Prepositional verbA part of speech that expresses an action or a state. E.g.: John seldom plays tennis.s consist of a verb and a preposition (or sometimes more than one). As prepositions are followed by nounA part of speech that names a person, place or thing. E.g.: The koala is a marsupial. ("koala", "marsupial") phrases, so are prepositional verbs. Therefore the verbs listed below are all followed by gerunds.

Some of these structureThe way in which the parts of a sentence, clause or expression are arranged. E.g.: make somebody + infinitive in "The teacher made me rewrite the composition."s could have been mentioned earlier (The gerund after prepositions), but it might be worth learning them separately as idioms.

admit, anticipate, appreciate, avoid, delay, deny, discuss, enjoy, escape, fancy, finish, forgive, give up, involve, keep, mention, mind, miss, postpone, practise, prevent, put off, quit, recall, recollect, report, resent, resist, risk, save, stand, suggest, tolerate, understand etc.

Since the gerund and the present participle have the same forms, sometimes it is difficult to decide whether an -ing form in a sentence is a gerund or a participle.

To express purpose, the gerund often modifies another nounA part of speech that names a person, place or thing. E.g.: The koala is a marsupial. ("koala", "marsupial") in compound structureThe way in which the parts of a sentence, clause or expression are arranged. E.g.: make somebody + infinitive in "The teacher made me rewrite the composition."s:

drinking water
chewing tobacco
swimming dress

A subjectThe person or thing that performs the action of a verb or that is described by a verb. E.g.: Andy has never been to Brunei. ("Andy") complement can be a nounA part of speech that names a person, place or thing. E.g.: The koala is a marsupial. ("koala", "marsupial") which follows a linking verbA part of speech that expresses an action or a state. E.g.: John seldom plays tennis. (for example, be) and complements the subject of the sentence. If we want to express an actionA general term expressing that somebody or something does something, we have to transform a verb into a noun. In this case we use a gerund.

Since the gerund can be considered as a nounA part of speech that names a person, place or thing. E.g.: The koala is a marsupial. ("koala", "marsupial"), it can follow prepositions.

Transitive verbA verb that has a direct object. E.g.: I know you.s are followed by an objectA person or thing that is affected by the action of a verb or involved in the result of an action.. Usually this object is a nounA part of speech that names a person, place or thing. E.g.: The koala is a marsupial. ("koala", "marsupial"), but sometimes, when we talk about an actionA general term expressing that somebody or something does something, we have to transform a verb into a noun. The most common way to do this is to form a gerund.

Usually the subjectThe person or thing that performs the action of a verb or that is described by a verb. E.g.: Andy has never been to Brunei. ("Andy") of a sentence is a nounA part of speech that names a person, place or thing. E.g.: The koala is a marsupial. ("koala", "marsupial"). However, in some cases, when we talk about an actionA general term expressing that somebody or something does something, we have to transform a verbA part of speech that expresses an action or a state. E.g.: John seldom plays tennis. into a noun. The most common way to do this is to form a gerund.

accuse sy of, admit (to), apologise for, boast about, confess (to), complain (to sy) about, deny, insist on, prohibit, suggest, warn sy about etc.