Gerund Noun vs Verbal Noun
Gerund Noun
Like other types of noun, Gerunds are also nouns that end -ing and represent actions. Gerunds have verb-like properties. But these are used differently in a sentence unlike verbs. Gerund noun are modified with adverbs. How to differentiate gerund noun and verb? look at two examples:
(a) Ali is singing a song.
(b) Ali is fond of singing.
In sentence (a) singing is verb as its show action that Ali is performing. Verb with -ing are used followed by helping verbs is, am, was, were, etc. But in sentence (b) singing is not an action being performed by Ali and not followed by a helping verb.
Verbal Noun
We derive Verbal nouns from verbs and do not have verb-like properties (e.g., building, drawing, attack).
Example: The color of our residential building is red.
In above example, the word building is a noun and this noun is derived from verb build. The word building is a verb, gerund and verbal noun at a same time. look at few example to differentiate it.
Examples in a sentence:
They are building a plaza. (verb)
I love red buildings. (verbal noun)
Building a multi-story plaza can be time taking. (gerund noun)
How to differentiate gerund noun and verbal noun?
To understand difference between gerund noun and verbal noun look at given example.
- The ceremonial raising of the flag has started.
- Raising the flag carefully is much difficult.
Like gerunds nouns, we derive verbal nouns from verbs, but, unlike gerunds, they have no verb-like properties. In above given example, the verbal noun raising is not showing any verb-like qualities. It is not modified by a determiner and an adjective (the and ceremonial) and it requires a preposition (of) to link it to the flag. In contrast, in the sentence “raising the flag carefully is much difficult,” the word raising (which, despite being spelled the same, is now a gerund) is showing verb-like qualities. More specifically, it is modified with an adverb (carefully).
Verbal nouns are usually preceded by a or an or the and followed by a preposition (e.g., of, in, for). This makes them pretty inefficient from a word count perspective. Also, a sentence with verbal nouns can often sound stuffy.
However, verbal nouns can give an air of formality or provide emphasis. So, we should all care about verbal nouns for two reasons:
(1) Replacing verbal nouns with verbs and gerunds will reduce your word count and improve sentence flow.
(2) Sentences featuring pure verbal nouns could portray you as stuffy (bad) or authoritative (good). Employ them smartly to tune to your needs.