What is the object of a gerund?

1 Answer
Alan P.
Apr 25, 2016

If by "object of a gerund" you mean "purpose of a gerund", then a gerund is a way of converting a verb into a noun (by adding the ...ing suffix).

Explanation:

If you meant "object" in the sense of a grammatical construct then the expression "object of a gerund" doesn't have any meaning. "Objects" are (grammatically) nouns and "gerunds" are nouns.
"Gerunds" can be (grammatical) "objects" (or "subjects") but they don't have "objects".

Examples of gerunds:
color(white)("XXX")XXXClimbing the hill required a lot of effort.
color(white)("XXXXXX")XXXXXX(used as a subject)
color(white)("XXX")XXXThe boy enjoys playing.
color(white)("XXXXXX")XXXXXX(used as an object)

"Gerunds" could be "objects" of prepositions:
color(white)("XXX")XXX...the disadvantage of overeating..
(but this doesn't seem to be what was being asked.

Related questions
See all questions in Nouns
Impact of this question
9577 views around the world
You can reuse this answer
Creative Commons License