds with a specified subject [edit]
A gerund cannot take a grammatical subject as a finite verb does. (The -ing
verb form can take a subject in nominative absolute constructions such as The


day being over, ..., but here it is a present participle rather than a gerund.)
Normally the subject of the gerund is considered unspecified, or is understood
to be the same as the subject of the main clause: in a sentence like "Meg likes
eating apricots", the subject of eating is understood to be the same as the
subject of the main clause, namely Meg what Meg likes is a situation where
she herself is eating apricots (see also raising verb). However in other cases it is
necessary to specify explicitly who or what is to be understood as the subject
of the gerund.

Many prescriptive grammarians prefer the subject of such a gerund to be
expressed using the possessive form, since the gerund clause serves as a noun
phrase. Hence:

We enjoyed their singing. (i.e. the singing that was done by them)
The cat's licking the cream was not generally appreciated. (i.e. the licking that
was done by the cat)
We were delighted at Paul's being awarded the prize. (i.e. the awarding of the
prize to Paul)
The above construction is common in formal English; however in informal
English it is often more usual to use just the noun or noun phrase (in the
objective case, in the case of personal pronouns) to indicate the subject,
without any possessive marker (some say that construction is the correct
formal usage).


We enjoyed them singing.
The cat licking the cream was not generally appreciated.
We were delighted at Paul being awarded the prize.


The above usage, though common, is criticized by some prescriptivists, since it
apparently places two noun phrases (the agent and the gerund clause)
together without any indication of their syntactic relation. It is compared with
a superficially identical construction in which the -ing form is a present
participle, and it is entirely appropriate for it to be preceded by a noun phrase,
since the participial clause can be taken to qualify that noun phrase:

I saw the cat licking the cream. (i.e. I saw the cat, and the cat was licking the
cream)
However others say that it is entirely acceptable to express the subject of the
gerund with just the noun or the noun phrase in the nominative case or in the
objective case, since the gerund is not a deverbal noun, but a verbal noun, i.e.,
a normal verb in a dependent noun clause.

The use of a non-possessive noun to precede a gerund is said to arise as a
result of confusion with the above usage with a participle, and is thus
sometimes called fused participle[4] or geriple.[5] This construction represents
common informal usage with gerunds; however, if the prescriptive rule is
followed, the difference between the two forms may be used to make a slight
distinction in meaning:

The teacher's shouting startled the student. (shouting is a gerund, the shouting
startled the student)
The teacher shouting startled the student. (shouting can be interpreted as a
participle, qualifying the teacher; the teacher startled the student by shouting)
I don't like Jim's drinking wine. (I don't like the drinking)
I don't like Jim drinking wine. (I don't like Jim when he is drinking wine)
In some cases, particularly with a non-personal subject, the use of the
possessive before a gerund may be considered redundant even in quite a


formal register. For example, "There is no chance of the snow falling" (rather
than the prescriptively correct "There is no chance of the snow's falling").

Verb patterns with the gerund[edit]
Verbs that are often followed by a gerund include admit, adore, anticipate,
appreciate, avoid, carry on, consider, contemplate, delay, deny, describe,
detest, dislike, enjoy, escape, fancy, feel, finish, give, hear, imagine, include,
justify, listen to, mention, mind, miss, notice, observe, perceive, postpone,
practice, quit, recall, report, resent, resume, risk, see, sense, sleep, stop,
suggest, tolerate and watch. Additionally, prepositions are often followed by a
gerund.

For example:

I will never quit smoking.
We postponed making any decision.
After two years of analyzing, we finally made a decision.
We heard whispering.
They denied having avoided me.
He talked me into coming to the party.
They frightened her out of voicing her opinion.
Verbs followed by a gerund or a to-infinitive[edit]
With little change in meaning[edit]
advise, recommend and forbid:



These are followed by a to-infinitive when there is an object as well, but by a
gerund otherwise.

The police advised us not to enter the building, for a murder had occurred. (Us
is the object of advised.)
The police advised against our entering the building. (Our is used for the
gerund entering.)
consider, contemplate and recommend:

These verbs are followed by a to-infinitive only in the passive or with an object
pronoun.

People consider her to be the best. She is considered to be the best.
I am considering sleeping over, if you do not mind.
begin, continue, start; hate, like, love, prefer

With would, the verbs hate, like, love, and prefer are usually followed by the
to-infinitive.

I would like to work there. (more usual than working)
When talking about sports, there is usually a difference in meaning between
the infinitive and gerund (see the next section).

With a change in meaning[edit]
like, love, prefer



In some contexts, following these verbs with a to-infinitive when the subject of
the first verb is the subject of the second verb provides more clarity than a
gerund.

I like to box. (I enjoy doing it myself.)
I like boxing. (Either I enjoy watching it, I enjoy doing it myself, or the idea of
boxing is otherwise appealing.)
I do not like gambling, but I do like to gamble."
dread, hate and cannot bear:

These verbs are followed by a to-infinitive when talking subjunctively (often
when using to think), but by a gerund when talking about general dislikes.

I dread / hate to think what she will do.
I dread / hate seeing him.
I cannot bear to see you suffer like this. (You are suffering now.)
I cannot bear being pushed around in crowds. (I never like that.)
forget and remember:

When these have meanings that are used to talk about the future from the
given time, the to-infinitive is used, but when looking back in time, the gerund.

She forgot to tell me her plans. (She did not tell me, although she should have.)
She forgot telling me her plans. (She told me, but then forgot having done so.)


I remembered to go to work. (I remembered that I needed to go to work.)
I remembered going to work. (I remembered that I went to work.)
go on:

After winning the semi-finals, he went on to play in the finals. (He completed
the semi-finals and later played in the finals.)
He went on giggling, not having noticed the teacher entered. (He continued
doing so.)
mean:

I did not mean to scare you off. (I did not intend to scare you off.)
Taking a new job in the city meant leaving behind her familiar surroundings. (If
she took the job, she would have to leave behind her familiar surroundings.)
regret:

We regret to inform you that you have failed your exam. (polite or formal form
of apology)
I very much regret saying what I said. (I wish that I had not said that.)
try:

When a to-infinitive is used, the subject is shown to make an effort at
something, attempt or endeavor to do something. If a gerund is used, the
subject is shown to attempt to do something in testing to see what might
happen.




Please try to remember to post my letter.
I have tried being stern, but to no avail.
stop, quit:

When the infinitive is used after 'stop' or 'quit', it means that the subject stops
one activity and starts the activity indicated by the infinitive. If the gerund is
used, it means that the subject stops the activity indicated by the gerund.

She stopped to smell the flowers.
She stopped smelling the flowers.
Or more concisely:

She stopped walking to smell the flowers.
He quit working there to travel abroad.
Borrowings of English gerunds in other languages[edit]
English verb forms ending in -ing are sometimes borrowed into other
languages. In some cases they become pseudo-anglicisms, taking on new
meanings or uses which are not found in English. For instance, camping means
"campsite" in many languages, while parking often means a parking lot. For
more details and examples, see -ing words in other languages.



In popular culture[edit]
In the Molesworth books by Geoffrey Willans and Ronald Searle, Searle
included a series of cartoons on the "private life of the gerund",[6] intended to


parody the linguistic snobbery of Latin teachers' striving after strict
grammatical correctness and the difficulty experienced by students in
comprehending the construction.

Owen Johnson's "Lawrenceville Stories" feature a Latin teacher who constantly
demands that his students determine whether a given word is a gerund or a
gerundive.

In an episode of Dan Vs., "The Ninja", after Dan's milk carton exploded from
the ninja's shuriken, a teenager said to Dan "Drinking problem much?" and Dan
complained that the sentence had no verb, just a gerund.[citation needed]

In the shout outs at the beginning of his song "Fuck Shit Stack", Reggie Watts
asks "Where my gerunds at?" as a satirical jab at the stereotypical grammatical
rules of rap.[7]

See also[edit]
Gerundive
Infinitive
Non-finite verb
Participle
Verbal noun
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "Merriam-Websterdefinition". WordNet 1.7.1. Retrieved 2014-03-
19. "A noun formed from a verb (such as the '-ing' form of an English verb
when used as a noun)."


Jump up ^ F T Wood, 1961, "NESFIELD'S ENGLISH GRAMMAR, COMPOSITION
AND USAGE, MACMILLAN AND COMPANY LTD., p 78 "
Jump up ^ Re: Post Hey man, I gots ta know (Gerund versus gerundive), Phil
White, Mon August 7, 2006 1:35 pm
Jump up ^ H.W. Fowler, A Dictionary of Modern English Usage, 1926
Jump up ^ Penguin guide to plain English, Harry Blamires (Penguin Books Ltd.,
2000) ISBN 978-0-14-051430-8 pp.144-146
Jump up ^ "The Private Life of the Gerund". Molesworth.; [1]
Jump up ^ "Fuck Shit Stack"

Gerund as simple noun: The Gerund funtions in grammatical cases like any
other
noun; but it retains its verbal force and may control a direct object or be
modified by an
adverb:
Gerunds and Infinitives Part 1

1. A gerund is a noun made from a verb by adding "-ing." The gerund form of
the verb "read" is "reading." You can use a gerund as the subject, the
complement, or the object of a sentence.

Examples:
Reading helps you learn English. subject of sentence
Her favorite hobby is reading. complement of sentence
I enjoy reading. object of sentence
Gerunds can be made negative by adding "not."



Examples:
He enjoys not working.
The best thing for your health is not smoking.
2. Infinitives are the "to" form of the verb. The infinitive form of "learn" is "to
learn." You can also use an infinitive as the subject, the complement, or the
object of a sentence.

Examples:

To learn is important. subject of sentence
The most important thing is to learn. complement of sentence
He wants to learn. object of sentence
Infinitives can be made negative by adding "not."

Examples:

I decided not to go.
The most important thing is not to give up.
3. Both gerunds and infinitives can be used as the subject or the complement
of a sentence. However, as subjects or complements, gerunds usually sound
more like normal, spoken English, whereas infinitives sound more abstract. In
the following sentences, gerunds sound more natural and would be more
common in everyday English. Infinitives emphasize the possibility or potential
for something and sound more philosophical. If this sounds confusing, just


remember that 90% of the time, you will use a gerund as the subject or
complement of a sentence.

Examples:

Learning is important. normal subject
To learn is important. abstract subject - less common
The most important thing is learning. normal complement
The most important thing is to learn. abstract complement - less common
4. As the object of a sentence, it is more difficult to choose between a gerund
or an infinitive. In such situations, gerunds and infinitives are not normally
interchangeable. Usually, the main verb in the sentence determines whether
you use a gerund or an infinitive.

Examples:

He enjoys swimming. "Enjoy" requires a gerund.
He wants to swim. "Want" requires an infinitive.
5. Some verbs are followed by gerunds as objects. List of Verbs Followed by
Gerunds

Examples:

She suggested going to a movie.
Mary keeps talking about her problems.


6. Some verbs are followed by infinitives. List of Verbs Followed by Infinitives

Examples:

She wants to go to a movie.
Mary needs to talk about her problems.

Gerunds
Summary:
This handout provides a detailed overview (including descriptions and
examples) of gerunds, participles, and infinitives.
Contributors:Purdue OWL
Last Edited: 2011-12-09 01:47:54
A gerund is a verbal that ends in -ing and functions as a noun. The term verbal
indicates that a gerund, like the other two kinds of verbals, is based on a verb
and therefore expresses action or a state of being. However, since a gerund
functions as a noun, it occupies some positions in a sentence that a noun
ordinarily would, for example: subject, direct object, subject complement, and
object of preposition.

Gerund as subject:

Traveling might satisfy your desire for new experiences. (Traveling is the
gerund.)
The study abroad program might satisfy your desire for new experiences. (The
gerund has been removed.)


Gerund as direct object:

They do not appreciate my singing. (The gerund is singing.)
They do not appreciate my assistance. (The gerund has been removed)
Gerund as subject complement:

My cat's favorite activity is sleeping. (The gerund is sleeping.)
My cat's favorite food is salmon. (The gerund has been removed.)
Gerund as object of preposition:

The police arrested him for speeding. (The gerund is speeding.)
The police arrested him for criminal activity. (The gerund has been removed.)
A gerund phrase is a group of words consisting of a gerund and the modifier(s)
and/or (pro)noun(s) or noun phrase(s) that function as the direct object(s),
indirect object(s), or complement(s) of the action or state expressed in the
gerund, such as:

The gerund phrase functions as the subject of the sentence.

Finding a needle in a haystack would be easier than what we're trying to do.
Finding (gerund)
a needle (direct object of action expressed in gerund)
in a haystack (prepositional phrase as adverb)



The gerund phrase functions as the direct object of the verb appreciate.

I hope that you appreciate my offering you this opportunity.
my (possessive pronoun adjective form, modifying the gerund)
offering (gerund)
you (indirect object of action expressed in gerund)
this opportunity (direct object of action expressed in gerund)

The gerund phrase functions as the subject complement.

Tom's favorite tactic has been jabbering away to his constituents.
jabbering away to (gerund)
his constituents (direct object of action expressed in gerund)

The gerund phrase functions as the object of the preposition for.

You might get in trouble for faking an illness to avoid work.
faking (gerund)
an illness (direct object of action expressed in gerund)
to avoid work (infinitive phrase as adverb)

The gerund phrase functions as the subject of the sentence.



Being the boss made Jeff feel uneasy.
Being (gerund)
the boss (subject complement for Jeff, via state of being expressed in gerund)

Punctuation

A gerund virtually never requires any punctuation with it.

Points to remember:

A gerund is a verbal ending in -ing that is used as a noun.
A gerund phrase consists of a gerund plus modifier(s), object(s), and/or
complement(s).
Gerunds and gerund phrases virtually never require punctuation.