The gerund. General morphological and sentactical characteristics

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Introduction

Today the English language is widely spoken throughout the world. It is the language of 21^st century the language of informative technologies so while describing the English language; first of all it should be underlined that the English language is the mother of the global media. To understand English clearly one should know not only its standard vocabulary but also its grammar including different grammatical rules. Each language has its own distinct grammar (singular). «English grammar» is the set of rules within the English language itself». Verbals are the inseparable part of the English grammar. A non-finite verb (or a verbal) is a verb form that is not limited by a subject and, more generally, is not fully inflected by categories that are marked inflectionally in language, such as tense, aspect, mood, number, gender, and person. There are four non-finite forms of the verb: the infinitive the gerund participle one and participle two. These forms possess some verbal and some non - verbal features. Lexically they don't differ from finite forms. Grammatically the difference between the two types of forms lies in the fact that they denote a secondary action a process related to hat expressed by the finite verb. The non finites possess the verb categories of voice correlation and aspect. They lack the categories of number person mood and tense.

The gerund is the non-finite form of the verb which combines the properties of the verb with those of a noun that is to say a gerund is a kind of verbal noun. The focus of this research project is to represent general morphological and syntactical characteristics of gerund.

Nowadays this theme is rather contemporary as every learner must be prepared to meet the challenge simply because verbals occur so frequently in the spoken and written English.

1. The gerund. General morphological and sentactical characteristics

The gerund is a non-finite form of the verb with some noun features. It is formed by adding the suffix - ing to the stem of the verb. Similar with the infinitive the gerund serves as a verbal name of the process but its substantive quality is more strongly pronounced than that of the infinitive. As a matter of fact the gerund cannot perform the function of the paradigmatic verbal head form for a number of reasons. In the place it is more detached from the finite verb than the finite verb than the infinitive semantically tending to be far more substantival unit categorically. Then, as different from the infinitive it doesn't join in the conjunction of the finite verb. Unlike the infinitive it is the suffixal form which makes it less generalized than the infinitive in terms of the formal properties of the verbal lexeme.

The grammatical meaning of the gerund is that of a process. Thus to some extent it competes with nouns of verbal origin, e.g. translating - translation, describing - description, arriving - arrival, perceiving - perception, helping - help. Nouns, however, tend to convey the fact or the result of an action, which in certain circumstances may be something material, whereas gerunds convey the idea of action or process itself.

Show me your translation: it is neatly done, and there, are no mistakes in it.

You will enrich your vocabulary by translating from English into Russian and vice versa.

If the meaning of the gerund is nearly the same as that of the noun, the former emphasizes the process, and the latter - the fact:

Thank you for helping me.

Thank you for your help.

It is natural that the verbal character of the gerund is more prominent in transitive verbs, owing to their combinability and their passive forms.

Morphologically the verbal character of the gerund is manifested in the categories of voice and perfect and syntactically in its combinability. Thus the gerund may combine: a) with a noun or pronoun as direct, indirect or prepositional object, depending on the verb it is formed from; b) with an adjective or a noun as a predicative; c) with an infinitive. Gerunds can be modified by adverbs and prepositional phrases functioning as adverbial modifiers. The nominal character of the gerund reveals itself syntactically, mainly in its syntactical function, partly in its combinability.

Like a noun, it can function as subject, object, or predicative.

Seeing me he stood irresolute, his eyes dark and mournful - subject (Hansford Johnson)

I remember laughing aloud - object (Du Maurier)

She was angry with herself for letting her voice become hoarse. - prepositional object

(Stone)

Peter's hobby is seeing all new films. (predicative)

When it is an attribute or an adverbial modifier, a gerund, like a noun is preceded by a preposition.

There is a chance of catching the train.

Don't forget to call me up before leaving London.

I reached my goal in spite of there being every reason against it.

The fact that the gerund can associate with a preposition is a sure sign of noun features.

Like a noun, but unlike the other non-finites, it can combine with a possessive pronoun and a noun in the genitive case denoting the doer of the action expressed by the gerund.

Excuse my interrupting you.

I insist on John's staying with us.

It combines with the negative pronoun no in the idiomatic construction of the type: There is no getting out of it.

2. The grammatical categories of the gerund

As already stated the gerund has only two grammatical categories, those of voice and perfect.

The Grammatical Categories of the Gerund

Voice Perfect	Active	Passive
Non-Perfect	running taking	- being taken
Perfect	having ran having taken	- having been taken

The category of perfect

The category of perfect finds its expression, as with other verb forms, in the contrast of non-perfect (indefinite) and perfect forms.

The non-perfect gerund denotes an action simultaneous with that expressed by the finite verb.

E.g she walked on without turning her head. (Hardy)

The perfect gerund denotes an action prior to the action denoted by the finite verb.

E.g she really had been crying… out of anger at having been driven so hard. (Heym)

The perfect gerund is invariable in indicating priority, whereas the meaning of the non-perfect gerund is vaguer and more flexible and may easily be modified by the context. Thus according to the context the action denoted by the non-perfect gerund may precede or follow the action denoted by the finite verb. The non-perfect gerund may denote a prior action thanks to the lexical meaning of the verb or the preposition suggesting priority, so the non-perfect gerund is generally used after verbs of recollection, gratitude, blame, reproach, punishment and reward.

E.g. I don't remember hearing the legend before (Hardy)

Thank you for restraining me just now (Ch. Bronte)

The non-perfect gerund is to be found in gerundial phrases introduced by the prepositions on and after. The preposition on suggests immediate priority and an instantaneous action.

On reaching the end of the street we turned towards the river.

Tom, after reflecting a little, gave a long sigh.

The lexical meaning of the above-mentioned verbs and prepositions makes the use of the perfect form redundant. It is used, however, when the priority is emphasized, as in following examples:

E.g. After walking about ten yards he found the hat among the leaves (Hardy)

On leaving the house we directed our steps to the nearest shade

The category of voice

The gerund of transitive verbs possesses voice distinctions. Like other verb forms, the active gerund points out that the action is directed from the subject (whether expressed or implied), whereas the passive gerund indicates that the action is directed towards the subject.

Active passive

e.g he liked neither reading aloud nor being read aloud to. (Maugham)

The perfect passive gerund is very rarely used.

There are some verbs (to need, to want, to require, to deserve) and the adjective worth which are followed by an active gerund with passive meaning.

E.g «the slums want attending to, no doubt» he said (Galsworthy)

he realized that his room needed painting. (Heym)

Syntactical Functions of the Gerund

The gerund can perform any syntactical function typical of a noun, although in each case it has peculiarities of its own. It may function (a) alone, without modifiers, or (b) as the headword of a gerundial phrase, or (c) as part of a gerundial predicative construction. Since the functions of gerundial constructions are identical with those of single gerunds or gerundial phrases, we shall treat them together. The gerundial constructions are usually translated by clauses.

A gerundial phrase consists of a gerund as headword and one or more words depending on it.

A gerundial construction contains some nominal element denoting the doer of the action expressed by the gerund and the gerund itself with or without some other words depending on it. The nominal element can be a noun in the genitive case or a possessive pronoun (if it denotes a living being), or a noun in the common case (if it does not denote a living being).

The gerund as subject

As a rule the gerund as subject stands in front position.

Being your husband is only a job for which one man will do a well as another(Show)

The subject stands in postposition in sentences opening with an introductory it, which happens when the meaning of the subject is accentuated and the predicate is a phrase such as to be (of) no use (no good, useless), to make all the (no) difference.

«It's no good you hating it» said Mr. Bunting becoming didactic(Greenhood)

You must go and lie down. It's no good making yourself ill. (Maugham)

The gerund as part of the predicate

The gerund is used in compound predicates of both types - verbal and nominal.

The gerund as part of the compound nominal predicate (predicative)

As predicative the gerund expresses either characterization or identity. In the latter case the predicate reveals the meaning of the subject. The gerund as predicative is usually used after the link verb to be, to mean, to lookand has oppositive meaning. The gerund as predicative is often preceded by like

The only remedy for such a headache as mine is going to bad (Collins)

The gerund as part of the compound verbal predicate

In combination with phasal verbs the gerund forms a compound verbal phasal predicate. The finite phasal verb denotes a phase of the action expressed by the gerund. The most common phasal verbs followed by the gerund are: to begin, to burst out, to start, to cease, to continue, to give up, to go on, to finish, to keep on, to leave off, to stop.

3. The gerund as object

The gerund can be used as a direct or a prepositional object. As a direct object it follows a number of monotransitive verbs, some of which take only the gerund, while others may be followed either by the gerund or by the infinitive. The gerund is also used after the adjective worth.

e.g I simply love reading (Galsworthy) (direct object)

The times were good for building (Galsworthy) (prepositional indirect object).

Predicative constructions with the gerund form a complex object as they consist of two distinct elements, nominal and verbal.

e.g perhaps you wouldn't mind Richard's coming in (Dickens)

The following verbs are followed only by the gerund:

To admit, to appreciate, to avoid, to deny, to detest, to enjoy, to excuse, to fancy, to imagine, to mention, to mind, to miss, to postpone, to practice, to put off, to recollect, to resent, to resist, to risk, to suggest, to understand, can't help, can't stand.

e.g Excuse my leaving you in the dark a moment (Dickens)

I don't mind going and seeing her (Hardy)

Verbs followed by either the gerund or the infinitive.

To have, to forget, to intend, to like(dislike), to plan, to prefer, to remember, to regret can't bear, can't afford to be afraid.

e.g I was always afraid of losing his goodwill(Hardy)

After verbs taking an object and an objective predicative the gerund, or rather a gerundial phrase or construction, is preceded by an introductory object it.

I think it no use your (you) arguing about trifles. (Hardy)

As a prepositional object the gerund may follow (a) monotransitive prepositional verbs, (b) ditransitive verbs taking a direct and a prepositional object, (c) adjectives and statives and (d) participle II, generally when used as a predicative.

a) To agree, to object, to look forward to __ to

To hear, to learn, to think, __of

To persist, to consist to succeed __ in

To count, to depend, to rely __ on

e.g they couldn't understand how he had so nearly succeeded in deceiving them(Priestly)

All the happiness of my life depends on your loving me (Hardy)

b) To accuse, to suspect __ of

To prevent __ from

To assist, to have no difficulty __in

To thank, to blame, to praise, to punish, to sentence __for

To congratulate smb__ on

e.g I really thank you heartily for taking all this trouble (Hardy)

You suspect me of stealing your diamond (Collins)

c) To be afraid, to be aware, to be conscious, to be capable to be fond, to be ignorant, to be proud, to be sure __ of

to be responsible for to be sorry__ about

to be keen__ on

e.g she is proud of being so pretty (Dichens)

I am fond of being looked at |(Wilde)

d) To be accustomed __to

To be absorbed, to be engrossed__in

To be displeased __with (at)

To be surprised__ at

To be tired__of

e.g She wasn't pleased at my coming (Dickens)

The gerund as attribute

When used as an attribute, the gerund modifies nouns, mainly abstract nouns. It is always preceded by a preposition, in the vast majority of cases by of, as in the following combinations: the art of teaching, the habit of speaking, a certain way of walking, a chance of seeing somebody, a hope of getting a ticket, an idea of going to the cinema, an intention of learning another foreign language, etc.

E.g. She had a feeling of having been worsted (Galsworthy).

There is no chance of their getting married for years (Galswoarthy).

A gerund as attribute may precede the noun it modifies in phrases bordering on a compound noun. A premodifying attribute is used without a preposition, as in a dancing master, a diving suit, a reading lamp, a spending habit, a working method, a writing career, a swimming pool, a walking stick, etc.

3. The gerund as adverbial modifier

Owing to the variety of prepositions which may precede the gerund in the function of an adverbial modifier, a gerund may have different meanings.

1) As an adverbial modifier of time it may characterize the main verb from the viewpoint of priority, simultaneity, or posteriority. It may also indicate the starting point of the action. The prepositions used are on, after, in, before, since.

e.g he was to have three days at home before going back to farm (Galsworthy)

On reaching Casterbridge he left the horse at trap at an inn (Hardy)

2) As an adverbial modifier of reason it is introduced by the prepositions because of, for, from, for fear of, on account of, through.

e.g I dared not attend the funeral for fear of making a fool of myself(Dickens)

3) As an adverbial modifier of manner the gerund generally occurs with the prepositions by or without.

e.g she startled her father by bursting into tears (Collins)

4) As an adverbial modifier of attendant circumstances it requires the preposition without.

e.g she was not brilliant not active but rather peaceful and statuesque without knowing it (Dreiser)

5) As an adverbial modifier of concession it is preceded by the preposition in spite of:

I don't ask any questions in spite of there being a lot of questions to ask.

6) As an adverbial modifier of condition it takes the prepositions without, but for, in case of.

e.g he has no right bothering you and papa without being invited (Show)

7) As an adverbial modifier of purpose it is introduced by the preposition for, though this pattern is rather rare.

e.g One side of the gallery was used for dancing (Galsworthy)

The gerund as parenthesis

The gerund as parenthesis tends to become a set phrase. We mainly find here the verbs to talk and to speak. The gerund as parenthesis serves to denote some sort of reservation on the part of the speaker or else it is used an introductory phrase meaning incidently.

The gerund and the infinitive compared

The gerund and the infinitive have much in common since they both have some nominal and some verbal features. However, in the infinitive the verbal nature is more prominent, whereas in the gerund the nominal one.

The basic difference in their meaning is that the gerund is more general, whereas the infinitive is more specific and more bound to some particular occasion. When they combine with the same verb the difference in their meaning and use should be fully realized.

1. With the verbs to like, to hate, to prefer, to forget, to be afraid of the gerund expresses a more general or a habitual action, the infinitive a specific single action:

e.g I was always afraid of loosing his goodwill (Galsworthy)

Gwendolen answered rather pettishly and her mamma was afraid to say more (Eliot)

2. With the verbs to begin and to start either form may generally be used, but again the gerund is preferable when the action is more general.

e.g The young man began turning over the pages of the book(Dickens)

At length she began to speak softly (Eliot)

No gerund is used:

a) When the finite verb is in the continuous form.

e.g He is beginning to study French.

It's beginning to rain.

b) With the verbs to understand and to see (meaning to understand).

e.g He began to understand how it was done.

c) When the subject denotes a thing, not a living being.

e.g. The doors began to creak.

The clock began to strike.

3. The verb to remember is followed by a gerund when it means a prior action (to recall, to keep in one's memory some past event), and by an infinitive when it means a simultaneous action (the working of one's memory).

e.g. I remember seeing my book in many bookshops remember to buy the book

4. The verb to regret is followed by the gerund to suggest priority, whereas the infinitive suggests a simultaneous action.

I regret not having worked harder at the language as a boy. I regret following his advice.	I regret to inform you. I regret to have to inform you.

5. a) after to stop the gerund is used when it suggests the end of the action denoted by the gerund, whereas the infinitive is used as an adverbial of purpose.

Stop arguing! I stopped talking.	I stopped to talk to a friend of mine

b) The phrasal verb to go on with a gerund suggests the continuation of the action, denoted by the gerund and forms part of a compound verbal predicate; an infinitive points out a new stage in the sequence of actions.

The teacher went on explaining the use of verbals (continued).	The teacher went on to explain he use of the gerund after some verbs.

6. The verb to allow is used with a gerund when it is not followed by an indirect object.

They don't allow smoking here.	They allowed us to smoke.

gerund noun verb grammatical

The gerund and the verbal noun compared

Although formed in the same way as the gerund, the verbal noun is another part of speech and has no verbal features at all. The following table shows the main differences between the gerund and the verbal noun.

The characteristics of the gerund and the verbal noun

The distinctive features of the gerund are its verbal categories in the sphere of morphology and its verbal combinability. The distinctive features of the verbal noun are its nominal category of number and its noun combinability. It must be taken into consideration that a verbal noun is an abstract noun, and the use of the article and the plural form is determined by the requirements of the meaning and context.

It is more difficult to discriminate between a gerund and a verbal noun in cases where the verbal characteristics of the gerund are not apparent. This happens mainly when an - ing form is used as a single word without any modifiers or with such modifiers as occur with both the gerund and the verbal noun (His coming was unexpected. Her acting was perfect). In such cases the meaning of the form should be taken into account. Thus a gerund suggests a process, an activity, whereas a verbal noun denotes kinds of occupation (skating as compared to hockey), an art form (acting, painting), a branch of knowledge (engineering, spelling as opposed to pronunciation and as a synonym for orthography).

It goes without saying that an - ing form is a pure noun when it denotes an object, often the result of activity (a building - a house; a drawing, a painting - a picture). In such cases a noun unlike a gerund, may also combine with numerals, as in two drawings, four buildings, etc.

Conclusion

Being based on the accomplished practical and theoretical research we came to the conclusion that the non - finite forms of the verb are the forms of the verb intermediary in many of their lexico-grammatical features between verb and the non - processual parts of speech. A non-finite verb (or a verbal) is a verb form that is not limited by a subject and, more generally, is not fully inflected by categories that are marked inflectionally in language, such as tense, aspect, mood, number, gender, and person. As a result, a non-finite verb cannot serve as a predicate and can be used in an independent clause only when combined with an auxiliary verb (e.g., «He can write» but not «He to write»). Rather, it can be said to head a non-finite clause. English has three kinds of verbals:

participles, which include past and present participles and function as adjectives (e.g. burnt log, a betting man);

gerunds, which function as nouns and can be used with or without an article (the Running of the Bulls, studying Latin is a way to better understand English)

infinitives, which have noun-like (the question is to be or not to be), adjective-like (work to do), and adverb-like functions (she came over to talk). If in order can precede the infinitive («she came over in order to talk»), then it must be acting as an adverb.

But in this research paper we have analyzed only gerund with its morphological and semantic characteristics and how it can influence the language by making it more colorful and bright.

We came to the conclusion that the use of verbals isn't only an interesting theme for research but creatively used they can effectively promote learning critical thinking and resourcefulness in learners of all ages.

Bibliography

1. M.Y. Blokh «A course in theoretical English grammar» 1983

2. N.A. Kobrina, E.A. Korneyeva, M.I. Ossovskaya, K.A. Guzeyeva «an English grammar syntax» 1985

3. E.M. Gordon, I.P. Krylova «A grammar of present day English» 2004

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