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Anonymous Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
pluralization of a gerund/verbal noun
Hi,
I think I heard someone using the words like "poundings" as in "poundings of a heart."
Can we make a plural out of a gerund or what CB seemed to have called a verbal noun?
I think I heard someone using the words like "poundings" as in "poundings of a heart."
Can we make a plural out of a gerund or what CB seemed to have called a verbal noun?
Top answer
With some verbs, yes. It depends on whether the "-ing" form of the verb is a recognised countable noun. For example, "there was a pounding" is fine, as is "poundings of the heart".
- With some verbs, yes.
- It depends on whether the "-ing" form of the verb is a recognised countable noun.
- For example, "there was a pounding" is fine, as is "poundings of the heart".
- On the other hand, "existings" (to pick an example at random) is unnatural because you never talk of "an existing".
- I'm not sure there's any way to tell which verbs fall into which category except through experience of the language.
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2 Answers
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With some verbs, yes. It depends on whether the "-ing" form of the verb is a recognised countable noun. For example, "there was a pounding" is fine, as is "poundings of the heart". On the other hand, "existings" (to pick an example at random) is unnatural because you never talk of "an existing".
I'm not sure there's any way to tell which verbs fall into which category except through exper
I'm not sure there's any way to tell which verbs fall into which category except through exper
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AnonymousCan we make a plural out of a gerund ... ?No. It's not a productive process in English. Stick to those which already exist, such as those below.
awakenings, christenings, comings, coverings, findings, flavorings, furnishings, gatherings, goings, happenings, imaginings, offerings, openings, renderings, seasonings, sufferings, wanderings,
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