E. F. Benson

All the teaching I had ever received had failed to make me apply such intelligence as I was possessed of, directly and vividly: there had never been any sunshine, as regards language, in the earlier grey days of learning, for the sky had always pelted with gerunds and optatives.

English Novelist

Don't confuse gerunds with present participles, both end in -ing but serve different purposes.

Avoid Confusion

While gerunds are verb-based, they don't always describe an action. Sometimes they name activities or ideas.

Not Always Actions

Gerunds can act as subjects, objects, or complements, giving them versatile roles in sentences.