Ever heard of a Gerund?
I hadn’t, but today is a good day to learn something new
While reading the enlightening story How to Write a Compelling Headline That Isn’t Clickbait from Medium Creators, I see the phrase ‘Easy on the gerunds.’ Gerunds?
I like the sound of it, but what does it mean?
A quick Snapchat query reveals that none of my acquaintances have heard of a gerund either. Curiosity kicks in.
I turn to Thesaurus for providing an answer. ‘A gerund is a form of a verb that ends in — ing that is used as a noun. A gerund is like a blend of verbs and nouns. It looks like a verb, but it acts like a noun.’ Brilliant! I love Thesaurus.
Examples: meditating, dancing, cooking, playing.
The advice from Medium Creators about how to write a compelling headline starts to make sense.
‘People were 70% more likely to click on the nongerund headlines.’