- •The gerund: grammatical categories and ways of translation
- •Task 1. Decide if the statements given below are true or false.
- •I don’t remember hearing / having heard this legend before.
- •Task 3. Open the brackets to make the correct active or passive form of the gerund.
- •Task 4. Find the gerunds, translate the sentences and identify how the gerunds are rendered in translation (by an infinitive, a noun, participle I or a subclause).
- •Task 5. Translate into English using the correct active or passive form of the gerund.
- •Differentiating between the gerund, the verbal noun and participle I
- •The gerund must not be confused with the verbal noun, which has the same –ing suffix, compare:
- •Task 6. Sort the –ing forms in the sentences below as gerunds or verbal nouns. Explain what helped you to decide.
- •Task 7. Translate into English using the correct forms of the gerund or verbal nouns.
- •The gerund must not be confused with the participle I, which has the same –ing suffix, compare:
- •Task 8. Sort the –ing forms in the sentences below as gerunds or participles. Explain what helped you to decide.
- •Task 9. Translate into English using the correct forms of the gerund or participle I.
- •Task 10. Sort the –ing forms in the sentences below as gerunds, verbal nouns or participles. Explain what helped you to decide.
- •Gerundial phrases
- •I insist on all of them coming on time.
- •Task 11. Identify gerundial phrases and their elements, sort out complex objects, and translate into Russian/Ukrainian.
- •Task 12. Substitute the subclauses by gerundial phrases; insert prepositions where needed.
- •Task 13. Translate into English using gerundial phrases.
Differentiating between the gerund, the verbal noun and participle I
The gerund must not be confused with the verbal noun, which has the same –ing suffix, compare:
Reading a good book gives me a lot of pleasure. (gerund)
The reading of a good book gives me a lot of pleasure. (verbal noun)
The main points of difference between the gerund and the verbal noun are as follows:
|
Gerund |
Verbal Noun |
1 |
The gerund has a double character — nominal and verbal, e.g.
= Обучение чтению (существительное) проводится с использованием нескольких методов. / Навчання читанню (іменник) проводиться з використанням декількох методів. = Научить читать (глагол) можно с использованием нескольких методов. / Навчити читати (дієслово) можна з використанням декількох методів. |
The verbal noun has only nominal character, e.g.
= Даже быстрое чтение (существительное) текста дает вам представление о его тематике. / Навіть швидке читання (іменник) тексту дає вам уяву про його тематику. |
2 |
The gerund is not used with an article, e.g.
|
The verbal noun may be used with an article, e.g.
|
3 |
The gerund has no plural form. |
The verbal noun may be used in the plural, e.g.
= Наши симпатии обусловлены обстоятельствами. / Наші симпатії обумовлені обставинами. |
4 |
The gerund of a transitive verb can be followed by a direct object, e.g.
|
A verbal noun cannot be followed by a direct object; instead it is followed by an indirect object with the preposition of, e.g.
|
5 |
The gerund may be modified by an adverbial modifier, e.g.
|
The verbal noun may be modified by an adjective (attribute), e.g.
|
Task 6. Sort the –ing forms in the sentences below as gerunds or verbal nouns. Explain what helped you to decide.
At the core of Internet is a sharing of information.
Everything depends on your sharing this information with me.
What bothers me, Theodora, is the getting of the American visas.
Thanks to Fred, we no longer had difficulties in financing our project.
Financing the project by this method will reduce the money supply.
These young men should have a talking to.
My older brother loved talking to his friends and was also fond of swimming.
"I'm the one who's been doing most of the talking," she said.
You know that our parents will kill you if you ruin the new carpeting.
The barking and howling of the dog kept me awake.
While I was giving my report, some guy in the back kept interrupting me every two minutes.
The ringing of the telephone awakened Meredith with a sudden start.
Then the clapping grew louder and the singing became more enthusiastic.
This story is not about the suffering of great heroes, or the sufferings of the mighty.
The sobbing of the two women slowly began to subside.
Will you stop sobbing; it’s getting on my nerves!
Poor Nancy started a terrible weeping which frightened her little brother.
And the constant bickering! How did you close your eyes to that?
They kept bickering over who should answer the phone.
We have a chance for a gathering at Mandy’s today. Will you come?