ESL General English Grammar Questions

Re: gerund

Huevos — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 11:03:24 GMT

Cool Breeze
A gerund is neither a noun nor a verb.

Cool Breeze
Grammatical terminology varies from time to time and from country to country, even from grammarian to grammarian.

Very true! I have been studying Spanish for the last eight years and in that language gerund (gerundio) is the adverbial participle and nothing more. With the noun form (i.e. smoking prohibited, etc) the infinitive is used.

According to Wikipedia: In English the gerund is identical in form to the present participle (ending in -ing) and can behave as a verb within a clause (so that it may be modified by an adverb or have an object), but the clause as a whole (sometimes consisting only of one word, the gerund) acts as a noun within the larger sentence.

Re: gerund

Cool Breeze — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:45:20 GMT

Huevos
Could you please explain how that is so? I saw "Mr. Doe having read the book many times" as a noun phrase of the second clause and "having read" as the verb phrase of the previous quote. How is it operating as a gerund?

Grammatical terminology varies from time to time and from country to country, even from grammarian to grammarian. I am not familiar with the term "noun phrase" and consequently I have never used it. Actually, I had never seen it until I hit English Forums. Mind you, I have nothing against it and I'm not saying there's something wrong with it. I just don't use it, that's all.

"The thing that impacted me instantly was Mr. Doe (not Mr. Doe's??) having read the book many times and being able to quickly understand the content of the book."

In my grammatical terminology having read is a gerund but if you want to call it something else, I don't mind. Having read follows was, in other words, a form of to be, which is possible for a gerund:

Seeing is believing.

Having read also has a subject (Mr. Doe / Mr. Doe's), which is possible for a gerund:

I insist on his/him going there.

In the sentence having read also has an object (the book), which is very common for a gerund:

I insist on his/him reading this book.

A gerund is neither a noun nor a verb. It resembles both to some extent. It resembles a verb in that it can have an object, unlike nouns. A gerund can even be used in the passive:

He insisted on English being spoken.

Those who think a gerund is a noun and therefore its subject must be a possessive form will say: He insisted on English's being spoken. (I'm not one of them.)

Re: gerund

Huevos — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:01:12 GMT

Cool Breeze
Having read is indeed a gerund in the sentence, a perfect gerund to be exact. There are lots of threads on the subject of the gerund.

Could you please explain how that is so? I saw "Mr. Doe having read the book many times" as a noun phrase of the second clause and "having read" as the verb phrase of the previous quote. How is it operating as a gerund?

Re: gerund

Cool Breeze — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 08:38:04 GMT

Cool Breeze
Huevos
Anonymous
having read the book
That's not a gerund, it's the present participal.

That's not a present participle. It's a perfect participle.
CB

Sorry, I didn't read the beginning of the sentence. Having read is indeed a gerund in the sentence, a perfect gerund to be exact. There are lots of threads on the subject of the gerund. Use the Search box in the upper right-hand corner, please.

Re: gerund

Cool Breeze — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 08:33:50 GMT

Huevos
Anonymous
having read the book
That's not a gerund, it's the present participal.

That's not a present participle. It's a perfect participle.

Re: gerund

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:03:16 GMT

Hi, Is it a present participal acting as a noun and thus, qualifies as a gerund??

Re: gerund

Huevos — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:48:56 GMT

Anonymous
having read the book

That's not a gerund, it's the present participal.

gerund

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:18:58 GMT

Hi, I think you don't need to possess a person name if it comes before a gerund. Am I right??? The thing that impacted me instantly was Mr. Doe (not Mr. Doe's??) having read the book many times and being able to quickly understand the content of the book. Also, it this correct?? Hi, I thought you needed his biography, so I am attaching it to this email. If you have any questions, please ask me at the session.