By Gerunds, Conversations

Hi, Here some extracts from conversation (about baseball) I'd like you to help me understand: "...And now that Roger Clemens, who is to pitching in this era what Bonds has been to hitting." - could you explain in terms of grammar why gerund is used? For the same reason that we say 'Pitching is...

Hi. Here some extracts from conversation (about baseball) I'd like you to help me understand: "...And now that Roger Clemens, who is to pitching in this era what Bonds has been to hitting." - could you explain in terms of grammar why gerund is used? "...The report gives Barry Bonds more...

SHALL AND WILL IT is unfortunate that the idiomatic use, while it comes by nature to southern Englishmen (who will find most of this section superfluous), is so complicated that those who are not to the manner born can hardly acquire it; and for them the section is in danger of being...

«I think I have the advantage of being a native speaker!» Indeed. If you say a phrase is wrong then it's wrong and vice versa. And thanks for sharing your knowledge! «Maybe you feel a difference on the basis of whether the completing phrase is a subject or an object of the -ing...

CJ: Didn't you pick up that fuzzy approch from my conversation with Bokeh? I wasn't aware of any discussions like that between you and Bokeh, no! CJ

CJ and Schetin: The more I understand the less I have to remember. The more deep and fundamental and less superficial (mnemonic, or rules of thumb) the rules are, the better. Of course, the majority of rules emerge in my mind and only part of them I adopt from grammar(s). But the latter rules...

Swagatalakshmi wrote:OK - consulted couple of grammar books."Participles" (verb+-ing or verb in past participle form) ALWAYS modify nouns.If you see a verb +-ing used as a stand-alone phrase (noun) which is not modifying anything, it must be a gerund. There is nothing called "adverbial...

Goodman wrote:5)You had better have seen the doctor earlier. The tone and tense are rather odd. I would say “You had better” does not go with this context. If I guess correctly, do you mean to say” you should have seen the doctor earlier” ?HelloI'm interested in Goodman's discussion that "had...

Dear friends, It is a most interesting distinction. We may say perhaps that «nice to meet you» designates the introductory moment. It is therefore a single event. It is therefore the infinitive. «Nice meeting you» designates however the period of conversation consequent upon the introductory...

Not fair! Now you've edited and added more information to your original post, so my response doesn't make sense any more! Of course I knew what the original post meant. I was trying to encourage the poster (and you) to use English to explain more clearly and explicitly what you meant. ...