The gerund and the verbal noun compared

Although formed in the same way as the gerund, the verbal noun is another part of speech and has no verbal features at all. The following table shows the main differences between the gerund and the verbal noun.

The characteristics of the gerund and the verbal noun

Forms Grammatical characteristics		The gerund	The verbal noun
MORPHOLOGY	Voice and perfect	being done, having done	---
	The plural form	---	sufferings, comings and goings
S Y N T A X	Direct object	I like doing morning exercises.	---
	Of-phrase and adjectival attributes	---	The doing of morning exercises was very good for me. The regular doing of morning exercises
	Adverbs as a modifier	Doing morning exercises regularly will improve your health.	---
	Articles	---	The doing of morning exercises. The acting was perfect.

From the table we can see that the distinctive features of the gerund are its verbal categories in the sphere of morphology and its verbal combinability. The distinctive features of the verbal noun are its nominal category of number and its noun combinability. It must be taken into consideration that a verbal noun is an abstract noun, and the use of the article and the plural form is determined by the requirements of the meaning and context.

It is more difficult to discriminate between a gerund and a verbal noun in cases where the verbal characteristics of the gerund are not apparent. This happens mainly when an -ing form is used as a single word without any modifiers or with such modifiers as occur with both the gerund and the verbal noun (His coming was unexpected. Her acting was perfect). In such cases the meaning of the form should be taken into account. Thus a gerund suggests a process, an activity, whereas a verbal noun denotes kinds of occupation (skating as compared to hockey), an art form (acting, painting), a branch of knowledge (engineering, spelling as opposed to pronunciation and as a synonym for orthography).

It goes without saying that an -ing form is a pure noun when it denotes an object, often the result of activity (a building - a house; a drawing, a painting - a picture). In such cases a noun unlike a gerund, may also combine with numerals, as in two drawings, four buildings, etc.

Exercises:

1. Use the indefinite gerund of the verb in brackets in the active or passive voice:

1. He looked forward to (to meet) his parents. 2. You can't be afraid of (to hurt) unless you've been hurt. 3. He took his time about (to answer). 4. But in fear of (to recognize) she lowered her gaze. 5. So I see. You're good at (to make) yourself at home. 6. Jack would have gone to his bedroom without (to see). 7. My sister would never leave without (to see) me. 8. He had got out of the habit of (to ask) ques­tions by demonstrators. 9. I seem to remember (to tell) not to grumble by someone. 10. At his departure Rose had con­tinued to weep, largely through fury at (to leave) alone with Nurse Williams.