What is a gerund?

A gerund is essentially a verbal noun. This means the word comes from the stem of a verb, but acts as a noun in the sentence. e.g. "I like reading". In this sentence, 'reading' is the gerund. In latin, gerunds are formed by taking the present stem of the verb and adding -nd- and the neuter singular endings for the second declension. There is o plural gerund. Note: the nominative of the gerund is the infinitive.

e.g. 'legere est difficile' which translates directly as 'to read is difficult' but more commonly as 'reading is difficult'.

acc: legendum reading gen: legendi - of reading dat: legendo - to/for reading abl: legendo - from/with/in/by reading

Answered by Freya N. Latin tutor

2473 Views

See similar Latin GCSE tutors

Related Latin GCSE answers

All answers ▸

olim Alexander , rex Macedonum , cum exercitu suo ad terras Indorum iter faciebat. - How would you go about translating this sentence?


What is a purpose clause and how can they be identified and translated?


What is a purpose/final clause?


What are the deponent verbs?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

© MyTutorWeb Ltd 2013–2025

Terms & Conditions|Privacy Policy
Cookie Preferences