Do you mind my asking you—do you know what a gerund is? I'm thinking it may be more complicated than you think. All gerunds end in "-ing," but not all words that end in "-ing" are gerunds.
你介意我問一下－－你知道什麼是動名詞嗎？我在想，它可能比你以為的還複雜。所有動名詞都是以 -ing 結尾，但並非所有結尾是 -ing 的字都是動名詞。
A gerund is a noun you make from a verb by adding "-ing." This means you can use a gerund in all the places you typically use nouns. They can be subjects, direct objects, indirect objects, objects of prepositions... Let's see some examples.
動名詞是你加上 -ing，由動詞所創造出的名詞。這就代表你可以在所有平常會用名詞的地方使用動名詞。它們可以是主詞、直接受詞、間接受詞、介係詞的受詞... 來看一些例句。
"I love to read." Let's make this verb "to read" into a gerund by adding "-ing." "Reading" is a gerund if we use it as a noun. We can use the word "reading" as the subject of a sentence: "Reading was my favorite activity as a child." We can use it as a direct object in this sentence: "I still love reading now that I'm all grown up." Here it is as an indirect object: "As a struggling student, he gave reading a try." You may also see a gerund as the object of a preposition. For example, "His love for reading grew over time."
「我愛閱讀。」讓我們加 -ing 把 read 這個動詞變成動名詞。如果我們把 reading(閱讀)當名詞用的話，它就是一個動名詞。我們可以把 reading(閱讀)這個字當句子的主詞使用：「閱讀是我小時候最喜歡的活動。」在這句裡，我們可以把它當作一個直接受詞：「現在我已經長大了，我仍然熱愛閱讀。」它在這句是作為間接受詞：「身為一個很努力但成績不好的學生，他嘗試著閱讀。」你可能還會看到動名詞是介係詞的受詞。舉例來說，「他對閱讀的喜愛隨時間增長。」
Don't let all these examples make you think everything is a gerund. Remember, "-ing" words are gerunds when they act like a noun. But some words ending in "-ing" are playing a different role: a present participle.
不要讓這所有例句弄得你以為什麼都是動名詞。記住，-ing 結尾的字在有名詞功能時才是動名詞。不過有些 -ing 結尾的字扮演著不同角色：現在分詞。
Now, here's where it might be a little confusing. You form a present participle from a verb by adding the ending "-ing," just like how you make a gerund. But rather than acting as a noun, a present participle usually acts like a verb tense: "I am thinking." "The boy was sleeping." Present participles can also be used as adjectives: "The laughing child ran across the lawn."
就是這裡可能會讓人有點混淆。你加上 -ing 來讓動詞形成現在分詞，就和動名詞的作法一樣。但現在分詞並非擔任名詞的功能，現在分詞通常表現得像動詞時態：「我正在思考。」「男孩正在睡覺。」現在分詞還可以被當形容詞使用：「那個在笑的孩子跑過草坪。」
Quick test. Which of the following are gerunds?
小測驗。以下哪個是動名詞？
"I am wishing for a new adventure." No. Present participle.
「我渴望有場新的冒險。」不是。是現在分詞。
"I love wishing on the first star." Yes. Gerund. "Wishing" is the direct object here. What do I love? Wishing.
「我愛對著見到的第一顆星星許願。」沒錯。動名詞。Wishing(許願)在這裡是直接受詞。我愛什麼？Wishing(許願)。
"He was walking home from school when he saw a strange object in the sky." No. Present participle.
「在他看到天空有個奇怪物體時，他正從學校走路回家。」不。現在分詞。
"Walking is good exercise." Yes. Gerund. "Walking" is the subject of the sentence.
「走路是很好的運動。」沒錯。動名詞。Walking(走路)是這句的主詞。
"I'm walking here." Present participle.
「我正在走路耶。」現在分詞。
"You were talking in your sleep." Present participle.
「你在睡夢中說話。」現在分詞。
"Texting and driving are two activities that should not go together." Gerund. In fact, two gerunds that should not go together! I'm serious. Stop doing that. It's very, very dangerous.
「傳簡訊和開車是兩個不應該同時進行的活動。」動名詞。事實上，是兩個不該同時存在的動名詞(註一)!我是說真的。別再那麼做了。那樣非常非常危險。
Now, I have a challenge for you. In the comment section below, I'd like you to write two sentences. The first sentence should contain a gerund, and the second sentence should have a present participle. Let's see how creative you can be.
現在，我有個挑戰要給你。在下方留言區中，我想要你寫下兩個句子。第一個句子應該要含有一個動名詞，而第二個句子要有一個現在分詞。來看看你可以發揮多少創意。
When I say "Subscribing to Socratica is a wonderful way to spend your time," "subscribing" is a gerund—the most excellent gerund. No, really, the best gerund of them all. Don't you think so? Try it out and see.
當我說「訂閱 Socratica 是打發時間的超棒方式」時，subscribing(訂閱)是個動名詞－－最讚的動名詞。不，說真的，所有動名詞中最棒的一個。你不覺得嗎？試試看就知道。
註：此處是指「傳簡訊」和「開車」不該同時進行，可別誤會成兩個動名詞不能一起出現喔!
