Slovene Grammar - Gerund

Gerund

A gerund is a noun formed from a verb, designating an action or a state. The standard substantive in Slovenian ends in -anje or -enje:

• usklajevati -> usklajevanje (to harmonise -> harmonising)
• pisati -> pisanje (to write -> writing)
• goreti -> gorenje (to burn -> burning)
• saditi -> sajenje (to plant (into soil, as in potatoes (krompir), maize (koruza) or flowers (rože)) -> planting)
• sejati -> sejanje (to plant (by throwing seeds into the air, as in most any cereal (žito), such as buckwheat (ajda), wheat (pšenica), rice (riž) (but also 'saditi riž'), millet (proso), etc.) -> planting)

For example:

• Pisanje ni naravno: potrebno se ga je priučiti. (Writing is not natural: it must be learnt.)
• Ob visokih temperaturah gašenje ognja ni enostavno. (At high temperatures, putting out a fire is not trivial.)
• Brenčanje mrčesa me spravlja ob živce! (The buzzing of insects is driving me crazy!)