Gerund phrase
A gerund phrase is a verb in its -ing form acting as a noun, together with anything it governs, as in 'rowing against the current', so the whole phrase can serve as the subject or the object of a sentence.
Rowing against the current exhausted them. The phrase is the subject of that sentence: you could replace the whole thing with it and the grammar would still hold. That substitution test is what identifies a gerund phrase. If a noun or it fits in its place, it is a gerund.
Gerund phrase examples
A gerund phrase can do any job a noun can do.
- Subject: Checking the locks each night takes her ten minutes.
- Direct object: She hated waiting for the phone to ring.
- Object of a preposition: He was tired of reading the same page.
- Subject complement: Her only job was keeping the fire lit.
A gerund phrase as the subject
As a subject, a gerund phrase is singular, whatever is inside it. Checking the locks takes ten minutes, not take, because the subject is the checking, not the locks. It is easy to get wrong when a plural noun sits right before the verb, so read the phrase as one thing: it takes ten minutes.
Gerund phrase vs participial phrase
An -ing phrase can also be a participial phrase, which describes a noun instead of being one, and the two look identical on the page.
- Rowing against the current, they made no progress. Participial, since it describes they.
- Rowing against the current made no difference. Gerund, since it is the subject.
A bare gerund phrase used as a subject cannot dangle, because it is not describing anyone. A gerund after a preposition at the start of a sentence can, though: After checking the locks, the lights went out never says who checked. That is a dangling modifier.
The editorial caution
The same warning applies as for hidden verbs: a gerund turns an action into a thing, and a paragraph built on gerunds (the waiting, the checking of the road, the not knowing) goes static. Used once, on purpose, that stillness is the effect. Used throughout, it is just a page where nothing moves.
Frequently asked questions
Can a gerund phrase be the subject of a sentence?
Yes. In 'Checking the locks takes ten minutes', the gerund phrase 'checking the locks' is the subject. A gerund phrase used as a subject takes a singular verb, even when it contains a plural noun.
What is the difference between a gerund phrase and a participial phrase?
A gerund phrase is a noun: it names an activity and can be replaced with 'it'. A participial phrase is an adjective: it describes a noun. Both can start with the same -ing word.
Should it be 'his leaving' or 'him leaving'?
Formal usage prefers the possessive before a gerund, as in 'She resented his leaving early.' 'Him leaving' is common in speech and in dialogue, and it is fine there.