Predicative Constructions with the Gerund

PC is a construction in which the verbal element expressed by the G is in predicate relation to the nominal element expressed by a noun or a pronoun (I wouldn't like her going to that party). The G "going" is in predicate relation to the pronoun "her", which denotes the doer of the action. The nominal element of the construction, when it denotes a living being, can be expressed by: 1) a noun in the genitive case or a possessive pronoun (I'm expecting sister's coming back); 2) a noun in the common case (I remember Alex telling me the story). When the nominal element consists of two or more nouns or when it's a noun modified by an attribute used in post-position it can be expressed only by a noun in the common case (I've seen her brother and sister going somewhere; I've never seen a man of sense acting this way). If the nominal element denotes a lifeless thing it's expressed by a noun in the common case or by a possessive pronoun (I noticed the car slowing down). The nominal element of the PC can be expressed by a pronoun which has no case distinctions: "all, this, that, both, each, something" (I heard all of them coming in). A gerundial construction is mostly rendered to Russian by a subordinate clause introduced by "то, что; тем, кто; как; etc.".

THE GERUND & THE PARTICIPLE. THE GERUND & THE INFINITIVE.

THE GERUND & THE VERBAL NOUN

The differences between the G & the P: 1) The G may be preceded by a preposition; 2) The G may be modified by a noun in the possessive case or a possessive pronoun; 3) The G may be used in the function of subject, object and predicative; 4) The G and the P both can be used in the function of attribute and adverbial modifier, but the G is always preceded by a preposition. However, one should differentiate between "a dancing hall" (a hall where people dance – the purpose of the hall – G) and "a singing girl" (a girl that sings – an attribute of the girl – P).

The G & the I both can be used with such verbs and word groups as " to be afraid, to begin, to cease, to continue, can(not) afford, to dread, to fear, to forget, to hate, to intend, to (dis)like, to neglect, to prefer, to propose, to remember, to recollect, to start, to stop". But with some verbs and verb groups (like those underlined) the I is mostly used with reference to a special occasion, the G being more appropriate to a general statement (I hate to interrupt you; I hate interrupting you). The verb "to remember" used with the I refers to the future while the G refers to the past (Remember to post the letter; I remember posting the letter). The verb "to stop" used with the G forms part of a compound verbal aspect predicate, the I has the function of an adverbial modifier of purpose (She stopped knitting when he came in; She stopped to see who was in).

The differences between the G & the VN: 1) The G has nominal and verbal characteristics (the VN has only nominal ones); 2) The G is not used with an article; 3) The G has no plural forms; 4) The G of a transitive verb takes a direct object (the VN takes a prepositional object with the preposition "of"); 5) The G may be modified by an adverb (the VN – by an adjective).

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16