The characteristics of the Gerund

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GERUND

Characteristics	Tense, Voice Distinctions	Peculiarities
Nominal	Verbal	Simultaneous action	Prior action
The Gerund may be: 1. used as a subject Swimming is just delightful there. 2. used as a predicative My favourite out-door winter sport is figure-skating. 3. – an object I hate seeing people off, I prefer being seen off myself. 4. preceded by a preposition I can boast of having seen London. 5. modified by a possessive pronoun His being so slow is very annoying. 6. modified by a noun in the Possessive Case objected to She objected to her son’s travelling by sea.	The Gerund 1. can take a direct object They can’t get good crops without cultivating soil. 2. can be modified by an adverb She burst out crying bitterly. 3. has voice and tense distinctions seeing off, having seen off, having been seen off	Indef Gerund Active I hate being on sich leave and staying in bed. Indef Gerund Passive He had a feeling of being watched.	Perf Gerund Active It serves you right for having disobeyed me. Perfect Gerund Passive I’ve never heard of the house having been painted once since it was built.	1. The Gerund renderes in Russian by a noun, an infinitive, by деепричастие, by a subordinate clause. 2. After the verbs to remember, to excuse, to forgive, to thank and after the preposition on (upon), after, without the Indefinite Gerund is used to denote a prior action. I hardly remember ever seeing a better game. Young people enter college after finishing high school, at 18. 3. After the verbs to want, to need, to deserve, to require and the adjective worth the Gerund is used in the active form though it is passive in meaning. My watch needs repairing. The film is amusing. It is worth seeing. The sportsman deserves praising.

PREDICATIVE CONSTRUCTIONS WITH THE GERUND

Function	Sentence Patterns	Tense, Voice	The nominal element	Peculiarities
a living being	a lifeless thing
1. a complex subject 2. a complex predicative 3. a complex object 4. a complex attribute 5. a complex adverbial modifier	1. It’s no use your telling me not to worry. 2. What annoyed me most was his being invited there regularly. 3. I was irritated with him having been put in an awkward position. 4. I don’t like the idea of Mary’s going home alone. 5.I stayed at the party a bit longer in spite of her having told me the sad news.	Ind Ger Act Ind Ger Pass Perf Ger Act Perf Ger Pass	May be expressed: 1. by a noun in the Possessive Case It’s bad enough Richard’s failing at the examination. 2. by a possessive pronoun The morning passed without my making any decision. 3. by a noun in the common case a) When the doer of the action is emphasized He denied Mary having done this on purpose. b) When the nominal element consists of 2 or more nouns I insist on Mary and Kate passing their vacation at a rest-home. 4. by a pronoun in the objective case Do you mind them coming too?	May be expressed: 1. by a possessive pronoun He insisted on its (the telegram) being delivered without delay. 2. by a noun in the common case The carrying out of these plans depends on the documents being signed in time. 3. by pronouns all, this, that, both, each, smth I couldn’t deny both of them having made a reasonable excuse.	1. The Gerundial Predicative Construction is nearly always rendered in Russian by a subordinate clause introduced by: то; что; тем, что; как; после того, как; etc You may rely on my setting matters right. Вы можете рассчитывать на то, что я все улажу. 2. Gerundial constructions in which the nominal element is expressed by a noun in the common case or a pronoun in the objective case are sometimes called constructions with a half Gerund. 3. In the Predicative Gerundial Construction the Gerund usually refers to a subject of its own..

THE GERUNG AS A PREDICATIVE

Function	Sentence Patterns	Tense, Voice	Distinctions
a predicative	1. What he loves best in the world is going to the theatre. 2. What annoyed me most of all was his accepting their proposal quite readily.	Ind Ger Act Ind Ger Pass	The important part is helping people to live normal lives. What tired him greatly was being questioned by newspaper correspondents.

THE GERUNG AS A SUBJECT

Function	Sentence Patterns	Tense, Aspect, Voice Distinctions	Patterns to be memorized
a subject	1. Flying is a thrilling thing. 2. Your being so indifferent irritates me a great deal. 3. It’s no use discussing it now, we must act. 4. It’s worth while seeing the ballet. 5. There was (невозможно было) no persuading him, as he was too stubborn.	Ind Ger Act Ind Ger Pass Perf Ger Act Perf Ger Pass	It’s no good your trying to find an excuse. Jack laughed. Their being bothered amused him. His having failed at the examinations was a great disappointment to his mother. Mary’s having been put in an awkward position irritated both of us.	A complex subject. His being so slow is very annoying. It was quite unexpected his coming so soon. A subject with the introductory “there is no”. Once he started making little jokes, there is no stopping him. There is no deceiving him, he can read my face like a book.

THE GERUNG AS A PART OF A COMPOUND VERBAL PREDICATE

Function	Sentence Patterns	Tense, Aspect, Voice Distinctions	Peculiarities
Part of a compound Verbal Aspect Predicate Part of a compound Verbal Modal Predicate	The audience burst out applauding. Julia couldn’t help feeling the warmth of the reception.	Ind Ger Act Ind Ger Pass	They started clapping to show their appreciation on the acting. I couldn’t help staying in a hotel when on a business trip. I couldn’t help being excited when I was told that news.	Here are some verbs with which the Gerund forms are compound verbal aspect predicate: to keep on; go on; give up; leave off; burst out; finish; stop; cease; begin; start; continue. The Gerund forms a comp. verb. modal predicate with the modal expression can’t help

THE GERUNG AS A DIRECT OBJECT

Function	Sentence Patterns	Tense, Aspect, Voice Distinctions	Peculiarities
a direct object	1. The museum is world famous and certainly worth seeing (a direct object). 2. I remember my brother-in-law going for a short sea trip once for the benefit of his health (a complex direct object).	Ind Ger Act Ind Ger Pass Perf Ger Act Perf Ger Pass	Would you mind having a business talk over the telephone. I can’t bear being asked about my private affairs. He didn’t recollect such a thing having happened to him before. He denied the message having been sent by post.	The verbs after which the Gerund is used as a direct object or a complex direct object: to avoid, deny, enjoy, fancy, mind, postpone, put off, suggest, want, need, require, deserve, be busy, like, dislike, hate, prefer, excuse, remember, forgive, forget, regret, recollect, can’t afford, can’t bear, etc

THE GERUNG AS A PREPOSITIONAL OBJECT

Function	Sentence Patterns	Tense, Aspect, Voice Distinctions	Peculiarities
a prepositional object	We are looking forward to seeing “Swan Lake” tonight. He agreed to this valuable letter being registered (a complex prepositional object).	Ind Ger Act Ind Ger Pass Perf Ger Act Perf Ger Pass	I was greatly surprised at having my letters returned. I insisted on the parcel being sent with declared value. She suspected of his actually having opened her letters. She complained of having been interrupted every other moment.	The verbs after which the Gerund is used as a prepositional object: to approve of, to complain of; to accuse of, to suspect of, to think of, to boast of, to be aware of (осознавать), to be capable of, to be fond of, to be pleased at, to be surprised at; to agree to, to object to, to confess to (признаваться), to devote to, to look forward to (с нетерпением ждать), to get used to (привыкать), to get accustomed to, to be used to; to rely on, to insist on, to count on, to depend on; to feel like (хотеть), to look like, to persist in, to succeed in, to be busy in, to be engaged in, to be interested in, to prevent from, to keep from, to thank for, to care for.

THE GERUNG AS AN ATTRIBUTE

Function	Sentence Patterns	Tense, Aspect, Voice Distinctions	Peculiarities
an attribute	The doctor left 3 different medicines with instructions for giving them. I don’t believe that is the reason for they loosing the game (a complex attribute).	Ind Ger Act Ind Ger Pass Perf Ger Act Perf Ger Pass	He pointed out the way of avoiding complications. He had a feeling of being watched. I hadn’t any fear of having said too much. She gave no sign of having been informed of their arrival.	Here are the nouns after which the Gerund is used as an attribute: OF+GER chance, habit, idea, trouble, risk, method, way, custom, fear, manner, means, problem, necessity, possibility, pleasure, right, hope, intention, importance, effort, feeling, sound, gift, sign, etc FOR+GER instruction, apology, explanation, reason, preparation, excuse, plan IN experience, use, skill, interest, sense, harm, difficulty AT astonishment, disappointment,surprise

THE GERUNG AS AN ADVERBIAL MODIFIER

Function	Sentence Patterns	Tense, Aspect, Voice Distinctions	Prepositions used with the Gerund
1.-“- of time	1. Before crossing the road, stop and look both ways. 2. On having the news of his arrival she hurried home. 3. In trying to avoid another car, he ran into a lamp-post.	Ind Ger Act Ind Ger Pass	After being looked through, the article was ssigned. On entering the hall she saw a lot of familiar faces.	in, on (upon), before, after, at
of manner	She spent the whole evening in packing. He saved a good deal of time by going there by air.	Ind Ger Act Ind Ger Pass	He improved his article by changing the end. He succeeded in finishing the work by being given a helping hand.	in, by
of attendant circumstances	Besides being clever she was also very industrious. He put the letter away without reading it.	Ind Ger Act Ind Ger Pass	Instead of being invited to the party he was sent on a business trip. She passed by without noticing me.	without, besides, instead of
of purpose	This hall is used for dancing.	Ind Ger Act Ind Ger Pass	He addressed them for being given a piece of good advice. The story was changed for staging at the theatre.	for
of condition	You’ll never speak good English without learning English.	Ind Ger Act Ind Ger Pass	He couldn’t enter without being invited. For any popular play you can’t get tickets without booking them in advance.	without in case of
of cause (reason)	Though being careless, he met with an accident.	Ind Ger Act Ind Ger Pass Perf Ger Act Perf Ger Pass	He was in hospital for having been run by a car. He caught cold through getting his feet wet.	for, for fear of, owing to, through, because of
of concession	In spite of being tired, he continued working.	Ind Ger Act Ind Ger Pass Perf Ger Act	In spite of having been scolded we was not offended. In spite of having spent the whole summer in the south, he is taken ill again.	in spite of

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