By Gerunds, Genitives

Here are some examples The main point is to explain the correct answerThe sentences are little-bit childisch ;they are some modified sentences. I am afraid that my explanations seems to be a little childisch, too. So please help me how to turn it into the right explanation. Mary was real angry...

Grammar Geek wrote:Singing is a gerund, a noun, so it takes the possessive my. This is rather peculiar, I think. I have encountered the same thing on these forums many times. Native speakers say: "A gerund is a noun." Do they teach it that way in American schools and universities? Grammatical...

Believer wrote:Can a gerund function as a countable noun? If so, can you show me how it is done in simple terms?Hi BelieverOf course a gerund can form a plural: his comings and goings.As you see, the plural is formed by adding an s to the word. Some grammarians distinguish between a gerund and a...

Thank you, CalifJim, Khoff and Eimai_Anglos. I think I made a mistake -- yes, it should be a "gerund" and not "genitive." I did some reseach on my own and I think I have gotten the following Google search results: "a cutting of" 29,200 hits "a shaking of" 29,700 hits "a mixing of" 275,500...

I was about to point out the same thing. According to some grammarians, there are no genitives in English. According to others they are the same as possessives. According to others they are only possessives formed with apostrophes. my, your, our Mary's, the students', a friend's A...

Before this thread goes on too long, I wanted to point out that a noun ending in -ing, that comes from a verb, is a "gerund," not a "genitive."

1. Do / does / did is generally used instead of repeating a verb:He likes coffee and so do I.John saw her there and I did as well. (NOT: ... and so saw I)2. I am not familiar with the term 'noun phrase'. Being corrected is a passive gerund and there is vacillation in its subject. If the subject...

Eating a hearty breakfast, we prepared for our long journey. Why is the underlined part of the sentence a participle phrase? 'eating' is a non-finite verb, not a gerund, but the whole phrase may be considered as a verbal noun (gerund phrase), not a verbal adjective (participle phrase)....

"There's something in the attic. It seems to feel free to come in and go out the attic vent at will. This something's frequent coming and going will make it hard to trap. That's probably as close as I can come to a natural-sounding sentence using a 's genitive and a gerund."Bravo! I wouldn't...

Uh, how about this. My brother said he's mailed me something. He wouldn't say what, just that it was something I would really like. I'm sure looking forward to this something's arriving in the mail today. It's pretty awkward. I'd say arrival and not the gerund arriving. Or... There's...