Additional Notes

Combinability and syntactic functions

Past Participle

Combinability and syntactic functions

The Gerund

Read the notes below and the literature on the gerund, the past participle and do the tasks.

The verb: Non-finite forms: the Gerund and the Past Participle.

- It is represented as a verbal name of the process, having more features of the substantive than the infinitive. Similar to the noun the gerund can be modified by a noun in the possessive case or its pronominal equivalents. It is a suffixed form.

- It has a category of aspect speaking – having spoken. It is expressed by the opposition of Simple and Perfect aspect.

- It has a category of voice: doing – being done

Consequently, the gerund paradigm includes four forms: the Simple active and passive, the Perfect active and passive.

- the category of correlation

- with the noun and has a syntactic function of the object: He showed his writing to all of them.

- with the verb and has a syntactic function of the subject: His writing didn’t show the expected results.

- with finite notional verbs as the object of the action: He interrupted her crying.

- with…

Thus, it can have syntactic functions of the subject, the object, the predicate, the attribute, the adverbial modifier.

The formal sign is homonymous with that of the present participle.

It combines the properties of the verb and the adjective. Grammatically, it implies perfect and passive actions presented in qualitative sight.

- the syntactic function of the attribute (in pre – position and post- position): Her written book …; her book written in 2000…

- the syntactic function of the predicate: The book is written for light reading.

- in semi-predicative constructions of complex object (with the verb of wish and oblique causality): I want the document prepared for signing by four p.m.; will you have (get) my coat brushed?

- In absolute past complex: The book written, he concentrated himself on traveling. Theses constructions show cases of syntactic compression (The book was written…; I want that you prepare…)

- The Infinitive expresses the semantic category of modality: Here is the work to be done immediately. – Here is the work that should (must) be done immediately.

- what is determined by the use of the infinitive or the gerund in such cases: agree to do, want to do, start to do / start doing, deny doing, mind doing, accuse of doing, thank for doing? Dynamic or less dynamic presentation of the process.

- Taken in isolation the gerund and the present participle are homonymous and identified as V-ing forms in Descriptive linguistics. I was angry with Jane’s complaining to her parents. I was angry with Jane complaining to her parents. There should be gerund and participle testing (by substitution, reconstruction, and others), i.e. use of functional method.

- other notes on pp. 115-122 (Blokh)

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