The word that is formed when ‘ing’ is attached to the present form of a verb and it performs the function of verb and noun at the same time is called gerund.
So Gerund is considered to belong to the Double part of speech, because it works both Verb and Noun at the same time. Since gerunds act like nouns, they can be used as noun-like subject, object, object of preposition and complement of incomplete verb.
✪ Note: Gerund refers to the steady state or work.
Examples:
✪ Swimming is good for health.
✪ Teaching is a good profession.
✪ Reading books is my hobby.
Explanation: In the above sentences, Swimming, Teaching, Reading means work. So those words are known as GERUND.
On the other hand,
Present Participle will always indicate something is going on.
For example:
I heard them singing song (I heard them singing. That is, when they were singing (indicating the running state).
Now let's come to the main discussion
Gerunds to make Noun Compounds by adding before Nouns :
I need a walking stick.
My reading room is neat and clean.
She takes a sleeping pill every night.
They don't use a dining table.
I joined the riding school.
♦♦ Important Note: (very noticeable thing)
In the above five sentences after Gerund, the nouns (walking, room, pill, table, school) but they are not doing the work mentioned in the gerund. If, v-ing would be participles.
For example, in the phrases ‘running car’, ‘flying bird’ and ‘rolling stone’, the car itself is in the running state, the bird itself is in the flying state and the stone itself is in the rolling state. So ‘running’, ‘flying’ and rolling are participles here, not gerunds.
♦♦ On the other hand, in the same way that the noun ‘school’ and ‘college’ are used in such phrases as school teacher, college students. reading, sleeping and dining are used as nouns in the above three sentences. So these are gerunds. There may be more gerund like this.
E.g. Laughing gas, swimming pool, sleeping room, reading room, walking stick, looking glass, fencing sticks, hunting whip, running shoes, a running mill, a calling bell, frying pan, a drawing room, feeding room, a washing machine , a spinning mill etc.
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