calling

Question

I wonder if "calling" is "Gerund" or anything?What are you doing calling my house in the middle of the night like this?

RandomGuy · Accepted Answer

In this case, it's a present participle. It can be a gerund, too

I don't appreciate your calling my house in the middle of the night like this.

For more info on present participles and gerunds: http://www.edufind.com/english/grammar/gerund_present_participle.php

CalifJim · Answer

WowenglishI wonder if "calling" is "Gerund" or anything?What are you doing calling my house in the middle of the night like this?

The Case of the Disappearing Preposition?

I'd call it a gerund. The connector 'by' is understood I'd say, so calling is noun-like, being the object of a preposition. Opinions may differ on this.

What are you doing by calling my house ...?

CJ

RandomGuy · Answer

CalifJimThe Case of the Disappearing Preposition?
I'd call it a gerund. The connector 'by' is understood I'd say, so calling is noun-like, being the object of a preposition. Opinions may differ on this.
What are you doing by calling my house ...?
CJ

It occurred to me that it might have been a gerund, but not for the reason you gave. Calling my house in the middle of the night like this seems to be renaming what. I'm not completely sure about either opinions, so I think it's safer to call it a present participle for now.

CalifJim · Answer

What are you doing calling my house in the middle of the night like this?

Aspara GusCalling my house in the middle of the night like this seems to be renaming what.

As in

What, calling my house in the middle of the night like this, are you doing?

Though I'm not particularly wedded to the interpretation I gave above, I can't seem to get behind this one with much enthusiasm either.

______

The present participle interpretation goes like this, I imagine:

What are you, calling my house in the middle of the night like this, doing?
(you who are calling)

CJ

RandomGuy · Answer

CalifJimThough I'm not particularly wedded to the interpretation I gave above, I can't seem to get behind this one with much enthusiasm either.

Neither can I, fully, but no matter what approach I make to analyze the sentence, I always arrive at this conclusion. Compare the sentence to the following.

What were you thinking, bringing that gun with you?
He's was a great man, my grandfather.

To me, bringing that gun with you and my grandfather seem to be in apposition to their subjects, what and he. Their purpose is to clarify the subject for the reader's sake. Like the original sentence, these (supposed) appositives are unusual in that they can't immediately rename the subject without making the sentence awkward.

What, calling my house in the middle of the night like this, are you doing?
What, bringing that gun with you, were you thinking?
He, my grand father, was a great man.

As opposed to

Mallow, a tadpole, lives in Tadpole Pond.

I probably could have provided more convincing like sentences, but these are all I could come up with for the time being.

CalifJim · Answer

Aspara GusHe's was a great man, my grandfather.

I think this one works because you can substitute.

My grandfather was a great man.

Likewise,

The planet Jupiter is closer to Mars than to Earth.
Jupiter is closer to Mars than to Earth.

Peter, a journalist for the New York Times, was found murdered yesterday.
A journalist for the New York Times was found murdered yesterday.
______________

I don't think the others work because you can't substitute.

*Calling my house in the middle of the night like this are you doing?
*Bringing that gun with you were you thinking?

CJ

RandomGuy · Answer

CalifJimI think this one works because you can substitute. I don't think the others work because you can't substitute.

Yes, you've got me there. The grandfather example wasn't a great fit.

I wonder what BillJ would have to say about this, or anyone else for that matter. I hope to see some new opinions.

Fivejedjon · Answer

I did not respond to this question originally, because I was not confident that I could fully justify any answer I might give. I think this is one of those cases where labelling does not help us at all. If I had to choose, I'd go for participle, but I am not happy about it.

Personally, I think that present participle is one of the less helpful labels in English anyway. It can be used for the form in:

He is/was running down the road.
Running down the road, he was bitten by a dog.
The running man sped past me.
He left running..
Who's that man running over there?

I prefer to use the term, -ing form (of the verb) for all cases, though I sometime use the word gerund when the -ing form is clealry functioning, at least partly, as a noun, as in Running is good for you and I like running.

CalifJim · Answer

fivejedjonI prefer to use the term, -ing form

Me too.

CJ

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