-ing form: Gerund, Participle, Verbal Noun
Could you help pinpoint the difference between/among (?):
1) go shopping, go swimming, go skiing, etc.
2) do windsurfing, do swimming
3) do the washing up, do the shopping, do the cleaning?
Grammar Nazis are welcome.
And, as I'm new here, is it better to mention your intuitions in the question box (as I seem to have a probable answer to that and it's likely to make the benefactor's job easier?) or is it regarded as mauvais ton by coryphaei )) of the forum? ("An asker ought to be a humblest creature..."))
Thank you in advance.
Top answer
YETYland go shopping, go swimming The 'go' + -ing group is most easily seen as a catenative construction with a participle. YETYland do windsurfing, do swimming I'd use 'go' instead of 'do' here, but nevertheless: 'do' + -ing suggests doing the activity of -ing, and thus makes the -ing a gerund. ) is the signal of a verbal noun.
- YETYland go shopping, go swimming The 'go' + -ing group is most easily seen as a catenative construction with a participle.
- YETYland do windsurfing, do swimming I'd use 'go' instead of 'do' here, but nevertheless: 'do' + -ing suggests doing the activity of -ing, and thus makes the -ing a gerund.
- ) is the signal of a verbal noun.
- Some systems of analysis distinguish this from a gerund.
- Thus, 'building' is a verbal noun in (1) and a gerund in (2): (1) This money will go a long way toward the building of the new bridge.
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YETYlandgo shopping, go swimming
The 'go' + -ing group is most easily seen as a catenative construction with a participle.
YETYlanddo windsurfing, do swimming
I'd use 'go' instead of 'do' here, but nevertheless:
'do' + -ing suggests doing the activity of -ing, and thus makes the -ing a gerund.
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