In Phrasal verbs^x, Gerunds^x

She glorified God by giving back to Him the very thing He desired. She: subjectglorified: verbGod: direct object by giving back to Him the very thing He desired: prepositional phrase, which modifies glorifiedgiving back: gerund (noun) from the phrasal verb to give back, which means to...

I'm somewhat confused about the difference between these two constructions. I can't get when I should use a gerund and when an infinitive. I believe it's very easy for a native speaker to tell the difference if it exists, of course I'd also want to learn the British equivalent to the phrasal...

'gaily' modifies 'lighting up', which, in that context, is a phrasal verb in form, and a gerund in function.

I don't believe so, Seyf. In some subgroups we can discern patterns (as with the remember/regret group we just looked at). Overall, though, I would think it is historical accident in the development of, especially, phrasal verbs and collocations. You have noticed, I am sure, that most grammar...

1. Noun or noun phrase - yes: 'I ate a (big ham) sandwich.' 2. Pronoun - yes: 'I erased him.' 3. Prepositional phrase - no, not really: in 'I looked at his girlfriend', '(his) girlfriend' is considered the direct object, with the particular verb requiring the preposition (a phrasal verb). A...