Hi everyone. I'm Jennifer from English with Jennifer. It's almost Thanksgiving,
and that means the winter holiday season has pretty much started here in the US. Our stores
are filled with Christmas trees. Recently, I went to a few holiday fairs to support local
artists and organizations. There was red and green everywhere. I even saw Santa Claus. I don't enjoy
celebrating holidays too early, but I have to admit that all the decorations help me get in
the holiday spirit. A viewer recently asked me about nouns versus gerunds. It's an interesting
question. If gerunds behave like nouns, why do we have both? For example, why do we have
these pairs of words? Celebrating-celebration. Decorating-decoration. Thanking-thanks. First
of all, let's remember that gerunds are formed from verbs. We take the base verb and add -ing:
celebrate - celebrating, decorate - decorating. Then we can take the gerund and use it like a
noun. Celebrating holidays is important in my family. A single gerund subject or a gerund
phrase as a subject takes a singular verb. I don't like celebrating too early. A special tradition is
decorating the Christmas tree. So, gerunds can do what nouns do. Gerunds can be subjects, objects,
and complements. One difference is that we don't usually make gerunds plural. That's
something we do with nouns. Nouns can be countable or uncountable. Countable nouns have singular and
plural forms. For example, we can talk about different kinds of celebrations. Do you know
where I see more of a difference between nouns and gerunds? In meaning. For example, a celebration is
an event. Celebrating is an activity. What about "dance" as a noun and the gerund "dancing"? Well,
does it sound more natural to say, "I enjoy dance" or "I enjoy dancing"? If you want
to focus on the activity, you enjoy dancing, right? We enjoy doing activities. In contrast,
maybe you do enjoy dance. Talking about dance generally or abstractly refers to the art form.
A person can study dance or different dance styles. So, gerunds often refer to activities,
but they might also refer to a process. Buying a Christmas tree is not that easy because a number
of choices have to be made. So, the process of buying isn't easy. Although I just said that an
uncountable noun like "dance" can be used in an abstract way, a countable noun, a singular noun,
can be used to refer to a single instance. In high school, I was invited on a special date.
I went to my first Christmas dance when I was 15. The dance was an annual event, and I'm
referring to the one time I went. It's a specific instance. In contrast, when I say I enjoy dancing,
I'm referring to the activity and the experience in general. Consider these examples. I made an
important discovery at that dance. Discovery that I could easily wear high heels with a
tall guy was nice. Which word in bold refers to something specific, something countable? Which
word in bold refers to an experience? The noun "discovery" is countable noun. Discovery. Many
discoveries. Making a discovery is like coming to a realization. It's one instance. The gerund
"discovering" is referring to my experience, and it was a nice experience. So, gerunds can refer
to an activity, a process, or an experience. But please note these are only guidelines,
not rules. There are always exceptions. For example, the researchers shared their findings.
Their findings means their results, their specific discoveries. I'd like to invite you
to take a quiz. Let's find out if you understand when to use a noun and when to use a gerund.
1. At the holiday fair, I saw many decorations.
2. If you enjoy decorating for the holidays,
then now is the time to go shopping and buy lights and ornaments.
3. The weather is beautiful. Let's take a walk.
4. They say walking is good for your health.
5. My day includes a few walks with the dog.
6. I prefer swimming in small lakes. The ocean can be dangerous.
7. Let's go for a swim before the beach gets crowded.
8. I need at least 7 hours of sleep.
9. Sleeping for too long can make you feel unfocused.
10. Leila's travels have taken her all over for the world.
11. Traveling doesn't have to be expensive. "Travel" is also
acceptable.
12, 13 and 14. Don't make the mistake of friending everyone you meet on Facebook.
Why do you need 500 friends? Do you have time to nurture your friendship with that many people?
15. Everyone could use a good friend in difficult
times. That one person can make all the difference.
How did you do? Would you like another challenge? Choose one of these pairs of
words. Create your own examples and share them in the comments.
For more practice at the advanced level, join me on Patreon. That's all for now.
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