Gerund versus Verbal noun
Hello, everyone!

The gerund can be easily confused with the verbal noun. In some cases it is impossible to tell whether you are dealing with a gerund or with a verbal noun. What is the way I can distinguish between the gerund and the verbal noun in most cases?

Thank you very much!

Question

Gerund versus Verbal noun
Hello, everyone!

The gerund can be easily confused with the verbal noun. In some cases it is impossible to tell whether you are dealing with a gerund or with a verbal noun. What is the way I can distinguish between the gerund and the verbal noun in most cases?

Thank you very much!

Answer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbal_noun

Gerund is a subcategory of verbal nouns.

Answer

I'll give it a try.

Off the top of my head I'd say:

The Gerund:
1 has tense and voice forms, so the forms ‘being done’, ‘having done’, ‘having been done’ cannot be nouns.
2 can take a direct object; so an ‘-ing’ form followed by a direct object (reading a letter) cannot be a noun.
3 can be modified by an adverb; so an ‘-ing’ form modified by an adverb (reading fast) cannot be a noun.
4 can be part of an aspective verbal predicate; so an ‘-ing’ form following the verbs ‘begin’, ‘stop’ ‘go on’, ‘keep’, ‘continue’ are gerunds.

The Verbal noun:
1 can be used in the plural;
2 can have an article;
3 can be followed by a prepositional phrase in an attributive function;
4 can be modified by an adjective, a demonstrative pronoun or an indefinite pronoun.