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Taka Posted 21 years ago
Grammar
Getting used to
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00 Generally, it is said that the 'getting' above is a gerund, which works as a noun, and it's the object of the verb 'take'. 02 br
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00 Another example: 02 br
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00 Here, certainly the 'getting' is like a noun because it has 'a lot of' in front. However, what about this case? 02 br
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00 In this case, it seems like the 'getting' works as a participle. Then, isn't it possible to consider the 'getting' in the first example as a participle as well? 0-
00 That takes some getting used to. 12 blockquote12 br
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00 Generally, it is said that the 'getting' above is a gerund, which works as a noun, and it's the object of the verb 'take'. 02 br
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00 Another example: 02 br
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00 That takes a lot of getting used to. 12 blockquote12 br
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00 Here, certainly the 'getting' is like a noun because it has 'a lot of' in front. However, what about this case? 02 br
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00 This takes some time getting used to. 12 blockquote12 br
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00 In this case, it seems like the 'getting' works as a participle. Then, isn't it possible to consider the 'getting' in the first example as a participle as well? 0-
Top answer
0 Hello Taka 02 br 02 br 00 I would say that the first getting-used-to has to be a gerund phrase as well, as its qualified by 'some'. ) – I would have expected: 02 br 02 br 00 1. This will take time to get used to.
- 0 Hello Taka 02 br 02 br 00 I would say that the first getting-used-to has to be a gerund phrase as well, as its qualified by 'some'.
- ) – I would have expected: 02 br 02 br 00 1.
- This will take time to get used to.
- 02 br 00 2.
- It takes some time to get used to (XYZ).
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6 Answers
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0 Hello Taka 02 br
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00 I would say that the first getting-used-to has to be a gerund phrase as well, as its qualified by 'some'. 02 br
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00 The third example sounds a little strange to me (AmE?) – I would have expected: 02 br
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00 1. This will take time to get used to. 02 br
00 2. It takes some time to get used to (XYZ).
02 br
00 I would say that the first getting-used-to has to be a gerund phrase as well, as its qualified by 'some'. 02 br
02 br
00 The third example sounds a little strange to me (AmE?) – I would have expected: 02 br
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00 1. This will take time to get used to. 02 br
00 2. It takes some time to get used to (XYZ).
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0 Hi Taka - I would agree that "this takes some time to get used to" sounds better than "this takes some time getting used to." I don't think I want to claim the latter as an accepted American variant! In fact, in recent threads I've had trouble coming up with examples where the infinitive was okay but not the gerund, or vice versa, but this seems to be one of them. I'm not saying that no on
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0 Maybe with context, the phrase would be explicable. 02 br
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00 1. My mother's new boyfriend has been living with us for a month now. This takes some time getting used to. 02 br
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00 This we can paraphrase as: 02 br
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00 2. Getting used to the fact that my mother's new boyfriend has been living with us for a month takes some time.
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00 1. My mother's new boyfriend has been living with us for a month now. This takes some time getting used to. 02 br
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00 This we can paraphrase as: 02 br
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00 2. Getting used to the fact that my mother's new boyfriend has been living with us for a month takes some time.
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0 MrP. 02 br
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00 Amalgam. That seems to be one of the possibilities. 02 br
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00 khoff. 01 blockquote
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00 Yes. It's a common name. To be more precise, it's a nickname for Taka-som
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00 Amalgam. That seems to be one of the possibilities. 02 br
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00 khoff. 01 blockquote
00 p.s. -- is Taka a common name in Japan? I knew someone at Harvard by that name once. 12 br12 br
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00 Yes. It's a common name. To be more precise, it's a nickname for Taka-som
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