---
title: "Fewer Gerunds"
description: "A gerund is a verb form that ends in -ing and acts as a noun. In technical documentation, avoid gerunds in prepositional phrases — this will make your instructions easier to understand."
canonical: "https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/styleguide/tw/gerunds.html"
breadcrumb: "Style Guide > Plain English > Fewer Gerunds"
dateModified: "2026-09-03"
---

# Fewer Gerunds

A gerund is a verb form that ends in *-ing* and acts as a noun. In technical documentation, avoid gerunds in prepositional phrases — this will make your instructions easier to understand.

::: important

Avoid gerund participles (which are also called present participles) in prepositional phrases as well. The difference between a gerund and a participle is that a participle is a verb form that ends in *-ing* and acts as an adjective.

:::

To learn more about gerunds, see [this Grammarly article](https://www.grammarly.com/blog/gerund/). To learn more about participles, see [this Grammarly article](https://www.grammarly.com/blog/participle/).

## Examples

1. [After installing]{.mdhl-incorrect} Veeam Backup & Replication, all you must do is add ESXi hosts that you want to back up. 

   [After you install]{.mdhl-correct} Veeam Backup & Replication, all you must do is add ESXi hosts that you want to back up.

2. [Before running]{.mdhl-incorrect} a failover plan, you can use an isolated Orchestrator DataLab to test the entire plan. 

   [Before you run]{.mdhl-correct} a failover plan, you can use an isolated Orchestrator DataLab to test the entire plan.

3. [Working with]{.mdhl-incorrect} vSphere Self-Service Backup Portal, Veeam Backup Enterprise Manager administrators and tenants have different sets of tasks. 

   Veeam Backup Enterprise Manager administrators and tenants [who work with]{.mdhl-correct} the vSphere Self-Service Backup Portal have different sets of tasks.