Getting married.

In a gerundial construction the gerund is in predicate relation to a noun or a pronoun. The construction is used to indicate a change of reference from the subject of the finite verb to smb/smth else, that is the subject of the sentence is not identical with the subject performing the action denoted by the gerund. The nominal elements of the construction can be expressed:

1) by a noun in the common case. The possessive of nouns is used
mostly in formal style when the noun phrase has personal reference.
The possessive is avoided in informal style and when the noun
phrase is lengthy:

• Do you remember people of different social classes protesting
against the new bill?

2) by a pronoun in the objective case or by a possessive pronoun,
which are more or less interchangeable, the object pronoun being
more informal:

• I dislike him/his coming here every day.

3) by various other pronouns: all, that, this, both, each, something,
etc.:

• She insisted on both of them being wrong.

 

Минченков А. Г. 3. FUNCTIONS

SUBJECT

We begin the sentence with a gerund when we want to focus on what it expresses. On the whole, the gerund is more often used at the beginning of a sentence than the infinitive and not only in formal English:

• Working with him was fun.

Still, it is more common to introduce the gerund with the help of it.

• It was great fun skiing.

• It was difficult persuading him.

Structures like the last one are rather common in informal English, more common than similar structures with the infinitive.

There are a few fixed phrases which begin with the introductory it and are followed by the gerund as the real subject:

it is fun

it is no/little use

it is no good

it is (not) worth

• It is no use your worrying about me.

• I don't think it is worth working so hard.

• It is worth paying attention to what he says.

•

A single gerund as subject can also be introduced by there to form the following structures:

• There is no knowing what he is up to. • There is no denying his talent.

• There is no telling which of them will finish first.

3.2. PREDICATIVE

• Her only fun was reading books.

Verbals

PART OF A COMPOUND VERBAL ASPECT PREDICATE

The gerund is often found here after the same verbs as the infinitive:

• He began reading the book.

The gerund is also used after the verbs carry on, keep on, finish, go on and stop:

• In spite of the noise she carried on writing.

• She kept on saying that she was worried.

Notes:

1) On is used after keep for greater emphasis.

2) Stop can be used with an infinitive of purpose. Compare:

 

• She stopped talking (= 'she didn't talk any longer').

• She stopped to talk to her friend (= 'she stopped and began to talk to her friend').

3) begin, start, cease, continue

Begin, start and continue are used both with the infinitive and the gerund with practically no change in meaning. Yet, with begin and start there is a tendency to use the infinitive for events that are impersonal or involuntary, and the gerund for voluntary actions:

• She began to grow angry.

• It started to get warm.

• We started packing our things.

Cease, a formal equivalent of stop, usually takes the gerund:

• They should cease slandering you.

Only the infinitive is used with all the four verbs when: i) they are in the continuous form:

• He was beginning to understand.

ii) the verb that follows is not used in the continuous form:

• He has ceased to be our ally.

 

 

Минченков А. Г.

Verbals

 

 

4) go on The infinitive is used when go on means 'proceed to do something else':

• However, he goes on to say that she was a good queen. The gerund is used when go on means 'continue':

• She went on repeating that.

OBJECT

The gerund, like the infinitive, is widely used in this function after a great number of verbs and expressions.

 

 

 

1) Verbs always admit	followed by dislike	the gerund: justify	recollect
adore	endure	mention	report
appreciate	enjoy	mind	require
avoid	entail	miss	resent
burst out	excuse	necessitate	resist
cannot help	fancy	need	risk
contemplate	forgive	postpone	stand
consider	give up	practice	stop (='	prevent')
defer	grudge	put off	suggest
delay	imagine	prevent	tolerate
deny	include	propose	want
detest	involve	recall

He grudged doing extra work.

She missed having somebody to find fault with.

■;

.

He contemplated buying a villa in the West Country.

She risks losing all her money.

I appreciated hearing from them.

• He considered moving to another district.

• How do I stop the tap dripping?

• Nothing could stop Tim from being a lawyer.

• He resented having to explain.

Notes:

1) The verbs admit, imagine, mention, propose, recall, recollect, report, suggest are rarely used with a gerundial construction, a that-

clause is preferred, so that we normally have two options — a gerundial phrase or a clause. Compare:

• The girl admitted being his accomplice.

• The girl admitted that she was his accomplice.

• He suggested getting up early.

• He suggested that we should get up early.

2) Two options are possible with excuse:

• Excuse те/my being late.

• Excuse me for being late.

Note that excuse also has the meaning 'exempt': • The headmaster excused him from doing gym.

 

3) An active gerund with need means the same as the passive
infinitive:

• The room needs redecorating = The room needs to be redecorated. Require and want are also sometimes used in this way:

• The dress wants cleaning.

4) Prevent can be used both with and without from:

• The man was instructed to prevent people entering.

• It prevented me from coming in time.

2) The gerund is used after a number of verbs with prepositions:

accuse of depend on object to speak of

agree to dream of/about persist in succeed in

approve of feel like prevent from suspect of

apologize for insist on rely on take to

complain of look like reproach with thank of

• He dreamed of having a car.

• She apologized for disturbing us.

• I object to their coming here.

• I feel like taking a walk.

 

Минченков А. Г.

Verbals

 

3) The gerund is used after the following prepositional expressions:

to be aware of to be proud of

to be capable of to be sure of

to be fed up with (to have enough of) to be surprised at

to be fond of to be tired of

to be for/against to be/get used to

to be guilty of to be worth

to be happy about what is the use of..?

to be indignant at to have difficulty (in)

to be pleased about (= 'happy about') to look forward to

there is no point in

• I am used to getting up early.

• The risk is worth taking 1.

• What is the use of waiting?

• I will be looking forward to seeing you.

• She had difficulty (in) finding the book.

Note:With the expression to be worth we use Active Gerund with passive meaning.

4) There are a number of verbs which can be followed by either the
infinitive or the gerund:

a) remember, forget

We use the infinitive if we remember or forget to do something we have or had to do:

• Remember to lock the door (He забудь закрыть дверь).

• I forgot to ask him.

We use the gerund if we remember or forget something that took place in the past:

• She remembered seeing this film. (Oнa помнила, что смотрела этот фильм).

• She forgot ever going there.

Note:With these verbs we normally use Indefinite Gerund with reference to the past.

b) like, love, prefer, hate

The difference between the infinitive and the gerund used after these verbs is revealed mostly in the negative. We use the infinitive when we have feelings beforehand about what may happen, so that the meaning of these verbs is close to wish, want

• I did not like to tell her that (= 'I did not want to, thought it unwise').

• I preferred not to speak at all.

We use the gerund when our feelings accompany or follow what is going on, so that the meaning of these verbs is close to not enjoy:

• I did not like being a nuisance,but I felt that I was.

In the affirmative we can use both the infinitive and the gerund with
practically no difference in meaning:

• I love skating / to skate.

• I prefer staying / to stay at home.

However, to express a particular action in the past the infinitive is usually used:

• I preferred to stay at home.

Note also the common patterns with prefer.

• I prefer walking in the park to staying at home.

• I prefer to walk in the park than (to) stay at home.

c) dread, regret

Dread is used with the infinitive of think; regret — with the infinitive of say, tell, inform:

• I dread to think what is going on there (= 'I try not to think').

• I regret to say that you are not accepted.

We use the gerund when we want to describe something unpleasant that is most likely to happen in the future (dread) or has happened in the past (regret):

• He regretted having told her that.

 

Минченков А. Г.

• I dreaded them coming.

• I dread going to the dentist but I am going.

d) to be afraid

If you are afraid to do something you try not to do it at all in a particular situation.

We use to be afraid + the gerund to show that somebody wants to avoid an awkward situation or is generally afraid of something or somebody:

• She was afraid to go = She did not go.

• He was afraid even to move = He did not move.

• The girl was afraid of offending anyone.

• The boy was afraid of going to school,though he went there every day.

e) advise, intend, recommend

Two options are possible with these verbs:

verb + gerund verb + (pro) noun + infinitive

She advised taking a bus. He advised me not to buy it.
He intended staying until The doctor did not recommend
the small hours. her to have children.

He recommended limiting the amount of fat in her diet.

The gerundial construction is not common. Intend can also be used with the infinitive alone:

• He intends to marry her.

f) Cannot bear can be followed both by the gerund and the infinitive.
We use the infinitive to mean that something we have to do is upsetting
to us:

• I could not bear to tell him that.

We use the gerund to speak about something we dislike:

• I could not bear living with them under one roof.

 

Verbals g) mean Mean (= 'intend') takes the infinitive:

• He meant to get up early.

Mean (= 'entail') takes the gerund:

• This will mean going to bed earlier.

h) try Try (= 'attempt') takes the infinitive:

• He tried hard to be successful.

Try (= 'experiment') takes the gerund:

• Try drinking salted water.

Note:In informal English try + the infinitive is often replaced by try and do something without any change of meaning:

• Try and come in time.

i) understand Understand (= 'have the impression') takes the infinitive:

• I understood her to say that she did not like mice.

Understand (= 'understand why') takes the gerund (gerundial construction)

• I can't understand people liking it.