The Gerund

The Gerund

The gerund has the same form as the participle and because of this they are often confused. The characteristic feature of the indefinite participle is its verbal function , while the characteristic feature of the gerund is its double function , nominal and verbal. In most cases this double function is brought out by the presence in a context of noun determinatives(possessive adjectives , demonstrative adjectives) and prepositions as well as of verbal determinatives and modifiers (accusatives , adverbs)[1]

The verbal character of the gerund may be seen from the fact that this form may:

a. be combined with adverbial members

Our chance of ever knowing the truth is very slight.

(Sansa noastra de a sti vreodata adevarul este minima)

b. have an object or predicative complement

She was proud of being his daughter.

(Ea era mandra ca era fiica lui)

c. have a subject

I do not mind Tom borrowing my books.

(Nu ma deranjeaza ca Tom imprumuta carti de la mine)

d. be inflected in the perfect and the passive

This saved him from being hurt.

(Acest lucru l-a salvat sa nu fie ranit)

There is a possibility of his having arrived.

(Este o posibilitate ca el sa fi ajuns)

The nominal features of the gerund are as follows :

a. it may take the plural inflection –s

b. it may take the inflection of the genitive

We are walking for the walking’s sake.

(Ne plimbam de dragul de a ne plimba)

c. it may be preceded by articles

There was a gentle tapping on the door.

(S-a ciocanit incet la usa)

d. it may be modified by attributes

There was much coming and going.

(Se umbla de colo colo)

e. it may be used to form compounds in the same way as a noun

a walking-stick

f. it may be coordinated with nouns

Travelling and hotel accommodation is always first class.

(Calatoria si hotelul sunt mereu de prima clasa)

g. it may be subject , object , predicative complement and the complement

of a preposition

Speaking a foreign language is learning it.

(A vorbi o limba straina inseamna a o invata-o)

Seeing is believing.

(Daca vad , cred)

Gerunds have “tense” and voice distinctions :

a. Indefinite gerunds : coming , writing

b. Perfect gerunds : having come , having written

c. Active forms : coming , writing

d. Passive forms : being written , having been seen

A. The Indefinite Gerund 

The typical situations when an –ing form is an indefinite gerund are the following :

a. when the –ing form is preceded by a preposition

I am tired of singing.

(M-am saturat de cantat)

On leaving the house , I looked round.

(Parasind casa , am privit imprejur)

Note

To is an exception because it is the particle of the infinitive. But, in other case , when it has the function of preposition , it is itself followed by a gerund :

I am looking forward to seeing you.

(Astept cu nerabdare sa te vad)

b. when the –ing form is required :

1. by the verbs : to finish,to keep,to need, can’t help, to require, to avoid, to

go on, to give up , to leave off, to start, to begin, to enjoy, to live, to hate,

to dislike, to continue, ti mind, to suggest, to be worth, to stop

She enjoys teasing me.

(Ii place sa ma tachineze)

I remember hearing the noise.

(Mi-aduc aminte ca am auzit zgomotul acela)

2. by some words and expressions : busy, near, worth(while), that is, there is little, there is much, there is no, there was, it is good, (it is)no use, it is uselss

They were busy experimenting the new methods,

(Sunt ocupati cu experimentarea noilor metode)

I do not feel like going there.

She looks near crying.

(Sta sa ploua)

3. by the following verbs with expressions : to accuse of, to be afraid of, to be capable of, to be engaged, to be fond of, to be proud of, to be surprised at, to count on , to succeed in

He had been used to regarding her as a child.

(Fusese obisnuit s-o priveasca ca pe un copil)

She was afraid of crossing the little bridge.

(Ii era frica sa traverseze podul)

4. by the following nouns with preposition :addistion to, astonishment at apology for, art of, disappointment at, experience in, habit of, hope of, importance of, interest in, means of, method of, necessity of, objection to opportunity of, pleasure of, right of, skill in, surprise at, way of

I do not like his way of speaking.

(Nu-mi place cum vorbeste)

Are you in the habit of smoking much?

(Fumezi mult?)

There are , however , other patterns too.

a. the + -ing + direct object

The drying up a single tear has more

Of honest fame than shedding seas of gore. (Byron)

The –ing form is determined by the definite article and is followed by a direct object (a single tear). The structure is sometimes called half – gerund . In spoken English the nouns keep the common form before the gerund :

I do not understand your colleague opposing the proposals of

his co-workers.

(Nu inteleg opozitia colegului tau la propunerile facute de colegi)

The same thing happens with the personal pronouns which keep the accusative forms :

Excuse me yawning.

(Iarta-ma ca am cascat)

It’s no use us going to bed yet.

(N-are rost sa ne ducem de pe acum la culcare)

b.verb + -ing

He stopped talking.

(Nu mai vorbeste)

I like painting.

(Imi place sa pictez)

Talking and painting are gerunds for :

they can be replaced by cognate nouns : He stopped the talk. I like the painting

they can be replaced by other nouns determined by the zero article – it might be assumed that , they ,too, are determined by it (I like literature, by the side of I like painting ) , because painting has been used not in its sense of “pictura” , “arta picturala”

both “talking” and “reading” can be replaced without change in meaning by the corresponding long infinitives.

c. verb (+accusative) + preposition + -ing

I prevented him from coming.

(L-am impiedicat sa vina)

Coming is preceded by a preposition , which points to the nominal function of the word but it has no completion which would show that it has a verbal function too. Coming is a gerund and not a verbal noun for :

it cannot be replaced by nouns

it does have a verbal function , but this is implicit : between him and coming there is an implicit predicative relation , comparable to the relation between an accusative an and infinitive in a complex object.

d. adjective or past participle +preposition + -ing

He was fond of painting.

He was hard of hearing.

Painting is either a verbal noun meaning “pictura” or a verbal meaning “sa picteze”.

e. noun + preposition + -ing

He had no intention of stealing.

The opportunity of singing

Stealing and singing are gerunds for , together with with of , they are replaceable by long infinitives (He had no intention to steal , the opportunity to sing)[4]

1. The Gerund and the Possessives

The subject is placed in the genitive and precedes the gerund :

Her being late was remarked upon.(Possessive Adjective)

(Faptul ca a intarziat a fost comentat)

They disliked Jean’s smoking so much.(noun in genitive)

(Le displacea ca Ioana fuma atat de mult)

This construction is necessary when the subjects of the two verbs differ :

You may depend upon his coming.

(Poti fii sigura ca va veni)

But when the two verbs have the same subject , the possessive must be avoided before the gerund :

I do not like waiting.

(Nu-mi place sa astept)

The nouns receive before the gerund the possessive form :

I could not help Maggie’s laughing.

(N-am putut s-o impiedic sa nu rada)

The neuter nouns keep the same common form :

No one opposed my plans being carried out.

(Nimeni nu s-a impotrivit realizarii proiectelor mele)

We can’t rely on the weather turning fine.

(Nu ne putem bizui ca vremea se va imbunatati)

2. Syntactic Functions of the Indefinite Gerund

The indefinite gerund can be :

1.Part of a subject

Reading classical books is useful.

(Citirea cartilor clasice este un lucru folositor)

2. Part of a predicative

My sugestión is reading the poem once again.

(Sugestia mea este sa citesti poezia inca o data)

3. Part of a modal compound verbal predicate

He intended returning sooner.

(Intentiona sa se inapoieze mai repede)

4. Part of an aspect compound verbal predicate

He stopped talking.

(Inceta sa mai vorbeasca)

5. Direct object or part of a direct object

I enjoyed going there.

(Mi-a facut placere sa merg acolo)

6. Part of a prepositional object

He succeeded in solving the problem.

(A reusit sa rezolve problema)

7. Part of an attribute

The importance of spelling correctly

(Importanta de a scrie correct)

8. Part of an adverbial modifier of time , with the prepositions after, on, upon, before, in, at

On reaching the village they made a halt.

(La sosirea in sat au facut un popas)

9. Part of an adverbial modifier of manner , with the prepositions by, in

They spent the day in walking.

(Si-a petrecut ziua plimbandu-se)

10. Part of an adverbial modifier of attendant circumstances with the preposition without

He stood there without budging.

(Statea acolo fara sa se odihneasca)

11. Part of an adverbial modifier of purpose , with the preposition for

The exercise was given for being written.

(Exercitiul a fost dat pentru a fi scris)

12. Part of an adverbial modifier of cause , with such prepositions as by, owing to, for, because of

Owing to his coming late,we could not start at the appointed time.

(Datorita faptului ca a intarziat , nu am putut pleca la ora fixata)

13. Part of an adverbial modifier of concession , with the preposition in spite of

In spite of being old , he tried to learn as much as he could.

(Desi era batran , cauta sa invete cat mai mult)

3. Predicative Constructions With The Indefinite Gerund

The indefinite gerund can form predicative constructions , that is to say constructions in which the verbal element expressed by the gerund is in predicate relation to the nominal element expressed by a noun or pronoun.

These constructions may be grouped as follows :

a. Accusative with the Gerund

I hope you will forgive my disturbing you.

(Sper sa ma ierti ca te deranjez)

b. Preposition and Noun with the Gerund

Months often pass without the marginless blue level being ruffled by the wandering keel. (F.T. Bullen , “A Sock of Shakings”)

B. The Perfect Gerund

The perfect gerund denotes an action taking place before the action denoted by the personal verb :

I remember having been there.

(Imi amintesc sa fi fost acolo)

Her chief handicap is her having been ill.

(Principala ei piedica este faptul de a fi fost bolnava)

This can be used instead of the present form of the gerund (working, speaking) when we are referring to as a past action.

He was accused of deserting the ship. or

He was accused of having deserted the ship.

(A fost acuzat ca abandonase vasul)

The perfect gerund is fairly usual alter deny :

He denied having been there.

(A negat ca ar fi fost acolo)

Otherwise the present form is much the more usual.[8]

The syntactic functions of the perfect gerund are fewer than those of the indefinite gerund. The perfect gerund can be :

1. Direct Object or Part of a Direct Object

I remember having been there.

(Imi amintesc ca am fost acolo)

2. Part of a Prepositional Object

I count on his having posted the letter.

(Contez pe faptul ca a expediat scrisoarea)

3. Indirect Object or Part of an Indirect Object

I object to his having driven the car too fast.

(Nu sunt de acord cu faptul ca a condus prea repede)

4. Part of an Adverbial Modifier of Time

After having watched TV for a while , he took a rest.

(Dupa ce s-a uitat la televizor ceva vreme , se odihni)

5. Part of an Adverbial Modifier of Cause

Due to his having staged the play, the performance was a success.

(Datorita faptului ca regizase el piesa , spectacolul a fost un success)

6. Part of an Adverbial Modifier of Concession – with the preposition in spite of

In spite of his having lied , we managed to get at the truth.

(In ciuda faptului ca mintise , am izbutit sa descoperim adevarul)