more examples please

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Anonymous

#419439 Sun, 16 Sep 07 09:58 AM

CalifJim wrote:
Gerunds can be treated as countable or non-countable, the same as other nouns. It seems to me that as non-countables they are generally taken more abstractly.

Thank you, CalifJim. I am going to give you four sentences that have a preposition followed by what looks to be a noun equivalent. Can you please tell me if these are illustrations of your points that you made above? Are they all correct noun equivalents?

1.He is displeased with filling of his pail. -- general abstract reference (used as an uncountable noun)

2. He is displeased with the filling of his pail. -- specific reference (used as a countable noun)

3. He is displeased with a filling of his pail. -- an instance of 'filling' (also used in a countable sense)

4. He is displeased with his filling of his pail. -- could be both abstract and specific but in the possessive 'his'

Thank you.

As with other nouns, a/an can mean an instance of when placed before a gerund.

a shaking of the ground = an instance of ground-shaking = an occasion in which (the) ground shakes / shook
a mixing of the ingredients = an instance of ingredient-mixing = an occasion in which (the) ingredients are / were mixed

CJ

Anonymous

Countable nouns, Gerunds, Nouns, Possessives, Prepositions, Uncountable nouns

Believer

#430261 Sat, 13 Oct 07 02:57 AM

Thank you, Calif.

Can you tell me what you mean by the same rules can be applied to parenthetical content?

As to the application of the rules to quoted content, I think mostly we focus on some content that is taken from a writing content but can it be done for the case where you are not quoting from any source but using it to bring out a content like this?

A possible title to a post:

What does "It's awesome" mean? -- Here, a person did not pull the content in quotation marks out from anywhere or referring to anything special, but rather decided to put the quotation marks around the clause for the purpose of bring it out for an inquiry, thus making it to act as a noun that shows general meaning.

Jesus wants to be the "someone else" in our lives whom we put first. -- Usually, we use the phrase "someone else" without any articles but in this case we can use "the' because we are specifying a specific someone else, but can we write without the quotation marks like this?

Jesus wants to be the someone else in our lives whom we put first.

Is quotation marks necessary because it is a not-so-usual use of the word "someone else"?

Believer

Joined on Mon, Jan 2 2006

Contributing Member (1,968)

Articles, Clauses, Nouns, Quotation marks, Quoting, Whom

CalifJim

#430267 Sat, 13 Oct 07 03:31 AM

Can you tell me what you mean by the same rules can be applied to parenthetical content?

I suppose I meant material in parentheses, the same as you did when you asked the question:

You said, "Gerunds can be treated as countable and non-countable, the same as other nouns." OK, can you apply similar or the same reasoning for a quoted content (or not quoted but in parentheses -- for special treatment, I guess, if that is possible) like this:

Is there a creative "slowing down" of experience?

What I was saying was that quoting gerunds or putting them in parentheses has no effect on the grammar of gerunds. They can be countable or non-countable, the same as when they are not quoted or not in parentheses.

CJ

CalifJim

Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004

California

Veteran Member (16,549)

"There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche

Gerunds, Grammar, Nouns, Quoting

CalifJim

#430270 Sat, 13 Oct 07 03:35 AM

Jesus wants to be the someone else in our lives whom we put first.

Is Are quotation marks necessary because it is a not-so-usual use of the word "someone else"?

I would understand it with or without the quotation marks. I've seen it written both ways.

CJ

CalifJim

Articles, Quotation marks, Whom

CalifJim

#430271 Sat, 13 Oct 07 03:42 AM

Thank you, CalifJim. I am going to give you four sentences that have a preposition followed by what looks to be a noun equivalent. Can you please tell me if these are illustrations of your points that you made above? Are they all correct noun equivalents?

1.He is displeased with filling of his pail. -- general abstract reference (used as an uncountable noun)

2. He is displeased with the filling of his pail. -- specific reference (used as a countable noun)

3. He is displeased with a filling of his pail. -- an instance of 'filling' (also used in a countable sense)

4. He is displeased with his filling of his pail. -- could be both abstract and specific but in the possessive 'his'

The gerund filling is the object of the preposition with in each case, so yes, they are all noun equivalents.

The descriptions you give show a connection with the points I made above. Yes.
However, filling a pail is difficult to conceive of as an abstraction, so the resulting sentences aren't particularly natural sounding.

CJ

CalifJim

Countable nouns, Gerunds, Nouns, Possessives, Prepositions, Uncountable nouns

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