The Gerund. The gerund is a non-finite form of the verb which means that it doesn’t have the category of person

The gerund is a non-finite form of the verb which means that it doesn’t have the category of person, number, tense and mood. Besides it doesn’t have the category of aspect because it is always an ‘ing-form’. The gerund has double nature and combines verbal and nominal characteristics.

Verbal characteristics

1. It names a process or an action in the most general way.

e.g.: My hobby is collecting stamps.

2. It has two verbal categories.

- correlation: doing – having done

- voice: doing – being done

e.g.: He admitted having been in the bank at that time but he denied having robbed it. I hate being lied to.

3. It has the valency of the verb: the gerund may be modified by an adverbial modifier and the gerund of transitive verbs may take a direct object. e.g.: He suggested writing a letter (object) a bit later (adv. mod.)

4. The gerund is used in predicative relation to the nominal element of a predicative complex. A predicative complex could be transformed into a clause.

e.g.: I didn’t mind his/him/ John’s/John coming here. = I didn’t mind that he/ John came here.

5. The gerund is used as the predicate in the following pattern:

e.g.: How about going out for a meal tonight?

Nominal characteristics of the gerund

6. The gerund may be preceded by prepositions: She is good at cooking.

7. The gerund may be preceded by possessive pronouns but the relations between them are predicative. When used before a noun, the possessive pronoun functions as an attribute. Compare:

Our meeting him in town was totally unexpected (gerund) = We met him in town. That was totally unexpected. Те, що ми зустріли його в місті було абсолютно несподівано.

Our first meeting was totally unexpected. (noun)

Наша перша зустріч була абсолютно несподіваною.

8. The syntactic functions of the gerund are similar to those of the noun:

- subject: Smoking is bad for you..

- predicative: His favourite activity was watching television.

- object: I like cooking.

- attribute: In rush hour there was no hope of getting a seat

- adv. modifier: After reading the letter, he changed his mind.

Ex. 1 Note the use of the gerund in the following quotations.

- subject:

Falling in love is not at all the most stupid thing that people do — but gravitation cannot be held responsible for it. (M. Twain) Not being known doesn't stop the truth from being true. (R. Bach)

- predicative:

The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. (Albert Einstein) I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody. (B. Cosby)

- aspect predicate:

Business is like a wheelbarrow. Nothing ever happens until you start pushing. (Unknown) It's easy to stop making mistakes. Just stop having ideas. (Unknown)

- object:

If you think nobody cares you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments. (Unknown) Personally, I'm always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught. (W. Churchill)

- prepositional object

Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought. (A. Szent-Gyorgyi) I can forgive Alfred Nobel for having invented dynamite, but only a fiend in human form could have invented the Nobel Prize. (G. B. Shaw)

- attribute:

Marriage: putting one's hand into a bag of snakes on the chance of drawing out an eel. (Leonardo da Vinci)

- adv. modifier

I daresay one profits more by the mistakes one makes off one's own bat than by doing the right thing on somebody's else advice. (W Maugham)

Gerundial complex

The Gerund may have a subject of its own which is usually expressed by a noun in the genitive case or a possessive pronoun. Eg: He insisted on everybody’s/ our coming to his place. = Він наполягав, щоб всі/ ми прийшли до нього додому. In the informal speech the noun in the common case or an objective pronoun is used. Eg: I’m used to everybody/ them asking me these questions. = Я звикла, що всі/ вони задають мені ці запитання. ‘A noun/ pronoun + the gerund’ form a gerundial predicative complex. In Ukrainian we usually need a subordinate clause to translate it.

Ex. 2 Note the use of the Gerundial complex in the following quotations.

1) Democracy means government by discussion, but it is only effective if you can stop people talking. 2) Justice is my being allowed to do whatever I like. Injustice is whatever prevents my doing so. 3) When a person cannot deceive himself the chances are against his being able to deceive other people. (Mark Twain)

Ex. 3 State the syntactic functions of the Gerunds and Infinitives.

1. Nothing fixes a thing so intensely in the memory as the wish to forget it. (M. Montaigne) _________________ 2. To achieve the impossible dream, try going to sleep. (J. Klempner) __________________ 3. Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired. (J.Renard) _________________ 4. Will Rogers to his niece on seeing the Venus de Milo: See what will happen if you don't stop biting your fingernails? _________________________ 5. Getting caught is the mother of invention. (R. Byrne) _______________ 6. I was a vegetarian until I started leaning toward the sunlight. (R.Rudner) _____________________

7. I'm worried that the universe will soon need replacing. It's not holding a charge. (E.Chilton) __________ 8. The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease. (Voltaire) _________________

9. Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction. (E.Schumacher) __________________ 10. I have discovered that all human evil comes from this, man's being unableto sit still in a room. (B.Pascal) ___________________ 11. If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants. (I.Newton) ________________

12. Good advice is something a man gives when he is too old to set a bad example. (F.Rochefoucauld) _____________ 13. Charm is a way of getting the answer yes without asking a clear question. (A.Camus) _____________ 14. There are more pleasant things to do than beat up people. (M.Ali) _________________15. Time is that quality of nature which keeps events from happening all at once. Lately it doesn't seem to be working. _________________16. TV is chewing gum for the eyes. (F.Wright) ____