Chapter 8. Gerunds

1. Chapter 8. Gerunds • Gerund (= verbal noun) is a verb of present participle form (-ing form) that function as a noun. It is from Latin, gerendum, gerundive of gerere, meaning carry on. There are five basic functions of gerund: 1) as a subject of a verb, 2) as an object of a verb, 3) as an object of a preposition, 4) as a complement of a verb to be, and 5) as an appositive. Gerund as a subject of a verb • Examples: 1. Simultaneous planting can increase land productivity. (“planting” is a gerund used as the subject for the verb “can increase”). 2. Threshing wet paddy can be done by manually or using a pedal thresher. (‘threshing” is a gerund used as the subject for the verb “can be done”). 3. Spraying the crops regularly will decrease disease problems. (“spraying” is a gerund used as the subject for the verb “will decrease”). 4. Recombining gene of one plant with the gene of another plant will result in new plant variety. (“recombining” is a gerund used as the subject for the verb “will result in”). 5. Studying plant photosynthesis supports our understanding on plant metabolism. (“studying” is a gerund used as the subject for the verb “supports”).

2. Gerund as an object of a verb 1. Farmers are considering rotating their crops in the next growing season. (“rotating” is a gerund used as the object for the verb “considering”). 2. Jono enjoys working as an agricultural extension officer. (“working” is a gerund used as the object for the verb “enjoys”). 3. The plant breeder continued doing research on plant genetics improvement. (“doing” is a gerund used as the object for the verb “continued”). 4. They keep spraying the pesticide using a hand sprayer. (“spraying” is a gerund used as the object for the verb “keep”). 5. My uncle just finished harvesting vegetables. (“harvesting” is a gerund used as the object for the verb “ finished”).

3. Gerund as an object of a preposition 1. They thresh the rice by beating them on a wooden board. (“beating” is a gerund used as the object for the preposition “by”). 2. Another method of threshing wet paddy has been the use of a pedal thresher. (“threshing” is a gerund used as the object for the preposition “of”). 3. A knife called “ani-ani” is a traditional tool used for harvesting local rice variety. (“harvesting” is a gerund used as the object for the preposition “for”). 4. The plants are fertilized after being pruned. (“being” is a gerund used as the object for the preposition “after”). 5. Before preceding the lesson, I would like to tell you a good news. (“preceding” is a gerund used as the object for the preposition “before”). • The following are some prepositions that normally take gerund as their object: on, in, at, for, from, after, before, by, through, via, below, under, above, with, without.

4. Gerund as a complement of a verb to be 1. His responsibility is distributing water to all the farms in the village. (“distributing” is a gerund used as the complement of the verb “is”). 2. My hobbies are gardening, rock climbing and travelling. (“gardening, rock climbing, travelling” are gerunds used as the complement of the verb “are”). 3. The purpose of building a technical irrigation system is providing enough water for the rice field. (“providing” is a gerund used as the complement of the verb “is”). 4. His job is giving advice and guidance to farmers in rural areas. (“giving” is a gerund used as the complement of the verb “is”). 5. The main source of farmers’ income in TangkitBaru is growing pineapple. • (“growing” is a gerund used as the complement of the verb “is”).

5. Gerund as an appositive 1. He loves his job – giving information on the need for farm mechanization to the farmers. (“giving” is a gerund used in opposition to the noun “job”). 2. My ambition – writing the history of traditional agriculture in Kubu tribe – will soon be realized. (“writing” is a gerund used in opposition to the noun “ambition”). 3. The members of the KUD always remember their obligation – paying the contribution on time. (“paying” is a gerund used in opposition to the noun “obligation”). 4. His research topic – studying the distribution and botanical systematic of iron wood in Jambi – has been approved by his supervisor. (“studying” is a gerund used in opposition to the noun “research topic”). 5. Our target – improving the living status of farmers in rural areas – should be achieved before the end of this year. (“improving” is a gerund used in opposition to the noun “target”).

6. Assignment 1 • The following sentences contain gerund (in boldface). Indicate their function(s) in each sentence. 1. Genetic engineering has been proved to be beneficial to agriculture and animal husbandry. 2. The “pomato” was created by fusing potato and tomato protoplasts via tissue culture technique. 3. The “geep” was the product of recombining goat and sheep cells. 4. Discovering the microscopic world of the genes will never end. 5. The gene splicing technology will lead us to the creation of new products. 6. Scientists all over the world will keep on doing research on plant genetics improvement. 7. Many of modern plant varieties are created via DNA recombining. 8. The researcher starts observing the symptom of nutrient deficiency on swamp rice. 9. Besides investigating the physical properties, the scientists study the chemical and biological status of soil in swamp area in TanjungJabung. 10. The base fertilizers should be applied to the soil before planting the crops.

7. Assignment 2 • Please note that not all verbs ending with “ing” are gerunds, some of them could be verbs in the present participle tense. Please pick the verbs functioning as a gerund and as a present participle tense in the following passage. The Effect of Colchicine on Poliploidy Induction on Swainsonaformosa An experiment aiming at investigating the effect of colchicine at various concentrations (0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 5.0 and 10.0%) on the poliploidyzation on Swainsonaformosa had been conducted by using seeds and seedlings as plant materials. Two methods of application – dipping the seeds in colchicine solution for 24 hours, or dropping the solution in the between of seedling cotyledons – were tested. The results showed that the second method was found to be more effective than the first. Increasing the concentration up to 1.0% was proved to be beneficial in doubling the number of chromosomes. In contrast, colchicine concentration exceeding 1.0% showed a detrimental effect on the growth and development of both plant materials. Thus, it can be concluded that the poliploidy induction in S. formosacould be done effectively by applying colchicine at concentration of 1.0%.