Gerund

Question

heelo:)can anybody explain me a difference between two sentences?:)     It's a duty of police to stop the shouting of presidents. (her the underlined part is noun but what abt second sentence)      It's a duty of police to stop shooting presidents.       thx in advance for any explanation:)

Avangi · Accepted Answer

It's a duty of police to stop the shouting of presidents.

It's a duty of police to stop shooting presidents.

In your second example, "shooting" is simply a present participle used as an adjective. It tells what kind of presidents the police are obliged to stop.
So we have to ask, "What is a shooting president?"
It's a duty of police to stop speeding drivers.

Furthermore, the sentence is ambiguous, as the form often means "to stop doing something."
I asked her to stop shouting. (yelling)
In these cases, the verbal is a gerund, as it is in your first example.

Some people want the police to stop shooting criminals. (Two different meanings - gerund and adjective)

In your first example, "prevent" would be a less confusing verb: It's a duty of police to prevent the shooting of presidents.
With "stop," even the gerund is ambiguous: The ACLU wants Homeland Security to stop the profiling of airline passengers. (prevent it, or stop doing it?)

CalifJim · Answer

Anonymous~~can~~ Can anybody explain ~~me a~~ the difference between these two sentences?

I don't think you intended to use two verbs, shout and shoot. I assume you want to know the difference between these:

1. The police must stop the shooting of presidents.
2. The police must stop shooting presidents.

Here are the meanings:

1. The police must stop this: People are shooting presidents.

2. The police must stop this: They themselves (the police) are shooting presidents.

CJ

Gerund

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