A gerund is a type of verbal that ends in -ing and is used like a noun. Examples of gerunds include actions like chewing, writing, whispering, and snoring. Similar to infinitives, gerunds can also function as the subject of the sentence, the direct object, or as the subject complement.
She taught her the names of things by writing the words on Helenâs hand. Helen's first word was water. She learned this word when Anne put Helen's hand under some water and wrote W,A,T,E,R on her hand. Then she learnt the words with this method. In 1890, Helenâs family sent her to the Perkins Institute to learn how to speak and communicate.
Helen Keller's First Words. On April 5, 1887, less than a month after her arrival in Tuscumbia, Anne sought to resolve the confusion her pupil was having between the nouns mug and milk, which Helen confused with the verb drink.. Anne took Helen to the water pump outside and put Helen's hand under the spout. As the cool water gushed over one hand, she spelled into the other hand the word w-a-t-e-r first slowly, then rapidly. Suddenly, the signals had meaning in Helen's mind.