practical english

Question

Which of the following sentences contains a gerund phrase ( not a verb phrase or just a gerund by itself) ? a) The dog was punished for chewing on the slipper b) The dog was barking all night long c) Loitering is illegal in some places d) He is driving me crazy

Answer 1

The only gerund phrase is chewing on the slipper found in a) (here actually chewing on is arguably a two-word transitive verb whose direct object, the slipper, is thus obligatory).

 

In b) and d), barking and driving respectively are not gerunds but the -ing forms of main verbs in the progressive aspect (as evidenced by the presence of the respective was and is preceding auxiliaries), whereas while Loitering in c) is in fact a gerund it is, in the words of your question, "a gerund by itself" (though I would maintain it is still a gerund phrase, just one that happens to consist of a single word).