Gerund questions

Question

Hi!
I have a few problems with some qestions I have to answer as a homework in my English class.
Firstly, what is wrong with the sentence "He's always shouting." and secondly, what is the difference between "I wear" and "I'm wearing" or rather when do you use which form?

It would be really nice if you could help me.

Bye, Chu'Si

Taiwandave · Accepted Answer

Many students are confused about when the present participle of a verb (the verb plus –ing) should be called a gerund. So before answering your specific questions, let’s review what a gerund is.

A gerund is a present participle that is used as a noun:
Smoking is bad for your health.
Your driving is terrible.
He enjoys running.

Let's look at the example you gave:
He’s always shouting.

In the above, the present participle “shouting” is being used to form the present progressive tense. It is not being used as a noun, so it cannot be referred to as a gerund in this sentence.

Here’s a sentence where “shouting” is used as a gerund:
Shouting loudly is unnecessary.

Although it acts like a noun, a gerund can take an object and an adverbial modifier (in the last example, the adverb “loudly” modifies "shouting").

Now let’s look at the second verb you’d asked about. The present participle in “I’m wearing” is again forming the present progressive tense and is not a gerund. If we wanted to use "wearing” as a gerund, we could construct a gerund phrase. A gerund phrase is a group of words that is introduced by a gerund. The entire phrase acts like a noun. For example:

Wearing long dresses is inconvenient.

In this sentence, “wearing long dresses” is a gerund phrase. “Wearing” is the gerund, and “dresses” is its object.

Here’s another example:
Smoking cigarettes is bad for your health.
In the above, “smoking” is a gerund, and “cigarettes” is its object.

Now let’s look at your specific questions. You’d asked what was wrong with the sentence "He’s always shouting."

There is, in fact, NOTHING wrong with it. The present progressive tense is most often used to describe actions that are in progress at the time of speaking, but can also be used with adverbs of frequency (most commonly “always” and “constantly”) to describe habitual actions. Usually these are annoying actions of others that we find irritating. Examples:

She’s always leaving her clothes on the floor.
He’s constantly bothering the other students.

Normally we use the present simple tense to describe habits. The present progressive tense is used only when we wish to make a very emphatic statement about someone's habits that is not intended to be taken literally. For example, if we say, “He is always shouting,” we don’t really mean that he shouts twenty-four hours a day. What we mean is that he shouts very often, and that this is a habit of his that we don’t like.

You’d also asked about the difference in meaning between “I’m wearing” and “I wear”. The present progressive tense (“I’m wearing”) is used to describe an action that is happening at the time of speaking. The present simple tense (“I wear”) describes habits. For example:

I am wearing a dress.
I wear dresses.

The first sentence is in the present progressive tense. It means that you are wearing a dress now. The second sentence is in the present simple tense. It means that dresses are a type of clothing that you sometimes wear. The first is an action. The second is a habit.

I hope that you find the above useful, and good luck!

Suzi · Answer

I'd just say: there is nothing wrong with "he's always shouting" - we hear expressions like that all the time.

Of course, you might not be able to class that as a gerund use - but that is a seperate issue!

ChuSi · Answer

Thanks for your help. It was really useful for me. I also thought that this "He's always shouting." sentence is correct, but the question in my English book was "What is wrong with this sentence?". Maybe we should just find out that it could be correct in certain situations.

Thanks again, Chu'Si

Taiwandave · Answer

I thought I'd add a few more comments about how to spot gerunds.

A gerund (or gerund phrase) is often the object of a preposition. For example:

Tom is good at writing English.

In the above sentence, "writing" is a gerund and "English" is its object. The gerund phrase "writing English" is the object of the preposition "at". The preposition together with its object form the prepositional phrase "at writing English", which acts as an adverb modifying the verb "good".

Here's another example:

She talked to me about studying English.

The gerund phrase "studying English" is the object of the preposition "about". Together they form the prepositional phrase "about studying English".

The best test for whether a verb+ing is a gerund is to imagine replacing it with a noun or pronoun (such as "it"). In the first example, if we were to replace the gerund phrase "writing English" with another noun, or with "it", the sentence still makes sense:

Tom is good at French.
Tom is good at it.

If after making this substitution a sentence doesn't make sense, the verb+ing is not acting as a gerund. Take the following example:

Happily singing a cheerful song, the man walked down the street.

Looking at this, a student might guess that "singing a cheerful song" is a gerund phrase. Since a gerund phrase acts like a noun, the sentence should still make sense if we replace the phrase with the pronoun "it". Let's try:

Happily it, the man walked down the street.

This makes no sense at all! That's because "singing a cheerful song" isn't a gerund phrase, but a present participial phrase used as an adjective to modify "the man".

After a bit of practice, you will have no trouble distinguishing present participles that are gerunds from those that are performing other functions.

Judy7007 · Answer

I need some help please. I have to form some words using "a noun and a gerund making one item". Can you please tell me if I am on the right track with these answers?
Thank you in advance for your help

Miriam · Answer

Hello, Judy

You say you were asked for compound words consisting of "a noun and a gerund". The examples you give reverse that order. If you're sure that won't be a problem, then you're on the right track.
Compounds in which the gerund is the second part of the word are also possible, that's why I call your attention to that (i.e. story-telling).

I think you meant "sleeping bag"?

Here are a few other compound nouns of the same type: walking stick, dancing shoes, baking powder, washing machine, carving knife, hiding-place, frying pan, freezing point, reading material.

Miriam

Judy7007 · Answer

Thank you Miriam

(yes, bag it was!)

The question definitely asks for a "noun and a gerund making one item" so I had better be careful as you have pointed out. At present I am having some difficulty thinking of "items" with the words in this order. Crime solving and trout fishing are two I have seen on the internet. Perhaps my brain will get into gear soon and I'll think of some more but any suggestions will be gratefully received! Judy

Miriam · Answer

I'm glad to have been of help, Judy

The nouns you mention are ok.

Here are a few others:
book-reviewing, housekeeping, town-planning, oath-taking, letter-writing, dressmaking, horse-riding, sightseeing.

Good luck with your homework!

Miriam

Anonymous · Answer

Difference between I wear and i m wearing is that

I wear is present indefinite tense while i am wearing is present continuous tense

Anonymous · Answer

Thanks Miriam. That helped me as well. I was completely on the wrong track

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