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Laborious Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

Preposition after a gerund

Hi teachers, 
Can we have a preposition after a gerund? 

For example, could we say, "The company shall be responsible for obtaining of a licence"?

I've never seen or read structures like the one above (where the preposition "of" used after the gerund "obtaining").

But yes, I have learnt (from this Forum as well) that we can use the preposition "of" after an -ing form in sentences like these. However, in these sentences the -ing forms are not gerunds, but they are (called) "verbal nouns". (am I right, teachers?) 

-The beginning of the match was interesting, but the ending of it was boring.
- The collecting of the stamps had been his hobby until he was 12.
- He was awarded capital punishment for the killing of the president.  (Does "killing" sound correct in this context?)

Also, which of the following sentences sound perfectly natural to your native ears, please?

1). The company shall be responsible for obtaining of a license. 2). The company shall be responsible for the obtaining of a/the license.
3). The company shall be responsible for obtaining a/the license. . 

Thank you all. 
  

Top answer

Laborious - 1). The company shall be responsible for obtaining of a license. 2).

— CalifJim

  • Laborious - 1).
  • The company shall be responsible for obtaining of a license.
  • 2).
  • The company shall be responsible for the obtaining of a/the license.
  • 3).
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17 Answers
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Laborious-
1). The company shall be responsible for obtaining of a license.
2). The company shall be responsible for the obtaining of a/the license.
3). The company shall be responsible for obtaining a/the license.
1 Not correct.
2. Correct.
3. Also correct and the most natural sounding of the three.

CJ
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Laborious-
1. The beginning of the match was interesting, but the ending of it was boring.
2. The collecting of stamps had been his hobby until he was 12.
3. He was awarded capital punishment received the death penalty for the killing of the president.
1. Correct.
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CalifJim2. Collecting stamps had been his hobby until he was 12.3. He received the death penalty for killing the president.
But here, with these two examples, the -ing forms are gerunds, not verbal nouns. Unlike the -ing forms in these two examples of yours, the -ing form in your #1 would be called a verbal noun
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LaboriousBut here, with these two examples, the -ing forms are gerunds, not verbal nouns.
If you like that terminology, yes. (You can also just say they're verbs, or just say they are -ing forms.)
LaboriousUnlike the -ing forms in these two examples of yours, the -ing form in your #1 would be called a verbal noun (according to s
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By the way, to return to your main question, yes, you can have a preposition after a gerund, but not the way it occurs in your examples. You can't put a preposition between the verb (gerund) and its object at all, whether it's in a main clause or in a gerund construction.

Do you object to eating at a later time?
Jack was arrested for sleeping in an alley.
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There is some disagreement among grammarians on the terminology here.

I would say that 'beginning' in "The beginning of the match was interesting" was a deverbal noun - it seems to me to be referring to a time-period,, and has no verbal force at all.

"The company shall be responsible for the obtaining of a/the license."
I would call "obtaining" a verbal noun
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fivejedjonThere is some disagreement
At least not between us, and at least not on this thread.
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CalifJim(I suspect you could have figured this one out for yourself. )
Thank you very much, CJ, for your informative replies. And yes, I didn't have knowledge of such cases until you told me.

But, the prepositional phrases "at a later time" and "in an alley" serve as adverbial phrases modifying the verbs (or gerunds) "eating" and "sleep
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It is rather unnatural to address CJ ( or anyone) by name four times in one short message.
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