There is no gerund phrase in that example.
direct object
The gerund 'swimming' is the DIRECT OBJECT of the sentence.
subject
This would be the phrase "climbing trees." It is because this phrase works in the sentence to be the direct object.
subject
direct object
a noun
The gerund 'swimming' is the DIRECT OBJECT of the sentence.
The gerund 'swimming' is the DIRECT OBJECT of the sentence.
A gerund or gerund phrase functions as a noun, as the subject of a sentence or a clause, and as the object of a verb or a preposition. Examples:Fishing is my dad's hobby. (subject of the sentence)I need the workout that swimming provides. (subject of the relative clause)We enjoyed the dancing in the parade. (direct object of the verb 'enjoyed')He'll need new shoes for running. (object of the preposition 'for')
The teacher encouraged reading. The gerund "reading" functions as the object of the preposition "encouraged."
To better understand the role of the gerund phrase in a sentence, could you please provide the sentence you're referring to?
In that sentence, "crying" functions as a noun.
The gerund, laughing, is the subject of the sentence.It's the subject of the sentence.
Yes, "wondering" can function as a gerund, which is a verb form that functions as a noun in a sentence. For example, in the sentence "I enjoy wondering about the mysteries of the universe," "wondering" is a gerund.
subject
Yes, "conjuring" is a gerund in the sentence. Gerunds are verbs that function as nouns and end in -ing. In this case, "conjuring" is the subject of the sentence.