Well, the creature to the right is not actually a gerund. It just looks like one (just kidding) and they both start with the same letter (if you use the short version of its name).

But seriously. Would you like to know the easy version?

Okay!

Here goes the easy two-step process:

Step 1:

Take a verb in the form ending in -ing,
for example "fishing" or "dancing" or
"driving a red convertible"

Step 2:

Use it like a noun (or a noun phrase), that means the thing that can be a subject or an object:

Example with non-gerund subject and object:

The gator startled the iguana.

"The gator" and "the iguana" are noun phrases.

Now let's put a gerund in one of those slots:

The gator's growling startled the iguana.

BTW, apologies to gators. I actually have no idea what kinds of noises (if any) gators make, but "growling" will work as an example for gerunds.

Or:

Meredith enjoys driving her new red convertible.

See how it works?

That's it.

Except for one more thing.

You can also use gerunds as an object of a preposition:

Without swimming, life wouldn't be half as much fun.

A summer wouldn't be a summer without swimming in the ocean.

There you go.

Any questions?

Post them in the comments section.

And if you'd like to find out more about all things grammatical, go to my grammar resource site where most of the resource actually come with the newsletter (free, plus it comes with a nifty quick tips cheat sheet on how to edit your writing).

Quick update and confession: There's not a whole lot on that site at the moment, and there won't be, but I'm working on a project on grammar empowerment, so do check back for updates or sign up for the newsletter to have updates (and not much else) delivered to your inbox.