Grammatika_sovremennogo_angliyskogo_y
.pdf"Aren't you coming to the music room?" "Not if there is any music going on."
"There was a man hurrying down the street in front of me.
We find the structurally dependent use of the ing-form in coming on (in, up) when it modifies a noun which is an object of the verb to have (to have got).
e.g. I saw at once he had an attack of malaria coming on.
Sam thinks that he ought to return home by the next boat. He has got his exams coming on.
You've got too many things coming up to get involved in such an affair.
This kind of attribute is used in literary as well as in spoken English.
Note. It is noteworthy that running in post-position to a plural noun is used in the meaning of 'one after another', 'in succession'.
e.g. He says he has received three telegrams running from them.
§ 229. In all other instances the use of the ing-form as attribute in post-position is free. It is a loose attribute in this case and, hence, may be separated from its head-noun by a pause. In all other respects this attribute is similar to the structurally depen-
dent one: the head-noun is also the subject of the ing-form and the ing-form is generally part of a more or less extended group.
This kind of attribute is neither lexically nor structurally dependent — it can modify any noun and the noun can have differ ent syntactic functions in the sentence.
e.g. I could hear the voices of the kids waiting for the school bell to ring.
They stumbled on the snow turning to icy water.
Then I picked up a booklet depicting various scenes of Navy life.
The loose character of the ing-form in this function is always marked off by intonation, and it may also sometimes be indicated by the use of a comma.
e.g. The wardrobe was empty, except for one dress, swinging on a hanger.
The door was opened by one of the man-servants, bearing an envelope, addressed to me in Collingwood's bold hand.
This loose attribute is frequently used in literary style but is not typical of spoken English.
§ 230. The ing-form in the function of attribute may be preceded by a preposition. In this case it always follows its headnoun and is generally part of an extended phrase. The ing-form is lexically dependent here.
In most cases the ing form is preceded by the preposition of and the attribute acquires appositive meaning, i.e. serves to explain the meaning of its head-noun. That is why it can modify only certain abstract nouns that admit of and sometimes even require an explanation of their meaning. The number of nouns thus used is quite considerable. The most commonly occurring of them are: action, (dis)advantage, adventure, aim, appearance, art, attitude, business, capacity, case, chance, charge, choice, (dis)comfort, com
plication, conception, consequence, consideration, consolation, (in)convenience, cost, custom, danger, delight, difficulty, disap pointment, disgrace, effect, emotion, enterprise, evidence, expendi ture, expense, experience, fact, fascination, favour, fear, feelinggesture, gift, grief, guilt, habit, honour, hope, horror, humiliation. idea, ignorance, illusion, impertinence, importance, impression, in-
cident, initiative, instant, intention, interest, issue, job, joke, joy, labour, lightness, limit, lovet luck, luxury, madness, magnificence, manner, means, medium, memory, merit, method, misery, misfortune, mistake, moment, motion, movement, necessity, notion, object, opinion, opportunity, pain, pity, pleasure, point, policy, possibility, power, precaution, pretence, pride, privilege, process, proof, prospect, purpose, question, relief, reputation, result, risk, role, routine, rule, satisfaction, sensation, sense, shame, shock, sign, signal, sin, sorrow, sort, speciality, stage (=level), standard, state, success, support, surprise, symptom, talent, task, terror, thought, trick, trouble, use, way, week, wisdom, work and some others.
e.g. He said that he had no chance of learning the truth. I don't want her to make a habit of being late.
I have no hope of discussing it, Mr Birling.
There was no possibility of taking a walk that day.
I had the privilege of meeting your mother and dad some weeks ago.
The prospect of travelling with two elderly very dull people made me regret my hasty decision yesterday.
He admired his way of doing things very much.
After a while I began to have a feeling of being watched. Miss Moss gave no sign of having heard his words.
She experienced an unreasonable feeling of having been cheated. Her parents are terribly upset at the thought of her giving evidence.
The ing-form may also be preceded by the prepositions for, in, at, about and to. But they are by far less common than of. These prepositions are found after a limited number of nouns which regularly require their use:
for — cause, excuse, genius, gift, grounds, motive, passion, pretext, reason, reputation, talent;
in — advantage, belief, believer, difficulty, experience, harm, hesitation, ingenuity, meaning, object, participation, pleasure, point, purpose, sense, skill, use;
at — amazement, astonishment, attempt, delight, dismay, irritation, pleasure, satisfaction, shyness, surprise;
about — fantasy, obsession, scruples; to — objection, preparation.
e.g. She had a real passion for reading detective stories. Did he have any special reason for doing that?
There was no point in going further.
I saw no harm in asking a few questions. He felt irritation at being disturbed.
I was making up my mind to another attempt at persuading him to do it.
After three months I got an obsession about having a place of my own.
Certainly I should have no objection to working with the man.
For the means of expressing the subject of the action denoted by the ing-form see "Verbs", § 166.
This ing-form is not restricted to any particular style and is
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widely used in English.
(For comparison with the infinitive see §§ 203-204, 242.)
§ 231. The ing-form may be used as an attribute in a sentence pattern with it as a formal subject. The ing-form is lexically dependent here — it is regularly used only after it is no good and it is no use with appositive meaning.
e.g. It's no use lamenting over things that are past and done with. "It's no use going on like this," he said.
It's no good trying to fool yourself about love.
It's no good my saying I ' m sorry for what I've done. That would be hypocritical.
If she had made up her mind to anything it was no good our opposing her.
Note. We also find a synonymous construction there is no use followed by an ing-form.
e.g. There was no use pretending that they were different from the others. There was no use complaining.
This construction is less common than the one with the formal if, still less common is the pattern in which the ing-form is preceded by the preposition in.
e.g. You can see now there's no use in trying to make him understand.
Sometimes the ing-form occurs after a number of other nouns which are, as a rule, semantically pale, such as thing, business, chance, idea, problem and some others. The nouns are usually modified by an adjective which is semantically more important than the noun.
e.g. In this filthy weather it's the hardest thing in the world getting things dry.
I'd like to give it to him myself. It's not the same thing sending it in a letter.
It's been a great chance my meeting you like this. It'll be such a surprise to her seeing you.
It should be mentioned, however, that the ing-form is not common after these nouns. We normally find an infinitive here (see "Verbs", § 206). The use of this ing-form is mainly restricted to spoken English.
For the means of expressing the subject of the action denoted
Iby the ing-form see "Verbs", § 166.
§232. The ing-form may also be used as an attribute in a sentence pattern with it as a formal object of the verbs to find, to think and to make. The formal it, in its turn, is followed by a
noun. It is to this noun that the ing-form serves as an attribute. e.g. Won't you find it rather a bore having me at home for so long?
It should be noted that this construction is of rare occurrence. (For comparison with the infinitive see § 207.)
The ing-form as Parenthesis
§ 233. The ing-form as parenthesis tends to become a set phrase. We mainly find here the verbs to talk and to speak. The ing-form as parenthesis serves to denote some sort of reservation on the part of the speaker or else it is used as an introductory phrase, meaning 'incidentally' (compare with the Russian ).
e.g. Secrets, generally speaking, are not very well kept nowadays, with reporters and television cameras all around us.
Roughly speaking, it might have been said that youth and hope in women touched him.
Talking about crime, I can lend you rather a good book, as you are interested in the subject.
Of course, strictly speaking, the excuse was not necessary.
The ing form as parenthesis is in most cases placed at the head of the sentence and, in writing, marked off by a comma.
The Infinitive and the ing-form Compared
§ 234. The infinitive and the ing-form sometimes have similar functions in the sentence and it is therefore necessary to define the spheres of their application.
The distinction between the two verbals partly lies in their different tense and aspect characteristics. The infinitive tends to express a single action following that of the predicate verb, while the ing-form generally serves to denote permanent actions, simultaneous with that of the predicate verb. (These characteristics refer to the simple forms of the infinitive and the ing-form. Their Perfect forms are infrequent and do not play an important part in distinguishing between the two verbals). But it should be noted that we are dealing here only with tendencies, not with hard and fast rules. For that reason the difference between the infinitive and the ing-form sometimes becomes obliterated.
In most cases, however, the differentiation between the two verbals rests on linguistic tradition which finds its expression in the following:
1) the infinitive and the ing-form have a different frequency of occurrence in certain functions (and the preference of one form to the other cannot be accounted for by any tangible reasons, grammatical or semantic);
2) the infinitive and the ing-form are in certain functions lexically dependent, which means that their choice is determined by their head-word, but not by any grammatical properties inherent in them;
3)the infinitive and the ing-form are sometimes structurally dependent, i.e. their use is determined by definite sentence patterns;
4)the infinitive and the ing-form may become part of a set phrase.
Besides, in some of the functions there are a few additional factors which affect the choice between the two verbals. The infinitive, for instance, may acquire modal meaning which is never
expressed by the ing-form. The ing-form, in its turn, when preceded by prepositions (or conjunctions), can express different meanings not typical of the infinitive. In certain functions the infinitive of terminative verbs serves to express accomplished actions, while the ing form shows the action in its progress.
The Perfect infinitive may, as well as the Perfect ing-form, denote actions preceding that of the predicate verb. But the Perfect infinitive can also, in certain positions, express unreality.
On the whole, the differentiation between the infinitive and the ing-form is well defined, and the choice between them does not present much difficulty as in most functions there is no overlap. To prevent possible mistakes in the cases where they do overlap, it is necessary to compare the two verbals where they are used in a parallel way.
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The Infinitive and the ing-form as Subject
§ 235. Neither the infinitive nor the ing-form as subject is common in English, so the distinction between them is not very important for practical purposes.
The differentiation between the infinitive and the ing-form as subject is, on the one hand, determined by their respective tense and aspect characteristics — the infinitive tends to denote an action following that of the predicate verb (a), while the ing-form mainly serves to express an action simultaneous with that of the predicate verb (b).
e.g. a) To win the world's greatest cycling event became the ambition of his life.
b) Beatrice and I don't correspond unless there is a major event in the family. Writing letters is a waste of time.
On the other hand, the choice between the infinitive and the ing-form is to a certain extent determined by the usage. According to tradition, the ing-form is preferred in this function and the infinitive is by far less frequent. Sometimes, however, the use of the infinitive is required by an additional factor, namely the ability of the infinitive to express the modal meaning of condition.
e.g. To go to them with an accusation would be absurd.
The Infinitive and the ing-form as Predicative
§ 236. As predicative, the infinitive and the ing-form may both have the same appositive meaning. The difference between them is mainly determined by tradition — the infinitive (a) is in common use in English whereas instances of the ing-form (b) are scarce.
e.g. a) The job of a reporter is to expose and to record. All one could do was try to make the future less hard,
b) The important part is helping people so that they can live normal lives.
Yet the infinitive is used only after the link-verb to be, while the ing-form. is found after other link-verbs, particularly to mean.
e.g. That would mean telling him everything.
Still another point of difference is that only an ing-form is used after to be like. The ing-form has appositive meaning here but the explanation is made by way of comparison.
e.g. Philip tries to direct his mind to the question but it is like trying to press the like poles of two magnets together. They push away.
The Infinitive and the ing-form as Object
§ 237. As an object of a verb, the infinitive and the ing -form are lexically dependent.
According to a well-established tradition, a number of verbs are followed by the infinitive (for the list see "Verbs', § 186), while certain other verbs require the use of the ing-form (for the list see "Verbs", § 214). Yet after a few verbs it is possible to use either of the two verbals.
The overlap in the use of the infinitive and the ing form is, however, caused by several reasons:
1) The head-verb is sometimes polysemantic and requires the use of the infinitive in one of its meanings while in another it
must be followed by an ing-iorm. Here belong the verbs to try, to propose and to go on.
To try in the meaning of 'to make an effort or attempt1 is used with an infinitive (a), while in the meaning of 'to test', 'to make an experiment' it is followed by an ing-form (b).
e.g. a) I'll try to do what I can.
Someone said, "We mustn't try to run before we can walk." b) The young writer, dissatisfied with the result of his work, tried altering words or the order in which they were set.
As we couldn't understand his English he tried speaking French to us.
It should be noted, however, that to try is much more common in the meaning of 'to make an effort' and hence it is usually followed by the infinitive.
To propose in the meaning of 'to intend' is used with the infinitive (a), while in the meaning of 'to put forward for consideration' it is followed by the ing-form (b),
e.g. a) Tell me more about how you propose to start your business. He did not propose to forgive them this time,
b) What do you propose doing?
To go on in the meaning of 'to do next or afterwards' requires an infinitive (a), whereas in the meaning of 'to continue' it is followed by an ing-form (b).
e.g. a) She went on to say that he was a man one could trust completely.
The shopkeeper went on to explain that these little wooden figures were by no means comparable to the massproduced figures.
b)Tom went on talking.
But you can't go on living in this way any longer.
Note. The verb to mean in the meaning of 'to intend' is followed by an infinitive (a). But when to mean is followed by an ing-form, it is a link-verb denoting 'to signify', 'to have as a consequence'. The ing-form is not an object in this case; it is used in the function of a predicative (b).
e.g. a) Do you mean to say he actually approves of it?
b)"To love a woman means giving up everything else," he said.
2)With certain other verbs the overlap in the use of the infinitive and the ing-form is accounted for by their tense and aspect characteristics. This is found after the verbs to remember, to forget and to regret. The infinitive expresses an action following that
of the predicate verb (a), while the ing-form denotes a preceding action (b).
e.g. a) Bart remembered to count five before answering his father, b) I remember saying to him: "Look here, if anyone acted like you, the world couldn't go on."
a)I forgot to tell John about the party.
b)I shall never forget testifying in that trial twelve years ago.
a)I regret to say it but you shouldn't believe everything he
tells you.
b) He regretted hurting her feelings.
It should be noted that owing to their lexical meaning the verbs to remember and to regret are in most cases followed by an ing-form. Conversely, with the verb to forget the situation gener-
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ally calls for an infinitive.
3) With some other verbs the infinitive and the ing-form seem to be interchangeable. These verbs are to begin, to cease, to con tinue, to dread, to hate, to intend, to like, to love, to neglect, to prefer and to start.
However, after to begin, to cease and to continue the infinitive is commonly found, while to start, to like and to hate are more of ten followed by an ing-form.
Note 1. Care should be taken to remember that there are other verbs in English denoting the beginning, the continuation or the end of an action which are associated with only one of the two verbals. Thus, to commence and to set out are used with an infinitive. Yet to finish, to keep, to keep on, to leave off, and to set about take an ing-form.
Note 2. After the verb to stop the object is always expressed by an ing-form, e.g. She stopped speaking, as though waiting for him to speak.
The infinitive after to stop can serve only as an adverbial modifier of purpose. It is usually separated from the verb to stop by an object or an adverbial modifier.
e.g. As I stopped at the bar to have a drink I saw them talking it over.
If the infinitive happens to follow the head-verb immediately it is to be regarded as accidental. Examples of this kind are of rare occurrence.
e.g. I stopped to ask if you were better. They told me you were on duty.
Note 3. The infinitive and the ing-form may serve as object to verbs generally requiring a prepositional object. Normally the ing-form is used in this case. (For the list of verbs see "Verbs", §216.) However, after some verbs the ing-form is interchangeable with the infinitive. These verbs are: to agree, to aim, to care, to hesi tate, to long, to plan and to threaten.
e.g. "I may as well plan on living in London for the rest of my life," said George.
Everything you've planned to do is sensible.
He was still hesitating about joining the expedition. They didn't hesitate to make free use of his purse.
Note 4. There have been a great many attempts to explain the difference in the use of the infinitive and the ing-form after the verbs given in this section. The in-
finitive has been described as referring to special, particular and concrete occasions or circumstances, as being more definite and lively in character and perfective in aspect. Conversely, the ing-form has been described as stating a general fact, representing an action as permanent or more abstract, expressing a deliberate act and being imperfective in its aspect. However, none of the above explanations are borne out by living English usage. Moreover, some of the authors believe that it is unnecessary to make formal distinctions between the two constructions.
§ 238. As an object of an adjective, the infinitive and the ingiorm are lexically dependent. (For the lists see "Verbs", §§ 187 and 217.) Both verbals may be found after the following adjectives and adjectivized participles: afraid, amazed, annoyed, ashamed, astonished, careful, certain, content, fortunate, frightened, furious, happy, keen, proud, right, scared, set, slow, sorry, sure, surprised, touched and wrong. The ing form is always used as a prepositional object after them.
On the whole the choice between the infinitive and the ingiorm after the above adjectives appears to be free.
Cf. I was touched to find my own name on the invitation list. She couldn't allow herself to tell him how touched she was at
finding him there.
Her coat was pulled tightly round her as if she were afraid to take it off.
Are you wanted by the police? You needn't be afraid of telling me.
She is certain to get the names wrong. She is so careless. "You look for trouble, don't you?" "Only because I'm certain
of finding it."
I was just scared to leave it there.
I was scared to death at going there to speak.
She told me sternly how fortunate I was to be there in time. I am very fortunate in having a wife who likes being a woman. I was content to let things drift along just as they were.
I was fairly content with letting things go as they were. She looked wonderfully and vividly alive, and I was proud to
be with her.
But when I went to Germany I discovered that the Germans were just as proud of being Germans as I was proud of being English.
The men were careful not to slip on the ice.
We were never very careful about taking precautions.
After certain of the above adjectives, however, the infinitive tends to express a single action following that of the predicate verb (a), while the ing-form is preferred when simultaneous or preceding actions are expressed (b).
e.g. a) In fact, I haven't the faintest idea what's been going on, and I'm afraid to ask.
b) I'm always afraid of getting caught.
a)I walked up and down the hall. I was afraid to go in.
b)Were you ever afraid of losing your mind?
a)Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I won't be able to use my car.
b)I'm sorry for coming like this, without being invited.
a)I thought that perhaps I should be wiser not to go.
b)I thought she wasn't very wise in telling us that.
Yet it should be pointed out that on the whole the infinitive is more common after all the above listed adjectives; the ing-form is somewhat literary in style.
The use of the infinitive and the ing-form with certain other adjectives is associated with a change of meaning of the adjective. Here belong, for example, grateful, good, interested and some others.
e.g. a) The apples are good to eat (=the apples are good for eating), b) I'm not very good at driving (=I don't very well know how
to drive).
a)At first he was grateful to have the play to read (=he was pleased / happy to have...).
b)No one is grateful for being looked after (=no one feels gratitude for being looked after).
a)I was interested to learn that it was the same cafe where they had met (=it was interesting for me to learn...)
b)Somehow I was interested in getting back into that work (=I was anxious to get...).
The Infinitive and the ing-form as Object
in a Sentence Pattern with it as a Formal Subject
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§ 239. We usually find the infinitive as an object of a verb or adjective in a sentence pattern with it as a formal subject.
e.g. It annoyed me to hear him tell a lie.
It's not easy to live with someone you've injured.
It wouldn't be tactful to bring up the subject in his presence.
The ing-form can also be found as an object of an adjective in a sentence pattern with it as a formal subject in spoken English where it adds emotional colouring to the sentence.
e.g. Well, it isn't easy telling you all this.
It will be great having them at the party.
However, only the ing-form is used after the expressions to be worth and to come to.
e.g. If it came to losing him, would she suffer? It wasn't worth talking to him about it.
The Infinitive and the ing-form as Subjective Predicative
§ 240. As subjective predicative, the infinitive and the ing-form are lexically dependent (for the lists see "Verbs", §§ 192 and 221). Both verbals are found after the following verbs in the passive: to find, to hear, to leave, to report, to see, to show and to watch.
After to hear, to see and to watch the differentiation between the two verbals is based on their lexical character. Both verbals serve to express simultaneous actions. But with terminative verbs, the infinitive shows that the action is accomplished (a), whereas the ing-form denotes an unaccomplished action in its Progress (b).
e.g. a) The front door downstairs was heard to slam. He was seen to take the money.
b) The door was heard shutting.
He was last seen turning round the corner.
With durative verbs, the difference between the two verbals disappears and the choice of the form is free.
e.g. He had been heard to discuss the possibility. He went out and was heard laughing in the hall.
After the verbs to find, to report and to show the difference between the two verbals is of a peculiar character — with the verb to be the subjective predicative is always expressed by a simple infinitive (a); with all other verbs, it is expressed by an ing-form (b).
e.g. a) A week later he was found to be out of danger.
The Senator was reported to be badly injured in the accident,
b)The man was found crawling about.
About that time a hurricane was reported moving out of
the Caribbean in our direction.
However, analytical forms of the infinitive may also be found with verbs other than to be.
e.g. She was found to have stolen the ring.
The building is reported to have been damaged in the air raid. He was reported to be preparing an account of the incident.
After the verb to leave the infinitive shows that the action follows that of the predicate verb (a) while the ing-form expresses
a simultaneous action (b).
e.g. a) The matter will be left to lie.
If things are left to run their usual course, everything will shape out by itself,
b)Cliff and Helena were left looking at each other.
Some writers claim that in life stories are not finished, situations are not rounded off, and loose ends are left hanging.
The Infinitive and the ing-form as Objective Predicative
§ 241. As objective predicatives the infinitive and the ing-form are lexically dependent (for the lists see "Verbs", §§ 193 and 222). Both verbals are found after the following verbs: to fancy, to feel, to find, to get, to hate, to have, to hear, to imagine, to (dis)like, to listen to, to notice, to see, to understand, to want and to watch.
After the verbs denoting physical perception, such as to feel, to hear, to listen to, to notice, to see and to watch, the choice between the infinitive and the ing-form is determined by their lexical character With terminative verbs, the infinitive expresses an accomplished action (a) and the ing-form an unaccomplished action in its progress (b)-
e.g. a) Nobody had noticed him come in. Nobody had seen him go upstairs.
b)He heard footsteps coming from the direction of the library.
a)Bridget heard Luke drive up. She came out on the steps to meet him.
b)As I looked out at the garden I heard a motor-truck starting on the road.
a)One night in late November I heard him make a remark about his coming marriage.
b)I heard him saying the other day he could do with a few more pounds a week.
With durative verbs, the difference in meaning between the two verbals disappears and the choice of the form is free.
e.g. a) I thought also that it would do him no harm to hear us talk about his progress,
b)I've never heard you talking like this about him.
a)I was watching the doctor work.
b)I noticed him working in the garden.
a)They listened to him talk about the picture.
b)I listened to them discussing it.
On the whole it should be pointed out that the ing-form is more common in this case. The infinitive, for example, would not be used in the following sentences:
e.g. I held her close against me and could feel her heart beating. We saw the troops marching along the road.
I looked in the door of the big room and saw the major sitting at his desk.
With the verbs to fancy, to find, to imagine and to understand, the difference lies in the lexical character of the objective predicative. With the verb to be, the objective predicative is always an infinitive (a); with all other verbs, it is an ing-form (b).
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