"To Get On With" And "Having"

Question

Hello Everyone,Any help appreciated:"Sydney is the most beautiful city in the world and there is a great ability to get on with people."1. Which part of speech is "to"?2. Is "to get on with" a phrasal verb? If not part of a phrasal verb, what is the grammar reason that it is necessary to add "to" in this sentence?Also:"Having said that, I wanted to eat some food ?" -1. Which part of speech is "having": a gerund or participle?2. What is the grammar reason?Thank you very much,Philip.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

"Sydney is the most beautiful city in the world and there is a great ability to get on with people."
1. Which part of speech is "to"? It's the infinitival particle. The full infinitive of the verb is to get (on with).
2. Is "to get on with" a phrasal verb? If not part of a phrasal verb, what is the grammar reason that it is necessary to add "to" in this sentence? Yes, it's a phrasal verb.

"Having said that, I wanted to eat some food ?" -

1. Which part of speech is "having": a gerund or participle? Participle.
2. What is the grammar reason? What do you mean by "grammar reason"? Are you asking why it's a participle, and not a gerund? If so, then note that having is not used as a noun, so it can't be a gerund. Here is having as a gerund, in fact, as the subject of a sentence: Having a good time was important for Jerry.

CJ

Clive · Answer

Hi,

Any help appreciated:

"Sydney is the most beautiful city in the world and there is a great ability to get on with people."

I don't understand the mneaning of the part I have underlined. Perhaps it should be 'the citizens of Sydney have a great ability to . . . '?

1. Which part of speech is "to"? My dictionary calls it a preposition introducing the infinitive.
2. Is "to get on with" a phrasal verb? Yes. If not part of a phrasal verb, what is the grammar reason that it is necessary to add "to" in this sentence?

Also:

"Having said that, I wanted to eat some food ?" -

1. Which part of speech is "having": a gerund or participle? A present participle.
2. What is the grammar reason? 'Havng said that' is an adjectival phrase whch describes 'I'.

Best wishes, Clive

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you very much everyone - I will try to have a look fully when I am free in some hours.

Best wishes,

Philip.

Anonymous · Answer

Hello Everyone,

I am still not 100% sure, so if you felt like it, would appreciate any further clarification, but if you feel that you have explained as much as you can, I understand:

""Sydney is the most beautiful city in the world and there is a great ability to get on with people."

1. Which part of speech is "to"? It's the infinitival particle. The full infinitive of the verb is to get (on with)."

Therefore:

Why is the infinitive form necessary in this construction - ie, what is the grammar rule? I know that "...ability get on with..." is wrong, but why?

"Here is having as a gerund, in fact, as the subject of a sentence: Having a good time was important for Jerry."

In the example that "CJ" gave, what is(what are) the grammar reason(reasons) that "Having" is used as a noun - ie, how can one discern that it is used as a noun in this sentence as opposed to a participle?

Thank you very much again for any assistance.

Best wishes,

Philip.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Anonymous""Sydney is the most beautiful city in the world and there is a great ability to get on with people."
1. Which part of speech is "to"? It's the infinitival particle. The full infinitive of the verb is to get (on with)." Correct. This is how most grammar books would describe it.

Therefore:

Why is the infinitive form necessary in this construction - ie, what is the grammar rule? I know that "...ability get on with..." is wrong, but why?

Anon:
There are 2 questions here:
1) The infinitive construction in grammar.

Infinitives are very useful in English. They can be used in a sentence as a noun, adjective or adverb.
You cannot tell which part of speech an infinitive is until you analyze it in the context of a sentence.

For example:
I went to the bank to cash a check. The infinitive phrase is: to cash a check.
It answers the question: Why? It does not modify "bank". Thus, it would be called an adverbial infinitive phrase.

He is a successful politician because has the natural ability to get along with people. The infinitive phrase is: to get along with people.
It answers the question: What kind of ability? It modifies "ability". Thus, it would be called an adjectival infinitive phrase.

I like to swim early in the morning. The infinitive phrase is: to swim early in the morning.
It answers the question: What do I like? Thus, it would be called a infinitive phrase used as a noun (object of the verb "like".

2) Why is your sentence incorrect : there is a great ability to get on with people.
The problem here is "ability" - it is not just there, it has to belong to somebody. For example:

You will be able to exercise your ability to get along with people.

The people in Sydney are very friendly.

I will get to your last question next.
All the best,
A-

s

AlpheccaStars · Answer

AnonymousIn the example that "CJ" gave, what is(what are) the grammar reason(reasons) that "Having" is used as a noun - ie, how can one discern that it is used as a noun in this sentence as opposed to a participle?

Hi Philip:

The verb part that is called the "present participle" can have three different uses in grammar. Let's look at the present participle of have - "having"

The first use is being part of a verb phrase in one of the continuous (progressive) tenses:

He is having fun in the part. The verb phrase is: is having. This is present progressive.
He was having fun yesterday, but today he is working. The verb phrase is: was having. This is past progressive.
He will be having fun next week because he is going on vacation. The verb phrase is: will be having. This is future progressive.

There are other progressive tenses.

The second use is as an adjective.

Having fun in the park, I played ball with my friends. Having is not part of a verb phrase. (the main verb is "played"). It is an adjective describing "I".

The third use is as a noun. When a present participle is used as a noun, it is called a gerund.

1) The boy has many fond memories of his old childhood friends.

2) The boy has many fond memories of having fun in the park.
Compare the 2 sentences. "of" is a preposition, and in the first sentence "friends", a noun, is the object. In the second sentence, the gerund having, a noun, is the object. Some grammar books would describe the gerund phrase "having fun in the park" as the object.

The point is that you cannot tell how a present participle is being used by itself. You need to have it in a sentence.

Regards,
A-

s

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you very much.

"To Get On With" And "Having"

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