Detective Haika

Think of gerunds as verbs in noun form.

Like nouns, gerunds can be the subject, object or complement of a sentence:

• Sailing costs a lot of money.
• I don't like thinking.
• My favourite occupation is reading.

But, like a verb, a gerund can also have an object itself. In this case, the whole expression [gerund + object] can be the subject, object or complement of the sentence.

• Sailing with your friends costs a lot of money.
• I don't like thinking of you.
• My favourite occupation is reading detective stories.

Like nouns, we can use gerunds with adjectives (including articles and other determiners):

• pointless questioning
• a settling of debts
• the making of visual novel

But when we use a gerund with an article, it does not usually take a direct object:

• Hayate has a settling of debts. (not a settling debts)
• The making of visual novel was expensive.
• Detective Gumshoe ask a very pointless questioning.

If we want to use a verb after a preposition, it must be a gerund. It is impossible to use an infinitive after a preposition. So for example, we say:

• Inspector Megure will call you after arriving at the crime scene.
• Naruto is looking forward to meeting Sasuke.
• Konata always dreams about going on vacation.

Notice that you could replace all the above gerunds with "real" nouns:

• Inspector Megure will call you after your arrival at the crime scene.
• Naruto is looking forward to his Ramen.
• Konata always dreams about Anime.

We sometimes use one verb after another verb. Often the second verb is in the infinitive form, for example:

• I want to eat.

But sometimes the second verb must be in gerund form, for example:

• I dislike eating.

This depends on the first verb. Here is a list of verbs that are usually followed by a verb in gerund form:
admit, appreciate, avoid, carry on, consider, defer, delay, deny, detest, dislike, endure, enjoy, escape, excuse, face, feel like, finish, forgive, give up, can't help, imagine, involve, leave off, mention, mind, miss, postpone, practise, put off, report, resent, risk, can't stand, suggest, understand.

Look at these examples:

• Jinta is considering having a holiday.
• Mayaka can't help falling in love with Fukube.
• Shizuku can't stand not seeing Haru.

We often use a gerund after the verbs need, require and want. In this case, the gerund has a passive sense:

• Oreki has three shirts that need washing. (need to be washed)
• The manga requires signing. (needs to be signed)
• Rivaille wants repainting. (needs to be repainted)