Let me ask you a question.
The underlined word in the sentence below is gerund, isn't it?
Besides being free, blogs are easy to maintain.
Top answer
Besides being free, blogs are easy to maintain . Yes, traditional grammar calls this "being" a gerund, since it functions as complement of the preposition "besides". But it's not at all noun-like, and modern grammar simply calls it a verb, a 'gerund-participial' verb to be precise, functioning as head of the clause "being free ".
- Besides being free, blogs are easy to maintain .
- Yes, traditional grammar calls this "being" a gerund, since it functions as complement of the preposition "besides".
- But it's not at all noun-like, and modern grammar simply calls it a verb, a 'gerund-participial' verb to be precise, functioning as head of the clause "being free ".
- May I ask why you want to know if it's a gerund?
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Besides being free, blogs are easy to maintain.
Yes, traditional grammar calls this "being" a gerund, since it functions as complement of the preposition "besides".
But it's not at all noun-like, and modern grammar simply calls it a verb, a 'gerund-participial' verb to be precise, functioning as head of the clause "being free".
May I ask why you want to k
0Thank you for your precise explanation.
It is just that I wanted to check if that word can be gerund or not, before the class.
I teach English at school. The students are not good at the English grammar . ( Neither am I ! LOL )
We sometimes have difficulty in distinguishing gerund from participle.
Anyway, thank you again for taking your time!
0
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