Gerunds are verbal nouns, that is a noun formed from a verb and functioning as a noun to

express an action or state. In English, gerunds end in -ing and look identical to the present
participle. Like nouns, gerunds can be the subject, object or complement of a sentence:

 Smoking costs a lot of money.

 I don't like writing.
 My favourite occupation is reading.

But, like verbs, 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.

 Smoking cigarettes costs a lot of money.

 I don't like writing letters.
 My favourite occupation is reading detective stories.

If we want to use a verb after a preposition, it must be a gerund (which functions as a noun):

 I am looking forward to meeting you.

I am used to driving on the left.

We use gerund after phrasal verbs:

Did you give up smoking?

She always puts off going to the dentist.

Common verbs followed by –ing nouns are:

Verbs of liking and disliking:

 detest
 dislike
 enjoy
 hate
 fancy
 like
 love

I love swimming but I hate jogging.

They always enjoyed visiting their friends.
A: Do you fancy going for a walk?
B: I wouldn’t mind

Phrases with mind:

 wouldn’t mind (= would like)

  don’t mind (= I am willing to)
 would you mind (= will you please…?)

I wouldn’t mind having some fish and chips.

I don’t mind waiting for a few minutes.
Would you mind holding this for me?

Other common verbs are:

 avoid- I avoid going to the dentist.

 begin- I began learning Chinese.
 Finish- He finished doing his homework

.
Keep- She keeps interrupting me.  Start-He started working at 5 o'clock
 Stop-He stopped asking for help

In compound structures, a gerund is often used before a noun to modify it:

drinking water (water for drinking)

a reading lamp (a lamp for reading)
a swimming cap (a cap for swimming)
a walking stick (a stick for walking)
OR:
a swimming pool - a pool for swimming in, it is not a pool that is swimming. It is a "pool used for the
activity of swimming".
Dancing shoes - shoes used for the activity of dancing

In a phrase like “walking stick”, walking is a gerund, since it means “a stick for walking”; in the sentence
“he was walking”, it is a participle.

Prefer is one of those verbs that take both a gerund and an infinitive:
3. I prefer driving to walking.
4. I prefer to drive rather than walking.

Go+ gerund:

Go shopping (sailing, scuba diving, bungee jumping…)

Gerund is used after determinatives (the, a, his, this…):

His coming was unexpected.

CAN’T HELP+GERUND:

He couldn't help falling in love with her.

- I can't help laughing.

- Those kids are noisy, but I can't help liking them.

 how about

How about walking home instead of taking the car?

 it's (no) good

It's no good talking to this girl.

 it's no use

It's no use talking to the headmaster.

 there's no

There's no cheating anymore.

 there's no point

There's no point in complaining further.

 what about

What about going to the zoo?

 worth

The book is worth reading.

stop

stop with the gerund means to end an action.

- I stopped eating fast food last year.
- I can't stop loving you.
- Stop being so annoying!
stop with the infinitive means to interrupt an action.
- I was walking to the subway station, and I stopped to say "Hi" to my friends.
- I was working at home, and I stopped to answer the 'phone.