Relaxation/Relaxing--NOUN

Question

My trusty dictionary does not list relaxing as a noun, nor does two others I checked.

So I ask the question, which should I use here?

I'm excited about doing lots of relaxing/relaxation in Hawaii.

And

I'm excited about relaxation/relaxing in Hawaii.

Ta,

Eng

Sambda · Accepted Answer

But you are using the word as a verb. The relaxing is some you do, so is a verb.

"I'm excited about doing lots of relaxing in Hawaii."

"I'm excited about relaxing in Hawaii."

But you would say:

"I'm excited about getting lots of relaxation in Hawaii."

The clue are the words "doing" which tells you a verb is correct, or "getting" which tells you a noun is correct.

Mister Micawber · Answer

My trusty dictionary does not list relaxing as a noun, nor does two others I checked.-- They won't if a more standard noun exists. It is a given that '-ing' can form gerunds from verbs. I doubt you will find gerunds listed as nouns for most verbs.

I'm excited about doing lots of relaxing/relaxation in Hawaii.

I'm excited about relaxation/relaxing in Hawaii.

So I ask the question, which should I use here?-- I'd use the -ing form in both places: it is the activity that is the point. On the other hand: Relaxation is an important part of a healthy life, I'm excited about the new relaxation exercises I'm learning, etc.

Mister Micawber · Answer

PS: Your rule does not work very well, Samda:

I'm excited about doing lots of homework.

I'm excited about getting started with this homework.

etc.

As objects of prepositions (of, about), 'relaxing' must be a noun, although it is formed from a verb.

English 1b3 · Answer

Both good answers. Thank you. Though I knew relaxing was right, I offered the variations, making the question simpler to answer, I think.

Relaxation/Relaxing--NOUN

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