Your child uses words like swimming, running, and eating every day. These -ing words can act as verbs in sentences like "I am swimming." But they can also act as nouns. When an -ing word acts as a noun, it is called a gerund. Gerunds are everywhere in English. They can be subjects, objects, and objects of prepositions. Mastering the top 100 gerunds for elementary students helps children use these versatile forms correctly and naturally. This guide will explain what gerunds are, list the most important examples, and show how to practice at home.
Meaning: What Are Gerunds? A gerund is a verb form ending in -ing that functions as a noun. It looks exactly like a present participle, but it does a different job. The present participle helps form continuous tenses. "I am running." The gerund acts as a noun. "Running is fun."
Think about these sentences. "Swimming is good exercise." The gerund swimming is the subject of the sentence. "I enjoy reading." The gerund reading is the object of the verb enjoy. "She is good at drawing." The gerund drawing is the object of the preposition at.
Gerunds allow us to talk about activities as things. Instead of saying "I like that I swim," we can say "I like swimming." This is simpler and more natural.
The top 100 gerunds for elementary children cover all the common gerunds children need.
Conjugation: How Gerunds Work Gerunds have special grammar rules. They are formed by adding -ing to the base form of the verb. Play becomes playing. Run becomes running. Swim becomes swimming. Some verbs change spelling. Make becomes making (drop the e). Run doubles the n before adding -ing.
Gerunds can be used in many positions in a sentence. They can be subjects. "Singing makes me happy." They can be objects. "I love dancing." They can follow prepositions. "Thank you for helping." They can follow certain verbs. "She enjoys painting."
Some verbs are always followed by gerunds. Common ones include enjoy, like, love, hate, dislike, avoid, consider, discuss, finish, practice, quit, recommend, and suggest. "I enjoy swimming." "She finished eating." "They discussed going to the park."
Gerunds can have objects just like verbs. "I enjoy reading books." The gerund reading has an object books. Together they form a gerund phrase.
Gerunds can be negative. Put not before the gerund. "I enjoy not worrying about homework." "She suggested not going out in the rain."
The top 100 gerunds for elementary students include practice with all these patterns.
Categories or Lists: The Top 100 Gerunds Here are the top 100 gerunds for elementary students, grouped by category. These are the gerunds children use and encounter most often.
Gerunds as Subjects (20): Swimming is fun. Running is good exercise. Reading helps you learn. Writing improves your skills. Drawing makes me happy. Singing is my favorite. Dancing makes me tired. Cooking takes time. Baking smells delicious. Painting is relaxing. Fishing is peaceful. Camping is exciting. Hiking is healthy. Skiing is cold. Skating is tricky. Jumping is easy. Climbing is hard. Flying is a dream. Dreaming is free. Thinking is important. These have gerunds as the subject of the sentence.
Gerunds After Like/Love/Hate/Enjoy (25): I like swimming. I love reading. I hate waiting. I enjoy drawing. She likes singing. She loves dancing. She hates cleaning. He enjoys playing. He likes running. He loves cooking. He hates studying. They enjoy traveling. They like camping. They love hiking. They hate losing. We enjoy watching movies. We like eating pizza. We love playing games. We hate doing homework. Mom enjoys baking. Dad loves fishing. My sister likes painting. My brother enjoys building. My friend likes skating. Everyone enjoys having fun. These use gerunds after verbs of liking and disliking.
Gerunds After Prepositions (25): Thank you for helping. I'm tired of waiting. She's good at drawing. He's interested in learning. They talked about going. We thought about leaving. I'm excited about visiting. She's afraid of flying. He's tired of running. They're happy about winning. We're sorry for forgetting. I'm used to waking up early. She's accustomed to studying hard. He insisted on coming. They apologized for being late. We look forward to seeing you. I dream of traveling. She thinks about becoming a doctor. He worries about failing. They succeeded in finishing. We believe in trying. I'm thinking of buying. She's capable of doing it. He's fond of reading. They're tired of waiting. These use gerunds after prepositions.
Gerunds After Specific Verbs (20): I enjoy swimming. She finished eating. He practiced playing. They discussed going. We considered moving. I suggested waiting. She recommended trying. He admitted forgetting. They denied stealing. We imagined flying. I miss seeing you. She mentioned coming. He avoided talking. They kept laughing. We started running. I began reading. She continued writing. He stopped crying. They quit fighting. We finished cleaning. These use gerunds after specific verbs.
Gerunds in Compound Nouns (10): swimming pool, reading room, dining table, writing desk, fishing boat, camping gear, hiking boots, baking soda, cooking oil, drawing paper. These combine a gerund with a noun to name a thing. "We went to the swimming pool." "She sat at the dining table."
The top 100 gerunds for elementary students include these essential examples. Children will use them every day.
Daily Life Examples: Gerunds All Around Us Gerunds appear constantly in everyday language. They name activities and follow certain verbs and prepositions. Pointing them out helps children see that these -ing nouns are part of real communication.
In morning routines, we use gerunds. "Brushing my teeth is important." "I like eating breakfast." "I enjoy reading on the bus." "Getting dressed takes time." "I hate rushing." Each gerund names an activity.
During meals, gerunds appear. "I love eating pizza." "Cooking is fun." "Thank you for making dinner." "I'm tired of chewing." "Sharing is nice." Gerunds follow verbs and prepositions.
In car rides, we use gerunds. "I enjoy looking out the window." "Driving carefully is important." "Thank you for waiting." "I'm excited about going to the park." "Singing along to songs is fun." Gerunds name activities.
At school, gerunds fill every subject. "Reading is my favorite." "I enjoy writing stories." "Learning new things is exciting." "Thank you for helping me." "Playing at recess is the best." Gerunds are everywhere.
In conversations about hobbies, gerunds are essential. "I like swimming." "She enjoys dancing." "He loves playing soccer." "They're good at drawing." "We're interested in learning guitar." Gerunds name the activities we love.
The top 100 gerunds for elementary students help children notice and use these -ing nouns.
Printable Flashcards: Visual Tools for Learning Flashcards make gerunds concrete. Creating and using them together turns learning into an activity. Here are some ways to use flashcards for gerund practice.
Create cards with gerunds on one side and example sentences on the other. "swimming" on front. "Swimming is fun." on back. "reading" on front. "I like reading." on back. "helping" on front. "Thank you for helping." on back. Your child reads the gerund and sees it in a sentence.
Create category cards showing different uses. One card for "Gerunds as Subjects" with examples. One card for "Gerunds After Like/Love/Hate" with examples. One card for "Gerunds After Prepositions" with examples. Your child sorts gerunds into the correct category.
Create sentence cards with the gerund missing. "___ is fun." (Swimming) "I like ___." (reading) "Thank you for ___." (helping) "She's good at ___." (drawing) Your child fills in the correct gerund.
Create picture cards showing activities. A picture of someone swimming. Your child says "swimming." A picture of someone reading. "reading." A picture of someone helping. "helping." Practice making sentences with each gerund.
Learning Activities or Games: Making Gerunds Fun Games turn grammar into play. Here are some games that help children practice the top 100 gerunds for elementary students in enjoyable ways.
I Enjoy Game: Practice enjoy + gerund. Take turns saying things you enjoy. "I enjoy swimming." "I enjoy reading." "I enjoy playing video games." See how many you can think of.
I Like Game: Practice like, love, hate + gerund. "I like drawing." "I love singing." "I hate cleaning my room." This builds vocabulary for preferences.
Thank You For Game: Practice gerunds after prepositions with for. Take turns thanking each other for things. "Thank you for helping me." "Thank you for coming." "Thank you for sharing." "Thank you for waiting." This builds polite language.
Gerund Bingo: Create bingo cards with gerunds in each square. Call out sentences with the gerund missing. "I enjoy ___." Your child covers "swimming." "Thank you for ." Your child covers "helping." " is fun." Your child covers "Reading." First to get five in a row wins.
Subject Game: Practice gerunds as subjects. Make sentences where the gerund comes first. "Swimming is..." "Reading helps..." "Cooking takes..." "Running makes me..." Your child completes each sentence.
Preposition Game: Practice gerunds after prepositions. Make sentences with common prepositions. "Thank you for..." "I'm good at..." "I'm tired of..." "We talked about..." "She left without..." Your child completes each with a gerund.
Gerund Hunt: Read a book together and search for gerunds. Each time you find an -ing word, decide if it is a gerund or part of a continuous verb. "I am swimming" has a continuous verb. "I like swimming" has a gerund. Talk about the difference.
Activity Charades: Act out activities without speaking. Your child guesses the gerund. Act out swimming. Act out reading. Act out cooking. Act out dancing. This connects gerunds to physical actions.
As your child becomes familiar with the top 100 gerunds for elementary students, their English becomes more natural and fluent. They can talk about activities as things. They can use gerunds after prepositions correctly. They can follow the patterns of verbs like enjoy and finish. Gerunds are everywhere in English, and mastering them helps children sound like native speakers. Keep practice connected to real activities and conversations. Point out gerunds when you use them. Celebrate when your child uses a gerund in a new context. These -ing nouns are essential tools for talking about everything children love to do.