II. Gerund

The gerund is formed by adding the suffix – ing to the stem of the verb. This

non-finite possesses verbal and nominal features and its grammatical meaning

is that of a process. Morphologically the verbal character of the gerund is

manifested in the categories of voice and perfect and syntactically in its

combinability (it combines with a noun/ pronoun as object, adjective/ noun as

predicative and with an infinitive; it can be modified by adverbs and

prepositional phrases). The nominal character of the gerund reveals itself

syntactically, mainly in its syntactical functions (as subject, object, predicative,

see Syntactic functions of the gerund below), partly in its combinability (like a

noun, it may be preceded by a preposition and it combines with a possessive

pronoun, a noun in the genitive case and the negative pronoun no in the

idiomatic constructions of the type: There is no mistaking what he’s aiming at –

Нельзя не понять …). Study the tables below:

The grammatical categories of the gerund

Perfect Active Passive

Non-perfect taking being taken

Perfect having taken having been taken

They carried on discussing the project enthusiastically; He remembered being

offended by the spokesman; I’m sorry for having raised these groundless

objections; Laura recalled having been taken to Disneyland when she was a

child.

NB: The non-perfect gerund is commonly used to denote a prior action thanks

to the lexical meaning of the verb or the preposition suggesting priority (after

verbs of recollection, gratitude, blame, reproach, punishment and reward and

preposition on, that suggests immediate priority, and after):

He admitted spreading the confidential information; After choosing a gift and

paying for his two items he left the store.

NB: There are some verbs (need, want, require, deserve) and the adjective

worth which are followed by an active gerund with passive meaning:

The parquet needs polishing (to be polished – also possible); The gunman

deserves to be locked up = The gunman deserves locking up.24

Syntactic functions of the gerund

 the gerund as subject:

Denying everything won’t give any results; Taking risks is an integral part of

our job; Working full-time was extremely difficult; It’s no use/ good arguing;

There’s no point in revising the matter twice; It’s worth (while) trying; There’s

no getting out of it (there’s no telling/ knowing/ escaping/ mistaking, etc.);

 the gerund as part of the predicate:

1. as predicative: Helen’s passion is buying accessories for all her dresses;

2. as part of the compound verbal predicate with phasal verbs like begin,

burst out, continue, finish, give up, keep on, quit, stop,, etc.:

On hearing the joke everybody burst out laughing;

 the gerund as object:

Gerund as direct object after: Gerund as prepositional object

admit

anticipate

appreciate

avoid

delay

deny

detest

discuss

can’t stand

can’t help

consider

enjoy

escape

excuse

fancy

feel like

forgive

involve

mention

mind

miss

postpone

practice

put off

recall

recollect

resent

resist

risk

suggest

understand

! also after the

adjectives

busy and

worth

aim at

accuse of

apologize for

assist in

blame for

complain about/

of

congratulate on

consist in

count on

depend on

(dis)approve of

discourage from

dream

about/of

hear of

help in

insist on

forgive for

have no

difficulty in

learn of

look forward

to

object to

persist in

praise for

prevent from

punish for

put up with

rely on

result in

sentence for

stop from

succeed in

suspect of

threaten

with

worry about

Gerund as prepositional object after adjectives, statives and past participles:

be afraid

be aware

be (in)capable

be conscious of

be fond

be ignorant

be proud

be sure

be absorbed in

be/get accustomed to

be amused at

be angry at

be annoyed at

be anxious about/for/over

be astonished at/by

be certain about/of

be charged with

be content with

be delighted at

be devoted to

be (dis)pleased with/at/about

be engrossed in

be excited about

be fed up with

be furious about/over

be grateful for

be keen on

be opposed to

be preoccupied with

be responsible for

be right in/*about

be selfish (in)

be sorry about

be surprised at

be tired of

be/get used to

*Compare: You were right in applying for a pass (Ты был прав, что заказал

пропуск) – You were right about his applying for a pass (Ты был прав – он

заказал пропуск);

He suggested discussing my chances of promotion; Are you accusing me of

spreading the rumours? Mark was suspected of being a spy;25

 the gerund as attribute:

1. after nouns, mainly abstract nouns, followed by a preposition:

apology (for)

art (of)

astonishment (at)

chance (of)

custom (of)

disappointment (at)

excuse (for)

experience (in/of)

fear (of)

habit (of)

harm (in)

hope (of)

idea (of)

importance (of)

intention (of)

interest (in)

means (of)

method (of)

necessity (of)

objection (to)

opportunity (of)

plan (for)

pleasure (of)

possibility (of)

precaution (of)

preparation (for)

problem (of)

process (of)

prospect (of)

reason (for)

risk (of)

right (of)

skill (in)

surprise (at)

thought (of)

way (of)

It was my first experience of sharing with total strangers; We had no objections

to ordering such machines;

This is an airplane for transporting goods; The barometer is an instrument for

measuring the pressure of the air (after concrete nouns it expresses the purpose

or the destination of the object mentioned);

2. gerund may be used as a premodifying attribute: a dancing hall, a dining

table, a spending habit, writing paper, etc.

 the gerund as adverbial modifier of several types:

Only on/after hearing the request he decided to make a donation (of time); In

refusing to work abroad she missed an excellent job opportunity (of time or

reason); But for meeting Alex, I might have chosen another way in life; The

order will be accepted subject to receiving your confirmation within 10 days (of

condition); I didn’t object in spite of their moving in the wrong direction (of

concession).

Gerundial complex

The gerund can have its own subject different from the subject of the sentence

and form a gerundial complex. This complex consists of a noun or a pronoun

and a gerund attached to it.

Formal English: possessive form + gerund

I have no objection to his helping you with the project; We are concerned about

the company’s trading in oil.

Informal English: object form + gerund

They approved of him reorganizing the working day; We are worried about

Jane working so hard.

NB: 1) If the noun or pronoun refers to things or animals, we never use a

possessive form: I remembered the horse winning the race (not: *the horse’s

winning…); I insisted on the parcel being delivered promptly (not: *the

parcel’s being delivered…);

2) If the gerundial complex is the subject of the sentence, only the possessive

form is used with reference to people: Jim’s failing Physics was not unexpected

Gerund versus Infinitive

The basic difference in their meaning is that the gerund is more general,

whereas the infinitive is more specific and more bound to some particular

occasion: Kate began singing when a child. – Kate went over to the grand

piano and began to sing; I like diving but I don’t like to dive today; I hate

doing my expenses, but I like to get them in on time (like to usually refers to

habitual preferences).

The action of the infinitive often refers to the subject of the sentence, whereas

the action of the gerund may refer to some other doer: Mary doesn’t like to trifle

with serious things. – Mary doesn’t like trifling with serious things.

 Some verbs take to-infinitive or gerund without a change in meaning:

1. begin, start, continue, intend, bother, can’t bear: She began to

rub/rubbing at the spot with all her might. However we don’t normally have

two –ing forms together: The days are beginning to get shorter (but not: *The

days are beginning getting shorter);

NB: In spoken English, a gerund is more frequent after bother, can’t stand, like,

love, hate, start, and to-infinitive is more frequent after begin, can’t bear,

continue, intend, prefer;

2. the verbs advise, allow, encourage, permit, recommend, require when

followed by an object or in passive forms take a to-infinitive. They take a

gerund when there is no object following them: He is not permitted to leave

the ward; The receptionist allows smoking in the waiting room.

The gerund is not used: 1) with the verbs to understand and to see (in the

meaning ‘to understand’): She began to understand how they had duped him; 2)

when the subject denotes a lifeless object: The click began to strike.

 Verbs (or verbs + adjectives) taking to-infinitive or gerund with a

change in meaning:

+ to-infinitive + gerund

be afraid + infinitive /of +

gerund

not to have courage/desire to do

something: I’m afraid to drive

over that old bridge.

to be afraid that what is

described by the gerund may

happen: The baby is afraid of

staying in the dark alone.31

be ashamed + infinitive /of +

gerund

to feel ashamed because one

will have to do something: I’m

ashamed to borrow money.

to feel ashamed because of

something one has already

done: I’m ashamed of making

so many mistakes.

forget something slips your memory

and the action doesn’t take

place: I totally forgot to turn

off the cooker.

the action is forgotten after it

takes place: She forgot sending

the message and sent it again.

go on something is done after

something else is finished:

After the interval, Pavarotti went

on to sing an aria from Tosca.

to continue doing the same

thing: Although she asked him

to stop, he went on tapping his

pen on the table.

hate to hate what one is about to do:

I hate to bother you, but the

matter is urgent.

be displeased/feel sorry for

what someone is doing: I hate

making people feel uneasy.

imagine to have a false or wrong idea

about something (imagine

smb/smth to be smth): I was

surprised to see the farm. I had

imagined it to be much bigger.

to form a picture or idea in your

mind: I can’t imagine Sarah

running her own business.

mean

to say that we intend(ed) to

do something: He means to

phone you next week.

to say that something involves

doing something else: If we

want to get there by 12.00,

that means getting up early.

(is used with an impersonal

subject only!)

regret to feel sorry about having to

say something negative: I

regret to inform you that your

application has been

unsuccessful.

to feel sorry about something

that has already happened: It's

too late now, but I'll always

regret giving him advice.

remember to mean that remembering comes

before the action described:

Remember to buy a TV guide on

your way home. (first remember,

and then buy it)

to recall a past event: I

remember going to the bank,

but nothing after that (I

remember that I went there).

be sorry regret: I’m sorry to hear he has

been expelled.

apologize: I’m sorry for

lending him the instrument

without your permission.

stop pause temporarily for some

purpose: He stopped to eat a

couple of sweets (made a pause

and ate sweets),

finish, cease doing some action:

She stopped buying glossy

magazines (she doesn’t buy

them any longer).

try make an attempt, make an

effort: Let’s try to boost sales

this year.

do something and see the

results, do something as an

experiment: Try restarting the

computer.