THE FUNCTIONS OF THE GERUND

Subject(Looking at her is a real delight).The G may follow the predicate when the sentence begins with the introductory "It" or the construction "There is" (It's no use talking to them).

Predicative(The only remedy is going to bed).

Part of a compound verbal predicate.It can be CV modal predicate(I intend asking this question)or CV aspect predicate(beginning, duration or end of the action)(He began laughing with joy).

Object.It can be a direct object(I like talking to her) or a prepositional indirect object(He's good at persuading people).When the gerundial construction consists of its own nominal and verbal elements it has the function of Complex object(I don't mind his coming here).

Attribute.The G is always preceded by a preposition (He has a gift of enchanting people).

Adverbial modifier.It can be an AM of time(always preceded by the prepositions "after, before, on (upon), in, at") (On coming home, I usually have dinner), AM of manner(preceded by "by, in") (He made her believe by pointing at the facts), AM of attendant circumstances("without") (He left without saying goodbye), AM of purpose("for") (The field is used for playing football), AM of condition("without") (He won't come without being invited), AM of cause ("for, for fear, owing to") (She is full of knowledge for having spent much time reading), AM of concession("in spite of") (In spite of being busy he found time to spend with her).

Predicate.Used in interrogative sentences introduced by "What about, how about" and in exclamatory sentences (How about spending this summer in St.Petersburg?; But letting him go!).

THE GERUND & THE PARTICIPLE. THE GERUND & THE INFINITIVE.

THE GERUND & THE VERBAL NOUN

The differences between the G & the P: 1) The G may be preceded by a preposition; 2) The G may be modified by a noun in the possessive case or a possessive pronoun; 3) The G may be used in the function of subject, object and predicative; 4) The G and the P both can be used in the function of attribute and adverbial modifier, but the G is always preceded by a preposition. However, one should differentiate between "a dancing hall" (a hall where people dance – the purpose of the hall – G) and "a singing girl" (a girl that sings – an attribute of the girl – P).

The G & the I both can be used with such verbs and word groups as "to be afraid, to begin, to cease, to continue, can(not) afford, to dread, to fear, to forget, to hate, to intend, to (dis)like, to neglect, to prefer, to propose, to remember, to recollect, to start, to stop". But with some verbs and verb groups (like those underlined) the I is mostly used with reference to a special occasion, the G being more appropriate to a general statement (I hate to interrupt you; I hate interrupting you). The verb "to remember" used with the I refers to the future while the G refers to the past (Remember to post the letter; I remember posting the letter). The verb "to stop" used with the G forms part of a compound verbal aspect predicate, the I has the function of an adverbial modifier of purpose (She stopped knitting when he came in; She stopped to see who was in).

The differences between the G & the VN: 1) The G has nominal and verbal characteristics (the VN has only nominal ones); 2) The G is not used with an article; 3) The G has no plural forms; 4) The G of a transitive verb takes a direct object (the VN takes a prepositional object with the preposition "of"); 5) The G may be modified by an adverb (the VN – by an adjective).

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 1221