The gerund

Герундий - неличная форма глагола, которая называет действие, выражает процесс, происходящий во времени. Если причастие настоящего времени (Participle I, or Present Participle), совпадающее по форме с герундием, - неличная форма, промежуточная между глаголом и прилагательным, то герундий - промежуточная форма между глаголом и существительным.

Сравните:

• The man smoking a pipe is my brother. (Participle I)

• Smoking is bad for your health. (Gerund)

Герундий имеет четыре формы:

1. Простой герундий (Indefinite Gerund) - обычно обозначает действие, одновременное с глаголом в личной форме:

• Stark sat without speaking.

После глаголов to remember, to forget, to excuse, to forgive, to thank, а также с предлогами after и on (upon) Indefinite Gerund обозначает действие, предшествующее действию глагола в личной форме, т.е. имеет значение Perfect Gerund:

• Thank you for coming (for having come).

• I don't remember seeing (having seen) him before.

• On entering the room, we found him dead.

2. Перфектный герундий (Perfect Gerund) - выражает действие, предшествующее действию глагола в личной форме:

• He was proud of having passed the examination.

3. Пассивный герундий (Passive Gerund):

• Unfortunately this ... silence was ruined by the sound of the door being banged.

4. Перфектно-пассивный (Perfect Passive Gerund):

• In the morning light, she was ashamed of herself for having been elated the night before.

Passive Gerund (Indefinite и Prefect) обозначает действие, производимое над лицом или предметом.

Из четырех форм в основном употребляется простой герундий, реже - перфектный и пассивный герундий. Перфектно-пассивный герундий употребляется крайне редко.

Наиболее часто герундий употребляется как:

1. Дополнение после глаголов и словосочетаний:

1. to avoid, to enjoy, to excuse, to forgive, to give up, to postpone;

2. to fear, to remember, to forget, to prefer, to like, to hate, to dislike;

1. to accuse (of), to approve (of), to complain (of), to speak (of), to suspect (of), to think (of), to be tired (of), to agree (to), to look forward (to), to depend (on), to insist (on), to rely (on), to prevent (from), to feel like, to look like, to be sorry (for), to thank (for), to dream (of), to prepare (for), to fail (in), to succeed (in), to begin (by), to finish (by), to end (by), to save (from), can't help, can't stand;

3. to be (fond of, proud of. sure of, ashamed of, tired of, afraid of, good at, bad at, clever at, pleased at, surprised at, ready for, sorry for, grateful for, famous for, good for, right in, used to):

• She enjoyed being in Minneritchie.

• They like working with him.

• I greatly dislike being contradicted.

• I am sorry for keeping you waiting.

• I feel like talking.

• He is very good at painting.

Примечание: После глаголов группы b) может употребляться не только герундий, но и инфинитив. После глагола to remember герундий обозначает действие, относящееся к прошлому, инфинитив - к будущему:

• I remembered to wind the clock.

Я помнил, что мне ещё нужно завести часы.

• I remembered winding the clock.

Я помнил, что завёл часы.

2. обстоятельство.

В этом случае перед герундием всегда стоит предлог: after, before, on, upon, in, at, by, without, for, in spite of, instead of:

• Upon awakening she dressed quickly and left the house.

• He was angry with me for bringing the news.

3. часть составного глагольного сказуемого:

после глаголов: to finish, to begin, to continue, to stop, to go on, to keep on:

• I can't go on talking with you.

• She kept on talking.

Примечание: После глаголов этой группы может употребляться не только герундий, но и инфинитив. После глагола to stop герундий называет действие, которое прекратилось, инфинитив - действие, которое началось:

• I stopped talking to him.

Я перестал с ним разговаривать.

• I stopped to talk to him.

Я остановился, чтобы поговорить с ним.

4. определение:

после слов: idea, thought, suggestion, chance, importance, hope и др.:

• I hate the thought of leaving you.

• I did not at all like the idea of going to the station.

Герундий в сочетании с существительным в общем или притяжательном падеже или местоимением в притяжательном или объектном падеже образует герундиальный оборот (The Gerundial Complex), выполняющий любую функцию в предложении, свойственную герундию:

• Thank you for your answering my letter.

• I dislike my relatives' interfering in my affairs.

Exercise 1. Open the brackets using gerunds.

1.The windows are very dirty; they need (clean).

2.It's very hot, so you don't need (bring) a coat.

3.The house is old, and it badly wants (paint).

4.The famous man didn't need (introduce) himself.

5.The floor is covered with dust; it needs (sweep).

6.The grass in the garden is very dry; it wants (water) badly.

7.The planners didn't realise they would need (build) so many houses.

8.The shirt is quite clean; it doesn't want (wash) yet.

9.Her shoes have a hole in them; they want (mend).

10.The room was in a terrible mess; it needed (tidy up).

11.The baby's crying; I think he needs (feed).

12.I know my hair wants (cut) but I never have time to go to the hairdresser's.

13.John needed (cheer up) when he heard that he'd failed his exam.

14.You should tidy the garden.- Yes, it needs (tidy).The roses want (water),the peaches want (pick),the grass wants (cut).

Exercise 2. Open the brackets using the gerund in the appropriate form.

1.After the accident the injured man recovered consciousness in hospital. He remembered (cross) the road, but he didn't remember (knock down). 2.I am still thirsty in spite of (drink) four cups of tea. 3.This carpet always looks dirty, in spite of (sweep) every day. 4.He didn't return the book he had borrowed after (promise) to do so. 5.He got into the house by (climb) through a window, without (see) by anyone. 6.I think he was foolish to buy a car before (learn) how to drive it. 7.Peter is a much better chess-player than I am, and he was very much surprised when I beat him yesterday for the first time. He isn't used to (beat). 8.He went to bed at 9p.m. in spite of (sleep) all the afternoon. 9.He complained of (give) a very small room at the back of the hotel. 10.The little girl isn't afraid of dogs in spite of (bite) twice. 11.The little girl didn't go near the dog; she was afraid of (bite). 12.The baby went to sleep a few minutes after (feed). 13.The little girl never gets tired of (ask) her mother questions, but her mother often gets tired of (ask) so many questions. 14.They lived in a small town for ten years and then moved without (make) friends with any of their neighbours. 15.The little boy was punished for (tell) a lie by (send) to bed without his supper. 16.Mary was chosen a year ago to act in the school play. She was very pleased at (choose). 17.Jack doesn't like boxing. I don't know if he is afraid of (hurt) his opponent or of (hurt) himself. 18.He was taken to hospital unconscious after the accident. He died in hospital without (recover) consciousness. 19.I always treat people politely and I insist on (treat) politely. 20.The boy was very hungry at eleven o'clock in spite of (eat) a big breakfast two hours earlier. 21.She didn't get out of bed until ten o'clock in spite of (wake up) at seven.