gerund

Question

0  Hi,  I think you don't need to possess a person name if it comes before a gerund. Am I right???  The thing that impacted me instantly was Mr. Doe (not Mr. Doe's??) having read the book many times and being able to quickly understand the content of the book.  Also, it this correct?? Hi, I thought you needed his biography, so I am attaching it to this email. If you have any questions, please ask me at the session.  0-

Huevos · Accepted Answer

0 01blockquote

01cite10Anonymous12cite10having read the book12blockquote

10 That's not a gerund, it's the present participal.0-

Anonymous · Answer

0  Hi,    Is it a present participal acting as a noun and thus, qualifies as a gerund??   0-

Cool Breeze · Answer

0 01blockquote

01cite10Huevos12cite11blockquote
11cite20Anonymous22cite20having read the book22blockquote
20 That's not a gerund, it's the present participal.12br
12blockquote

10That's not a present participle. It's a perfect participle.02br
00CB 0-

Cool Breeze · Answer

0 01blockquote

01cite10Cool Breeze12cite11blockquote
11cite20Huevos22cite21blockquote
21cite30Anonymous32cite30having read the book32blockquote
30 That's not a gerund, it's the present participal.22br
22blockquote
20That's not a present participle. It's a perfect participle.12br
10CB 12br
12blockquote

10Sorry, I didn't read the 01u00beginning 02u00of the sentence. 01i05000Having read02i00 is indeed a gerund in the sentence, a perfect gerund to be exact. There are lots of threads on the subject of the gerund. Use the Search box in the upper right-hand corner, please.02br
00CB 010id10

Huevos · Answer

0 01blockquote

01cite10Cool Breeze12cite11i10Having read12i10 is indeed a gerund in the sentence, a perfect gerund to be exact. There are lots of threads on the subject of the gerund.12blockquote

10 Could you please explain how that is so? I saw "01i00Mr. Doe having read the book many times02i00" as a noun phrase of the second clause and "01i00having read02i00" as the verb phrase of the previous quote. How is it operating as a gerund?0-

Cool Breeze · Answer

0 01blockquote

01cite10Huevos12cite10Could you please explain how that is so? I saw "11i10Mr. Doe having read the book many times12i10" as a noun phrase of the second clause and "11i10having read12i10" as the verb phrase of the previous quote. How is it operating as a gerund?12br
12blockquote

10Grammatical terminology varies from time to time and from country to country, even from grammarian to grammarian. I am not familiar with the term "noun phrase" and consequently I have never used it. Actually, I had never seen it until I hit English Forums. 05000 Mind you, I have nothing against it and I'm not saying there's something wrong with it. I just don't use it, that's all.02br
01b00"The thing that impacted me instantly was Mr. Doe (not Mr. Doe's??) having read the book many times and being able to quickly understand the content of the book."02b02br
02br
00In my grammatical terminology 01i00having read 02i00is a gerund but if you want to call it something else, I don't mind. 01i00Having read02i00 follows 01i00was02i00, in other words, a form of 01font01i00to be02i02font00, which is possible for a 01font00gerund02font00:02br
01i00Seeing 01font00is 02font01font00believing02font00.02i02br
01i00Having read02i00 also has a 01font00subjec02font00t (Mr. Doe / Mr. Doe's), which is possible for a 01font00gerund02font00:02br
01i00I insist on 01font00his/him02font00 01font00going 02font00there.02i02br
02br
00In the sentence 01i00having read02i00 also has an 01font00objec02font00t (the book), which is very common for a gerund:02br
01i00I insist on his/him reading 01font00this book02font00.02i02br
02br
00A gerund is neither a noun nor a verb. It resembles both to some extent. It resembles a verb in that it can have an object, unlike nouns. A gerund can even be used in the 01u00passive02u00:02br
01i00He insisted on English 01u00being spoken02u00.02i02br
02br
00Those who think a gerund is a noun and therefore its subject must be a01font00 possessive form02font00 will say: 01i00He insisted on English01b00'01font00s02font02b00 being spoken.02i00(I'm not one of them.05100)02br
00CB 010id111id1

Huevos · Answer

0 01blockquote

01cite10Cool Breeze12cite10A gerund is neither a noun nor a verb.12blockquote

11blockquote

01cite10Cool Breeze12cite10Grammatical terminology varies from time to time and from country to country, even from grammarian to grammarian.12blockquote

10 Very true! I have been studying Spanish for the last eight years and in that language gerund (gerundio) is the adverbial participle and nothing more. With the noun form (i.e. smoking prohibited, etc) the infinitive is used.02br
00According to Wikipedia: In English the gerund is identical in form to the present participle (ending in -ing) and can behave as a verb within a clause (so that it may be modified by an adverb or have an object), but the clause as a whole (sometimes consisting only of one word, the gerund) acts as a noun within the larger sentence.0-

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