Gerunds Are Cool

This post is just to talk about gerunds.  I think that gerunds are cool.  A gerund is when you use a verb that ends in -ing as a noun. Every time you talk about "my writing", you are using a gerund.

Something about gerunds just strike me the right way.  On the one hand, I find them funny.  They have a silly-sounding name and a silly concept - it's a verb, but we're going to make it be a noun.  On the other hand, I find them deep and awe-some; although the word represents an action, we take a step back and realize that the action itself can be treated as a cohesive thing, which a gerund simultaneously represents.

I don't go out of my way to use gerunds.  I generally don't go out of my way to teach somebody what they actually are unless they really want to know.  We all know how to use gerunds; it's just part of learning the language.  We just don't usually know that it's a thing or that it has a name.

You, though, do.  You are now aware of one of your tools.  You can simplify a phrase by referring to one's "partying skills" instead of a clunkier line like "the skills one uses to have a great time at parties".  More often than not, a gerund is a great way to clean up a heavy sentence.  And if your sentences are all of a healthy weight, then it's a nice way to add some spice to your language by throwing it in for a change.