0
Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

Making is/as comparison with a gerund phrase

hi,

i've been teaching that we use 'be' + adjective and 'have' + noun.

so i was stumped when i came across the question:

why do we say "Being a doctor is as much work as being a dentist." when work is a noun?

so that's my question too.

thanks
  

Top answer

'Work' doesn't seem to be connected to 'being' at all, but 'doctor' and 'dentist' are nouns and are connected quite naturally to 'being'. Could you produce another example sentence that addresses your concern more directlly? I see no reason why 'be' must use adjectives only.

— Mister Micawber

  • 'Work' doesn't seem to be connected to 'being' at all, but 'doctor' and 'dentist' are nouns and are connected quite naturally to 'being'.
  • Could you produce another example sentence that addresses your concern more directlly?
  • I see no reason why 'be' must use adjectives only.
  • I am hungry.
  • I am a teacher.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

9 Answers
0
'Work' doesn't seem to be connected to 'being' at all, but 'doctor' and 'dentist' are nouns and are connected quite naturally to 'being'. Could you produce another example sentence that addresses your concern more directlly? I see no reason why 'be' must use adjectives only.

I am hungry.

I am a teacher.

I am in the kitchen.
0
0
Anonymouswe use 'be' + adjective
We do, but we also use 'be' + noun.

This is tiresome. adj.

This is Linda. noun

This is correct. adj.

This is a lot of work. noun

CJ
0
0
Being a doctor is a lot of work. NOT: Being a doctor has a lot of work.

A doctor has a lot of work. NOT: A doctor is a lot of work.

It seems there is something specific to the gerund phrase that lets it be paired with 'is' in this instance.

thanks
0
0
Being a doctor has a lot of advantages.

I think you're focusing on things that don't add up to genuine grammatical patterns. So far, I can't quite understand what sort of pattern you think you're seeing.

CJ
0
0
I see what you mean (and my problem has been that i can't see the grammatical pattern)...

Is this just an an anomaly then? Is there no grammatical reason why we use 'is' sometimes and 'has' other times?

Being a doctor has a lot of advantages.

Being a doctor is a lot of fun.

The only difference there is the count/noncount noun one. But does that affect the verb c
0
0
Skiing has a lot of dangers.

Skiing is fun.

Movies have a lot of fans.

Movies are fun.

My job has a lot of advantages.

My job is fun.


I don't see the anomaly in the gerund.
0
0
I think I might know where I'm going off-track. I think my answer lies within the function of the verb.

With 'be' we are describing intrinsic qualities of the state of 'being a doctor': it is a lot of work..

'Have' describes attributes or outcomes of 'being a doctor': it has a lot of advantages..

Do you think I'm moving in the right direction?

Thanks for helping
0
0
I'm afraid that you are going after being an English teacher down the same dead end road that many EFL students use to try to learn the language.

Just consider the gerund what it is: a noun functioning like a noun.

Being a doctor is fun.

Being a doctor can help many people.

I like being a doctor.

I don't like my son's being a doc
0
0
Yeah, sorry...

I think I started off on the wrong track with the gerund thing (that was the context that the problem arose in). But i think we've moved past that now. Could you please consider my last post and give me some feedback? thanks
0

Related Questions