2.3. Gerundial Construction

Герундиальный оборот – это сочетание притяжательного местоимения или существительного в притяжательном или общем падеже с герундием. Такой оборот переводится обычно придаточным предложением, причём герундий в русском предложении становится сказуемым этого придаточного предложения, притяжательное местоимение или существительное становится подлежащим.

We knew of his having read his report at the conference.	Мы знали, что он прочитал свой доклад на конференции.
Smirnov's taking part in the development of the new cooling system was of great help to us.	То, что Смирнов принял участие в разработке новой охладительной системы, очень помогло нам

The Fnctions of the Gerund in the Sentence

1. Подлежащее	Smoking is not allowed here.	Курить здесь не разрешается.
2. Часть сказуемого	His hobby is driving a car.	Его любимое занятие – водить машину.
3. Дополнение:
а) прямое	The car needs repairing.	Машина нуждается в ремонте.
б) предложное	His work resulted in solving many problems.	Его работа привела к решению многих проблем.
4. Определение	There are different ways of obtaining this substance.	Существуют различные способы получения этого вещества.
5. Обстоятельство	After receiving good results they stopped experiments.	Получив (после того как получили; после получения) хорошие результаты, они прекратили опыты.

2.4. Review Exercises

Ex.1. Translate the following sentences into Russian:

a) 1. Have you finished writing? 2. I had no hope of getting an answer before the end of the month. 3. He talked without stopping. 4. Girls like being looked at. 5. Do you like writing letters or being written to? 6. Some people can walk all day without feeling tired. 7. Everybody discusses the event, there is no preventing it. 8.On being told the news she turned towards me. 9. The exhibition is worth visiting. 10. After having been carefully read and corrected by the secretary, the text contained no mistakes. 11. I avoided speaking to them about that matter. 12. She denied having been at home that evening. 13. They went on talking. 14. Would you mind coming again in a day or two? 15. I don’t feel like seeing him. 16. She insists on being told the truth. 17. My friend succeeded in translating this difficult text. 18. Studying foreign languages is necessary for future specialists. 19. The aim of studying foreign languages is receiving more information on one’s speciality. 20. By using this device we can make a number of experiments. 21. On receiving wrong results one must repeat the experiment. 22. He keeps asking me the time. 23. He gave up driving a car after the accident. 24. He received a letter a fortnight ago but he put off answering it until yesterday. 25. We are busy looking for the books for our report. 26. There is no point in arriving half an hour earlier. 27. I walked to the station instead of going by bus. 28. The experiment resulted in finding new properties of this material. 29. You should congratulate them on having completed the work. 30. I am tired of saying it over and over again. 31. Instead of stopping the rain increased.

b) 1. He keeps insisting on my taking part in the conference. 2. His being ill resulted in our not having made the experiment. 3. Newton’s having formulated this law was of great importance. 4. His having solved these equations is quite natural. 5. The meeting resulted in our coming to an agreement on this problem. 6. He relied on his paper being discussed in a day or two. 7. The discussion resulted in the test being made again. 8. Excuse my interrupting you. 9. I do not like your coming late every time. 10. Do you know the reason for Peter’s giving up the studies? 11. Everything depends on the students’ completing the laboratory work in time. 12. Do you mind my borrowing your textbook? 13. If I were you I wouldn’t insist on their returning tonight. 14. I have nothing against the work being done next week. 15. Her having mastered two foreign languages helps her in her work.

c) We are what we eat.

Vegetarian food аs a system of eating is gaining popularity all the time. There is no denying the fact that such food can do only good to all people. Doctors insist on aging people eating this food at least several days a week. Some even say: ‘ We are what we eat’. And people who aim at keeping their health up to the mark should pay special attention to what they eat.

In many countries there are restaurants which invariably keep serving only vegetarian food. The personnel of these restaurants persist in providing different kinds of meatless dishes. They succeed in having a lot of elderly customers. They say that people can eat delicious, economical meals without using too much of the world’s resources.

d) Mr. Smith hated his wife being looked at. He also hated her being invited anywhere without him. But he did enjoy being invited especially by young girls and he didn’t mind being looked at either and couldn’t understand why his wife did mind his going places without her. He didn’t mind borrowing money but he disliked being borrowed money from and avoided giving money even to his wife. He liked being given presents and her being given presents especially expensive ones by her relatives.

е) Learning to speak a foreign language requires mastering new sounds and sound combinations. A student’s becoming conscious of the sound-symbol equivalents which do exist in the language is the first step toward overcoming his difficulties in spelling; referring to a dictionary from time to time is a recommended procedure. A person’s omitting some sound or his using an inappropriate intonation pattern may be confusing to a listener. Speaking and writing differ. Speaker’s smiling , frowning, gesticulating, etc. help us to understand him better. Writing which is not helped by all this must be more explicit than our speaking.

Ex. 2. Choose the correct forms:

1. His work resulted in (solving, being solved) many problems. 2. He insists on the problem (solving, being solved) at once. 3. The teacher was surprised at the students (not knowing, not being known) this theorem. 4. He referred to your ( having done, being done) the work in time. 5. They were surprised at the substance (not having been identified, not having identified). 6. Your brother is angry with them for their (taking, being taken) his books. 7. Before (using, being used) the theorem should be discussed properly. 8. Do you know of the teacher usually (referring, having referred) to these facts? 9. (Introducing, being introduced) ‘coordinates’ is the fundamental idea of analytic geometry. 10. Rectangular coordinates serve for (characterizing, being characterized) the position of an arbitrary point in a plane. 11. I have nothing against the article (being translated, translating) next week. 12. Is the new film worth (seeing, being seen)? 13. I shall never forget (taking, being taken) that examination. 14. I am surprised at his (having missed, missing) his lessons so often. 15. I am surprised at your (having missed, missing) so many lessons this term. 16. Thank you for (doing, being done) this work for me. 17. They are looking forward to (sending, being sent) to St. Petersburg on business. 18. Instead of (stopping, being stopped) the rain increased. 19. There is no point in (having arrived, arriving) half an hour earlier. 20. Try to forget it; it isn’t worth (worrying, being worried) about. 21. We knew nothing of her (having sent, having been sent) to the conference. 22. The engineer mentioned his (having tested, being tested) this material for strength with an entirely satisfactory results. 23. (Heating, being heated) the gas increases the speed of the molecules. 24. They rely on your (informing, having informed) everybody tomorrow.

Ex.3. Use the verbs in brackets as gerunds:

1. My watch keeps (to stop). 2. Try to avoid (to be) late. . He hates to be kept (to wait). 3. Please, go on (to write). I don’t mind (to wait). 4. Why do you avoid (to speak) to me? 5. She tried to avoid (to speak ) to. 6. He showed no sign of (to recognize) me. 7. She showed no sign of (to surprise). 8. He had a strange habit of (to interfere) in other people’s business. 9. I was angry at (to interrupt) every other moment. 10. He was always ready for (to help) people. 11. He was very glad of (to help). 12. In (to make) this experiment they came across some very interesting phenomena.13. The results of the experiment must be checked and re-checked before (to publish). 14. I don’t remember (to ask) this question by anybody. 15. The machine needs (to repair). 16. This job is not worth (to take). 17. After (to look) through and (to mark) the student’s papers, the teacher handed them back. 18. After (to look) through and (to mark), the papers were handed back to the students. 19. The Curies’ (to discover) radium gave them the possibility of (to discover) other radioactive elements. 20. John Dalton stated that atoms are incapable of (to destroy) or (to create). 21. We know Yablochkov’s (to find) a brilliant solution to the difficult problem of (to use) the electric arc for (to light). 22. After the young scientist’s report (to discuss) at the conference it was published in a scientific journal. 23. He couldn’t help (to agree) with them.24. Your idea is worth (to consider).

Ex.4. Transform these sentences according to the models and translate them into Russian:

Model 1.

I insist that you should borrow books from the library.	I insist on your borrowing books from the library.
I don’t like it when you are late.	I don’t like your being late.

1. I dislike it when he is doing nothing.2. I don’t mind if you open the window.3. They insist that he should examine the documents.4. You should think the offer over before you accept it. 5. I don’t like the idea that I should do everything myself. 6. There is a way this problem can be settled.7.They should collect the necessary material before they start to write a report. 8. Do you mind if I smoke here? 9. I am told that you are very busy. 10. Thank you that you did it. 11. When they entered the classroom , they heard the last bell ringing. 12. When Robert came home from the college after he had passed his examinations, he felt very happy. 13. Before I left the classroom I was approached by a student who asked me to help him. 14.They gave up the idea that they would find work. 15. He was afraid that he might be late. !6. She insisted that she should be given that job.

Model 2.

On entering the room he introduced himself to all those present.

When he entered the room he introduced himself to all those present.

5. After looking through the mail, the manager called in his secretary and dictated a few letters. 2. I insist on his taking part in the discussion. 3. Excuse my interrupting you. 4. On being corrected by the teacher the students’ papers were returned to them. 5. He gave up the idea of ever hearing from her. 6. Thank you for your inviting me to the theatre. 7. Will she have anything against my taking her textbook for some time? 8. He dislikes her criticizing his articles. 9. I suppose he thought the offer over before accepting it? 10. I don’t remember meeting that man. 11. They think of staying there for more than three days.

Ex.5. Paraphrase, making these phrases a subject and a predicate:

Model. their going-they go (will go)…

Our doing, his writing, her being read to, your having discovered, his having come, my being looked at, the test having been insisted upon, the equipment being provided for, the substance being identified, Tom’s having examined, their translating.

Ex.6 Make up sentences, matching the suggested parts:

It’s no use It’s no good

asking him questions. ringing him up. looking through the material again. speaking with the dean about it. taking a taxi. helping him.

He doesn’t know anything. The train is due to leave in 5 minutes. He doesn’t know the material at all. He has left already. He has failed. We have got plenty of time.

.

Ex.7. Make up questions, matching the suggested parts. Respond correspondingly:

What will (would) you do if you…
		somebody			sleeping at the lecture?
hear		your friend			talking loud at the lesson?
see		an old woman			carrying a heavy bag?
watch		a young girl (boy)			crying bitterly?
					prompting at the exam?
	may		be disappointed	at having no (a lot of) visitors?
b)Who	can		be (dis)pleased	getting excellent (bad) marks?
	will		be surprised	getting a lot of friends?

Ex.8. a) Read the story:

A young lady couldn’t help dressing in the latest fashion, that’s why she was always short of money. And when an old millionaire fell in love with her she was quite happy.

The lady enjoyed greatly being with such a rich man. She was quite sure that he was worth spending time with. She wouldn’t mind marrying him, though he was rather old. But he was a millionaire and it was all that mattered. One day she was greatly surprised at his asking her the following: ‘I say, darling, would you still love me if I were poor?’ The young lady put arms round his neck and tried to avoid answering him directly: ‘Oh, darling, that would be really dreadful!’ The man insisted on her answering: ‘Would you love me or wouldn’t you?’ ‘Of course, I would’, replied the lady, ‘and I would miss you terribly’.

b) Agree or disagree with the following, giving as many reasons as you can:

1.The girl enjoyed being alone. 2. She considered that old people were not worth spending time with. 3. The girl wouldn’t mind marrying a poor man if he were good and clever.

Answer the questions:

1.Do you enjoy being alone? 2. What do you enjoy doing? 3. What people are worth spending time with? 4. What people do you try to avoid meeting? 5. When do you try to avoid answering questions directly?

Ex.9. Translate the following into English using gerunds:

1. Я хорошо помню, что встретил его пять лет назад. 2. Я люблю читать. Чтение – мое самое любимое занятие. 3. Он занят подготовкой к докладу, у него сейчас очень мало свободного времени. 4. Начинайте читать, пожалуйста. 5. Он вышел из комнаты, не сказав ни слова. 6. После окончания школы, они начали работать на заводе. 7. Простите, что я опоздал. 8. Я никогда не забуду, как я сдавал свой первый экзамен по начертательной геометрии. 9. После того как он обдумал их предложение, он решил отклонить его. 10. То, что он спросил вас об этом, - очень важно. 11. Они настаивают на том, чтобы они были на лекции. 12. Мы удивлены тем, что вы получили такие результаты. 13. Преподаватель сослался на то, что эта проблема обсуждалась раньше. 14. Она сердится, что вы не пришли вовремя. 15. Эту книгу стоит почитать. 16. Вы не возражаете, если я открою окно? 16. У меня нет желания идти в библиотеку сегодня вечером. 17. Все зависит от того, закончат ли они работу вовремя. 18. Я устал повторять это снова и снова.19. Знаете ли вы причину его опоздания? 20. Он занят просмотром писем. 21. Вместо того, чтобы прекратиться, дождь усилился. 22. То, что вы не знаете этот раздел грамматики, приведет к тому, что вы получите плохую оценку на экзамене. 23. Я полагаюсь на то, что свойства этого вещества уже определены. 24. Он удивлен тем, что вы пропускаете так много занятий. 25. Она сердится на вас за то, что вы не закончили работу вчера. 26. То, что они разложили это химическое вещество на составляющие, дало интересные результаты. 27. Они полагают, что вы сможете решить эти уравнения правильно. 28. Я терпеть не могу, когда меня беспокоят вопросами. 29. Она ничего не имеет против того, чтобы её туда послали. 30. Преподаватель не допустит, чтобы студенты подсказывали друг другу. 31. Я с удовольствием прочла эту книгу. 32. Он не любит, когда ему мешают. 33. Учёные не могли не обратить внимания на эти явления.