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My teacher recently marked on my paper not to use a gerund to start a sentence. I have been told by teachers in the past to use that format to vary sentence structure. It seems to make the paper flow better oftentimes. An example:

Learning to confront his problems is an important part of [character's] growth and maturity in the novel.

Is there a grammar rule about this? I haven't ever heard/seen one before.

Edit: It would also be helpful to know of any good examples or arguments I would be able to use when discussing this.

erdekhayser
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    If you wrote that sentence, then I assure you - as a trainer for people learning t write English for university purposes - that your sentence is excellent in terms of the English! – Araucaria - Him Oct 21 '14 at 23:46
  • related http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/384/how-does-one-know-when-to-use-a-gerund-or-an-infinitive and http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/86978/gerund-phrase-as-subject – Mari-Lou A Oct 22 '14 at 00:02
  • related and possible duplicate difference between a gerund acting as subject and an infinitive acting as a subject – Mari-Lou A Oct 22 '14 at 00:08
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    Is there a way to revoke your teacher's certification ? – Blessed Geek Oct 22 '14 at 01:31
  • I suggest you confront the problem with your teacher's 'correction' by asking them to explain the grammatical justification for it. It may help you to think of it as giving your teacher an opportunity to learn something. – Erik Kowal Oct 22 '14 at 07:24
  • Telling people a stylistic preference is a grammar rule is the sign of a rigid mind. Gerund away, baby, gerund away! – John Oct 22 '14 at 05:37
  • The answers and comments provide a large set of illustrative refutations to your teacher's "rule". Just show him/her this question on ELU. Perhaps your teacher will enjoy participating here! We'd love to set this teacher straight! – Cyberherbalist Oct 22 '14 at 16:22
  • @Cyberherbalist In the 1.5 months I've been in class, I'm assuming that she would not appreciate it. Nor would she be happy if she knew that I asked about it on the site at all. Better not to get on the wrong side of her in the first quarter. – erdekhayser Oct 22 '14 at 16:40
  • I am sure you are correct! You are, of course, the best judge of your situation. – Cyberherbalist Oct 22 '14 at 17:30
  • Examples "Sleeping much is not conducive for health" "Exercising regularly and sensibly is a key to good health" – Imran Khan Apr 27 '17 at 06:08

6 Answers6

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Believing your teacher would be a mistake.  (Did you see what I just did?)

Scott - Слава Україні
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    Hmm, would upvote,but that's just a comment as it stands! – Araucaria - Him Oct 21 '14 at 23:39
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    Answering with a comment is fine in this case. (Did you see what I just did?) Besides, how else would you prove the non-existence of a rule, other than with a counterexample? – 200_success Oct 22 '14 at 02:24
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    This answer is really a comment. Araucaria is correct. To be a genuine answer (as opposed to a comment) it would explain why it is okay to start a sentence with a gerund. – Roaring Fish Oct 22 '14 at 05:12
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    @200_success but how do we know the counterexample isn't just as wrong? It breaks the exact same rule. Repetition of assertion is no proof. – RegDwigнt Oct 22 '14 at 11:03
  • (...and as a personal aside, "did you see what I just did" is right up there with "pun intended".) – RegDwigнt Oct 22 '14 at 11:08
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Gerund as subject: Smoking is bad for your health.

See link http://www.grammaring.com/the-gerund-as-subject

rogermue
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I completely agree that there is nothing grammatically wrong with starting a sentence with a gerund phrase; however, I do tell my AP students to avoid the construction because it almost always leads to the use of a linking verb, as is the case with the example. If we all agree that the use of action verbs is preferable, then the use of the gerund phrase as the subject of a sentence should be avoided. I often have students write (in a literary analysis), "By using the ..." I simply tell them to cross out the 'by' and use the participial phrase instead.

Vikki GoDair
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I'd be a little careful about our poor teacher. I feel that the proposed examples don't illustrate the true gerund. In each case the gerund phrase was functionally used as a (compound) noun. The typical usages in a sentence would have one activity while another is happening at the same time.

(DISCLAIMER--I am not any expert nor a native English speaker).

Włodzimierz Holsztyński
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The issue could be that you were committing logic errors with dangling modifiers. It is not all out "WRONG" to use a gerund at the start of the sentence. Many writers young and not so young, however, can mix up the meaning they are trying to convey if the sentence has more than one subject possibly tied to the gerund.

For example:
Running to the bus, Jillian saw her friend Tom
(or for that matter)
Jillian saw her friend Tom running to the bus.

The dangling modifiers above generate confusion. (Who was running to the bus?)
Both of the problematic forms could mean either:

(1) As she ran to the bus Jillian saw her friend Tom.
(as compared to)
(2) Jillian saw her friend Tom as he ran to the bus.

Bryan
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  1. The teacher was right. In the example, the initial gerund creates a poor sentence structure that needs to be improved by rephrasing. Do not use an initial gerund in such sentences. This is about writing style and readability.

  2. The teacher was wrong in not explaining that this is not about grammar, certainly not a rule.

**See our sister site [writers.se] **

Kris
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    Could you please clarify what "such sentences" are and why you think they are bad style? – Sebastian Negraszus Oct 22 '14 at 09:25
  • That's better dealt with on writers.se – Kris Oct 22 '14 at 09:36
  • Although I think you're onto something because the OP teacher didn't say never start a sentence with a gerund. How would you improve the style of this sentence? Why does the gerund impede readability in this case? – Mari-Lou A Oct 22 '14 at 09:42
  • Sorry, but I don't see anything wrong with the sentence, including poor structure. Perhaps you should demonstrate an improvement by rephrasing? – Cyberherbalist Oct 22 '14 at 16:20
  • @Mari-LouA The note on the paper says "Do not begin a sentence with a gerund." That seems pretty definite to me. – erdekhayser Oct 22 '14 at 17:06
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    @erdekhayser I'm giving the teacher the benefit of the doubt. It could be that he/she didn't want you to start a sentence with learning on this occasion. I don't know. – Mari-Lou A Oct 22 '14 at 18:28