A noun that is formed by adding '-ing' to a verb is called what?

• A. Gerund
• B. Participle
• C. Infinitive
• D. Noun phrase

Answer: (A)

Using the -ing form of a verb as a noun is called a gerund. When the -ing form functions as a noun, it names a thing or activity rather than describing something or showing tense. For example, in "Swimming is fun," the word Swimming acts as the subject and is a noun formed from the verb swim.

Present participles also end in -ing, but they don’t name a thing; they describe or modify a noun or help form verb tenses (like in "The running water" or "She is running"). Infinitives are forms like "to swim" (not -ing). A noun phrase is a broader unit that can include a noun and its modifiers, and it’s not the specific -ing noun form itself.