Inverting the US Flag â What Does It Mean? Many will tell you that an upside down American flag means âthe country is in distress.â The US Flag Code allows this use of the flag in situations of âdire distress,â but the intention was distress as in immediate danger to life and limb, such as your ship is sinking at sea, an SoS signal.
Noun. 1. gerund-a noun formed from a verb (such as the `-ing' form of an English verb when used as a noun). deverbal noun, verbal noun-a noun that is derived from a verb. Translations. [ËdÊerÉnd] N (Latin) â gerundio m; (English) â sustantivo m verbal.
The formal distinction is that a gerund is a verbal noun â a noun derived from a verb that retains verb characteristics, that functions simultaneously as a noun and a verb, while other nouns in the form of the present participle (ending in -ing) are deverbal nouns, which function as common nouns, not as verbs at all.