What is a gerund?

[ChristopherSea]

Who knew people had such strong feelings about the Ings? I love this site, so much to think about.

Hey Ella, you make it a better place. Thanks for always playing the Ku-choo-choo with me!

My take on 'ings' are this: Whether gerunds, verbs, adjectives, too many strung together create a loathsome 'sawing' sound and dilute the words they append.

From a review: 'Clawing, ripping and towering' is a no-go. INGs weaken their root word and create a real 'sawing' sound. Avoid them where possible. Claw, rip and tower is infinitely more effective!

Cheers/Chris

Now that you made me read this, I have to point out that in the sentence, "I despise Leanne's chastising ways," chastising is a participle.

In the sentence, "I am tired of all the pedantic chastising on this site (mostly by Leanne)," it is a gerund.

Hope that helps.

Ha ha... Right, when an 'ing' makes a verb a noun.