I saw him sitting on the bench.

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Jackson6612

#344027 Tue, 27 Mar 07 12:08 PM

I saw him sitting on the bench.

Is sitting being used as an adjective?

Jackson6612

Joined on Wed, Dec 27 2006

Senior Member (2,890)

NOTE: When you reply to my post, please look for mistakes in grammar, syntax or punctuation, and let me know of any suggestions you have. Thank you.

Yoong Liat

#344030 Tue, 27 Mar 07 12:11 PM

Jackson6612 wrote:
I saw him sitting on the bench.

Is sitting being used as an adjective?

It is used as a verb.

Yoong Liat

Joined on Mon, Sep 4 2006

Singapore

Veteran Member (5,861)

Yoong Liat

Verbs

New2grammar

#344056 Tue, 27 Mar 07 01:11 PM

YongLiat, I think you mean the word 'sitting' is a verbal noun (gerund), right? It's a noun that describes the verb 'sit'.

http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/gerund.htm =>Gerunds function as nouns

New2grammar

Joined on Tue, Nov 21 2006

Veteran Member (7,670)

Who wants to go sailing around the world with me?

Gerunds, Nouns, Verbs

Yoong Liat

#344093 Tue, 27 Mar 07 02:33 PM

New2grammar wrote:
YongLiat, I think you mean the word 'sitting' is a verbal noun (gerund), right? It's a noun that describes the verb 'sit'.

http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/gerund.htm =>Gerunds function as nouns

No, 'sitting' is a verb here. It is a participle.

Yoong Liat

Gerunds, Grammar, Nouns, Verbs

Kooyeen

#344148 Tue, 27 Mar 07 04:29 PM

Umm, that's confusing...
If you sit on a bench, then are you sat on a bench or are you sitting on a bench?
And if I'm sitting on a bench, am I about to sit down (present continuous) or am I already sat/sitting on the bench?

I saw him sitting on the bench. Tongue Tied [:S]

I believe the avove sentence is not to be interpreted the same as "I saw him entering the building".

Now I'm confused...

Kooyeen

Joined on Thu, Dec 22 2005

Italy

Senior Member (3,833)

If you don't have a sense of humor already, it's about time you buy one.

Present continuous

Yoong Liat

#344160 Tue, 27 Mar 07 04:44 PM

I'm quoting from Essential English Grammar.
The words in bold are gerunds or verbal nouns, i.e. verbs used as nouns.
Running is a good way to keep fit.
Susan is good at drawing.
I don't like watching television.
Sometimes it is difficult to know whether an ing word is a gerund or a present participle.
If you can replace the ing word or its phrase with the pronoun 'it', then the word is a gerund. Look again at the above sentences and replace the words in bold with 'it'.

I saw him sitting on the bench. We cannot say 'I saw him it.'
.

Yoong Liat

English grammar, Gerunds, Grammar, Nouns, Pronouns, Quoting, Verbs

Kooyeen

#344174 Tue, 27 Mar 07 05:10 PM

Hi Yoong,
yeah, of course that's not a gerund, but does that present participle act as ad adjective or as a part of a present continuous?

I saw him entering the building. ---> I saw him. He was entering the building. (present continuous, ongoing action)
I saw him sitting on a bench. ------> I saw him. He was sitting on a bench. (present continous??? I saw him while he was in the process of sitting down???)

Smile [:)]

Kooyeen

Gerunds, Present continuous

Yoong Liat

#344185 Tue, 27 Mar 07 05:32 PM

Kooyeen wrote:
Hi Yoong,
yeah, of course that's not a gerund, but does that present participle act as ad adjective or as a part of a present continuous?

I saw him entering the building. ---> I saw him. He was entering the building. (present continuous, ongoing action)
I saw him sitting on a bench. ------> I saw him. He was sitting on a bench. (present continous??? I saw him while he was in the process of sitting down???)

All present partiples end in ing.
I'm quoting from the same book.
A present participle is a form of a verb that you can use to make the present continuous tense. So you're right about the tense used in the sentence quoted.
Some gerunds can be used in front of other nouns, like adjectives. Again you're right on this point.
a washing machine = a machine that does washing
walking boots = boots that you wear for walking in the countryside

Yoong Liat

Gerunds, Nouns, Present continuous, Quoting, Tenses, Verbs

Goodman

#344292 Tue, 27 Mar 07 09:08 PM

Yoong Liat wrote:
New2grammar wrote:

YongLiat, I think you mean the word 'sitting' is a verbal noun (gerund), right? It's a noun that describes the verb 'sit'.

http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/gerund.htm =>Gerunds function as nouns

No, 'sitting' is a verb here. It is a participle.

I can't believe it! Finally we agree on something.... Smile [:)]

Reason:

A: I saw John.

B: What is he doing?

A: John was fixing his car. - Fixing is used as a verb in the present contineous form.

If I say "I saw John fixing his car"- In this context, "saw" is the main verb in past tense and "fixing" is a present participle describing what John is doing, not a gerund.

Fixing car is John's hobby- In this context, "fixing" is a gerund.