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Anonymous Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
gerund or verbal noun with an article?
Hi,
I think I found out the word 'wailing' is an uncountable noun.
If that is so, then is this correct?
A feartul wailing was heard.
He heard a fearful wailing.
I would be more comfortable if I saw something like this:
He heard a fearful wailing of a dog,
or,
He heard a fearful wailing of the dog of the next-door neighbor.
I think I found out the word 'wailing' is an uncountable noun.
If that is so, then is this correct?
A feartul wailing was heard.
He heard a fearful wailing.
I would be more comfortable if I saw something like this:
He heard a fearful wailing of a dog,
or,
He heard a fearful wailing of the dog of the next-door neighbor.
Top answer
Anonymous A feartul wailing was heard. He heard a fearful wailing. These are correct.
- Anonymous A feartul wailing was heard.
- He heard a fearful wailing.
- These are correct.
- Anonymous He heard a fearful wailing of a dog, or, He heard a fearful wailing of the dog of the next-door neighbor.
- You need to say "the fearful wailing" in these.
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22 Answers
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AnonymousA feartul wailing was heard.These are correct.
He heard a fearful wailing.
AnonymousHe heard a fearful wailing of a dog,You need to say "the fearful wailing" in these. Also, it would be much more natural sounding to say "of his n
or,
He heard a fearful wailing of the dog of the next-door neighbor.
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Thank you.
I think it would be OK to speak of a pen that he found which belonged to his friend, Joe, like this:
I found a (one) pencil of a student. -- If the situation is that only studnents use pen (unbelievable as it sounds) and he don't know whose pen it is.
I found the pencil of a student. -- If the pen is prior-mentioned or if a student in wherever he is used only one
I think it would be OK to speak of a pen that he found which belonged to his friend, Joe, like this:
I found a (one) pencil of a student. -- If the situation is that only studnents use pen (unbelievable as it sounds) and he don't know whose pen it is.
I found the pencil of a student. -- If the pen is prior-mentioned or if a student in wherever he is used only one
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AnonymousHe heard a fearful wailing of a dog,Fine, especially because of the adjectival attribute. Adjectives tend to enable the use of an indefinite article in many contexts. Examples:
Birds were flying in the s
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Hi, thank you.
Why do you think RayH seemed to have said this has to be "the fearful wailing"?
1)He heard a fearful wailing of a dog
I think he said it has to be:
2)He heard the fearful wailing of a dog
I think RayH is correct but I also think no. 1 can be correct under a right situation. I think it would have been better if the sentence had a plural
Why do you think RayH seemed to have said this has to be "the fearful wailing"?
1)He heard a fearful wailing of a dog
I think he said it has to be:
2)He heard the fearful wailing of a dog
I think RayH is correct but I also think no. 1 can be correct under a right situation. I think it would have been better if the sentence had a plural
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hi,
i've been struggling with coming to grips with the differences between verbal nouns and gerunds.
e.g. John's singing the national anthem bothered me. or John's singing of the national anthem bothered me.
which is correct, and in the second case is 'singing' a gerund or verbal noun?
The beginning of the book is better than the middle or end sections.
The beginning
i've been struggling with coming to grips with the differences between verbal nouns and gerunds.
e.g. John's singing the national anthem bothered me. or John's singing of the national anthem bothered me.
which is correct, and in the second case is 'singing' a gerund or verbal noun?
The beginning of the book is better than the middle or end sections.
The beginning
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AnonymousWhy do you think RayH seemed to have said this has to be "the fearful wailing"?
1)He heard a fearful wailing of a dog
I think he said it has to be:
2)He heard the fearful wailing of a dog
I think RayH is correct but I also think no. 1 can be correct under a right situation. I think it would have been better if the sentence ha
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Hi CB,
thanks so much for your reply(i was the one who asked about the differences between verbal nouns and gerunds). i agree that there seems to be discrepancies between one grammarians usage and another's. I certainly like your definition of gerunds, in so far as they are unable to take the definite article, however: "the gerund expresses action [and] it is often preceded by the definite ar
thanks so much for your reply(i was the one who asked about the differences between verbal nouns and gerunds). i agree that there seems to be discrepancies between one grammarians usage and another's. I certainly like your definition of gerunds, in so far as they are unable to take the definite article, however: "the gerund expresses action [and] it is often preceded by the definite ar
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Hi, Thank you.
You said:
The speaking of English is easy. (A verbal noun and because speaking is a noun, the is posible before it. Even an adjectival attribute can be used: The correct speaking of English is easy.)
Speaking English is easy. (A gerund, which to my mind is neither a verb nor a noun but a little bit of both. The i
You said:
The speaking of English is easy. (A verbal noun and because speaking is a noun, the is posible before it. Even an adjectival attribute can be used: The correct speaking of English is easy.)
Speaking English is easy. (A gerund, which to my mind is neither a verb nor a noun but a little bit of both. The i
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Crokey"The speech of the english language is beautiful". speech is surely a verbal noun, derived from the verb speak but there is no action being performed, i am merely naming an action. When i say "The speaking of the english language is easy", am I naming an action or am I implying that an action may be performed that is difficult.I would consider
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