Grossly inadequate

Question

'the uses of the -ing form of English verbs are so various (some verbal, some adjectival, some nominal, some adverbial, some just hard to classify) that the traditional labels "gerund" and "participle" are grossly inadequate.'

Arnold Zwicky on Language Log.

Do you agree with the underlined part in?

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

.
Yes. They certainly confuse me.
.

Forbes · Answer

Sounds like just another desire to replace one convention with another. Giving the -ing form a new name will only confuse people.

Anonymous · Answer

<Giving the -ing form a new name will only confuse people.>

Coclusion: better the confusion you know?

Anonymous · Answer

<Sounds like just another desire to replace one convention with another.>

So you still use "the preterite", and not "the past simple", do you?

Forbes · Answer

Anonymous<Giving the -ing form a new name will only confuse people.>

Coclusion: better the confusion you know?

Rather: if people are not confused we do not want to confuse them and if people are already confused we do not want to add to their confusion.

Forbes · Answer

AnonymousSo you still use "the preterite", and not "the past simple", do you?

Depends who I am speaking to and what language I am talking about.

Kooyeen · Answer

Washing. Washing machine. A machine for washing... or a machine that washes? [:^)]
Swimming. Swimming trunks. Trunks for swimming... or trunks that swim?

Annoying. Annoying mistakes. Mistakes for annoying... or mistakes that annoyes?

Gerund: it's like a noun
Washing = lavare (Italian infinitive)
Washing machine = lavare macchina = macchina that has something to do with lavare ---> macchina per lavare (lavatrice is what it's called)

Swimming = nuotare (Italian infinitive)
I like swimming = mi piace nuotare

Present participle: it expresses what someone or something is doing
Annoying = that annoyes = scocciante (Italian present participle)
Annoying people = persone scoccianti = persone that annoy me = persone che mi danno fastidio.

Sometimes it might not be clear if an -ing form is a gerund or a present participle, but that is part of English and it must be accepted. The general classification I gave above is MY model, and it works for me, and probably for Italian learners in general too. When the model doesn't work and it's not clear what an -ing form is, it's likely to be part of an idiom and there's always the context too that helps.
That model might not work for Chinese learners, for example. They might need different definitions for different models.

Anonymous · Answer

Forbes
AnonymousSo you still use "the preterite", and not "the past simple", do you?
Depends who I am speaking to and what language I am talking about.

Couldn't one behave in the same way regarding gerund, partciple and English?

Anonymous · Answer

<They might need different definitions for different models. >

But not different words? We should keep "gerund" and "participle", right?

CalifJim · Answer

Anonymousthe traditional labels "gerund" and "participle" are grossly inadequate.'

Arnold Zwicky on Language Log.

Do you agree with the underlined part ...?

Why not? There's nothing here to disagree with. If the labels in question are inadequate for Zwicky's purposes, then who's to disagree? The statement in itself is somewhat analogous to "I find scissors grossly inadequate". One can only imagine that the author is faced with the task of chopping down a tree rather than cutting a piece of thread. Apparently Zwicky is trying to make classifications that are finer or more complex than can be satisfactorily covered by the simple terms "gerund" and "participle" -- an easily imagined frustration.

On the other hand, for some purposes those terms are more than enough. In fact, sometimes just the informal "-ing words" and "-en words" are quite adequate.

CJ

Grossly inadequate

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