Pick out the gerund from the following sentence :
What I most detest is smoking.

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct answer is Option 4: smoking. Here's why:

*   **Why "smoking" is a gerund:** A gerund is a verb form ending in "-ing" that functions as a noun. In the sentence "What I most detest is smoking," the word "smoking" acts as the subject complement, which is a noun function. It answers the question "What is what I most detest?" The answer is "smoking." Therefore, "smoking" is functioning as a noun and is a gerund.

*   **Why the other options are incorrect:**

*   **What:** "What" is a pronoun, specifically a relative pronoun introducing a noun clause ("What I most detest"). It is not a verb form acting as a noun.

*   **Most:** "Most" is an adverb modifying the verb "detest." It describes the degree to which the speaker detests something. It is not a verb form acting as a noun.

*   **Detest:** "Detest" is a verb. It is the main verb of the clause "I most detest." While verbs can be transformed into gerunds, "detest" in its base form is not a gerund in this sentence.