Gerunds vs. Nouns: What's the Difference?

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 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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