What the grammar point is it?

Question

I am always confused about using gerund.

1 "it's a hard time to decide what major I prefer." = "it's a hard time deciding what major I prefer"
What the grammar is it?

or I can use "the boy wearing a blue coat is charlie" instead of "the boy who wears a blue coat is charlie"

2 However, last time when I use above grammar, my teacher said it was wrong.

"I was in Toronto helping my uncle's business last month." She said it should be "I was in Toronto having helped my uncle's business last month." I need to use past tense in this case.

I am wondering "having helped" in the sentence is past perfect tense or present perfect tense?
And what grammar is it in that case.

3 If I say "I am in Toronto helping my uncle business", is it correct? If so, what the grammar is it (helping) in this case.

Thanks a lot, everyone.

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

charleslee.canadaI am always confused about using gerunds.

1 "it's ~~a hard time~~ difficult to decide what major I prefer." = I have a hard time deciding what major I prefer"
Both are fine. The second is not a gerund, but a present participle. It modifies "time."

Here is another version that uses a gerund:
Deciding what major I prefer is difficult.

Here is a good resource on the to-infinitive: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/verbs/infinitive

Here is a good resource on verbs that use the infinitive or gerund. http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:English_catenative_verbs

charleslee.canada2 However, last time when I use above grammar, my teacher said it was wrong.

Can I use: "the boy wearing a blue coat is Charlie" instead of "the boy who wears a blue coat is Charlie"

Both are correct, but the meaning (context) is different.

I see Charlie. He is the boy wearing a blue coat. (Charlie is visible right now. He has a blue coat on.)

Do you know Charlie? He is the boy who wears a blue coat. (Charlie is not visible, but the only coat he has is blue. You can recognize Charlie by the color of his coat. Charlie might be sleeping right now and not dressed in his blue coat.)

charleslee.canada"I was in Toronto helping my uncle's business last month." She said it should be "I was in Toronto having helped my uncle's business last month." I need to use past tense in this case.

"I was in Toronto helping (in) my uncle's business last month."

This is correct. The verb is past continuous tense. "was helping"

The second version is not natural English.
"I was in Toronto." This part is fine. It is simple past tense.

If you want to use the perfect participle, then you need something like this:

Having finished my uncle's business in Toronto, I returned to London.
The perfect participle shows an action completed before the action in the main clause. This says: I finished my business in Toronto. Then I returned to London.

charleslee.canada3 If I say "I am in Toronto helping my uncle business", is it correct?

Yes. The verb is "am helping".

CalifJim · Answer

charleslee.canadaI was in Toronto helping my uncle's business last month.

You helped at the same time you were in Toronto.

charleslee.canadaI was in Toronto having helped my uncle's business last month.

You helped first, maybe not even in Toronto. Then you went to Toronto. (I don't think you want this one. It doesn't sound right.)

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you soooo much AlpheccaStars.

1 "deciding" is present participle and modifies "time", but What the grammar point is it here? I am urging to figure it out clearly.

2 Does "wearing" modify "the boy"? Is it the same grammar as my first question?

3 if the context is that I am in London now, and I helped my uncle's business in Toronto last.
Is it correct "I am in London having help my uncle's business last month in Toronto"?

In you example “Having finished my uncle's business in Toronto, I returned to London.”

a. "Having finished" is perfect participle, but is it present perfect or past perfect?
b. Why can't I need to use "having finished", but not "have finished" or "had finished"?

AlpheccaStars · Answer

charleslee.canada1 "deciding" is present participle and modifies "time", but What the grammar point is it here? I am urging to figure it out clearly.

I have a hard time deciding what major I prefer.

I am not sure what you mean by "grammar point."

English verbs have four forms: infinitive, past, present participle and past participle.
The present participle can be used in several different ways.

1) as part of a verb phrase in the continuous tenses.

Different grammar books use different terminology for the rest, but you will see a combination of these:
2) as a non-finite verb in a clause
3) as a participial phrase (placed after the noun)
4) as a noun modifier (placed before the noun), in traditional grammar, you will see this as an adjective.
5) as a noun (gerund)

I have a hard time deciding.

"Deciding" describes the noun "time." Some grammarians will call it a clause (#2) that modifies the noun, and others will call it a participial phrase #3.
The exact terminology varies, so you will have to consult your textbook and just be consistent.

charleslee.canada2 Does "wearing" modify "the boy"? Is it the same grammar as my first question?

Yes.

charleslee.canada3 if the context is that I am in London now, and I helped my uncle's business in Toronto last.Is it correct "I am in London having help my uncle's business last month in Toronto"?

I am in London having helped my uncle's business last month in Toronto.

After the auxiliary verb "have", we always use the past participle.

Perfect tenses: inflected have + past participle
I have gone to London.
She has been here before.

Perfect participle: having (present participle of have) + past participle
Having completed my test, I turned my paper in to the teacher.

Perfect infinitive: to + have + past participle
It is better to have done it well, and taken a long time, than to have done it poorly and finished it quickly.

charleslee.canadab. Why can't I ~~need to~~ use "having finished", but not "have finished" or "had finished"?

Because it is not a clause with an inflected verb. Use inflected verbs in full clauses.

Here are full clauses:
I have finished my test.
I had finished my test twenty minutes before the time was up.

Non-finite clauses use participles or infinitives. They are not independent sentences, but they are syntactical elements of independent clauses and sentences.

Anonymous · Answer

AlpheccaStarsI am in London having helped my uncle's business last month in Toronto.After the auxiliary verb "have", we always use the past participle.Perfect tenses: inflected have + past participleI have gone to London.She has been here before.

Sorry, I forgot to add -ed.

AlpheccaStarsPerfect participle: having (present participle of have) + past participle. Having completed my test, I turned my paper in to the teacher.Perfect infinitive: to + have + past participleIt is better to have done it well, and taken a long time, than to have done it poorly and finished it quickly.

1. Are both perfect participle of present perfect and past perfect tense "having + past participle"?

2. In last case "having helped my uncle's business last month in Toronto, then I returned to London", is it past perfect tense? Is it the same as "before I returned to London, I had helped my uncle's business last month in Toronto"

3 Can I say "having helped my uncle's business in Canada last month, I am in UK now" Is it same as "present perfect tense" = I have helped my uncle's business in Canada.

AlpheccaStarsNon-finite clauses use participles or infinitives. They are not independent sentences, but they are syntactical elements of independent clauses and sentences.

1 Do you mean "having helped my uncle's business last month in Toronto" is an independent clause in last case, "having helped" is an present participle (gerund?) as an adverbial clause.

2 If I want to use an inflected verb clause, I should say "Before I returned to London, I had helped my uncle's business in Toronto" am I correct?

and in this sentence, “I had helped my uncle's business in Toronto” became main clause in this, and "before I returned to London" became dependent clause, correct?

AlpheccaStars · Answer

charleslee.canada1. Are both perfect participle of present perfect and past perfect tense "having + past participle"?

In non-finite verb forms, there is no tense.
Time references (tenses) are in the inflected verbs.
There is only one form for the perfect participle.

charleslee.canada2. In last case "having helped my uncle's business last month in Toronto, then I returned to London", is it past perfect tense? Is it the same as "before I returned to London, I had helped my uncle's business last month in Toronto"

Having helped my uncle's business last month in Toronto, I returned to London. This sentence is in simple past tense. There is only one inflected verb (returned). There is one finite-verb clause.

Having helped my uncle's business last month in Toronto,
This group of words is headed by a participle (having). It modifies the subject, "I".
Traditional grammars call it a "participial phrase."
Modern grammars call it a (non-finite) clause.
"Having" is not a gerund. Gerunds function as nouns in a sentence, that is, they are are subjects or objects.

Before I returned to London last month, (sets the time in the past), I had helped my uncle's business in Toronto.

There are two finite-verb clauses. The first (the dependent clause) has a simple past tense verb. (returned).
The second clause (the main clause) has a past perfect verb (had+past participle)
It is something that happened earlier in time than in the first (returning to London).

When you have a sequence of past tense + past perfect tense, the absolute time (last week, 1999, a year ago) goes with the past tense. The past perfect is at a time earlier. You can use a time interval (eg. for a month).

Before Tom moved to London in 2001, he had owned a business for ten years in New York.
2001 - Tom moves to London.
1991-2001 - Tom owned a business in New York.

If you want absolute times with both clauses, use simple past:

Tom moved to London in 2001.
He owned a business in New York from 1996-2000.

charleslee.canadaand in this sentence, “I had helped my uncle's business in Toronto” is the main clause, and "before I returned to London" is the dependent clause, correct?

Yes.

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you for your great help! I really appreciate your elaborated answer.

Last question, I know this sentence is wrong, but I don't know why. Could you explain the grammar and what's wrong with it?

"The mail status was no update due to it was in US Customs preparing for custom clearance."

In this case, is "preparing" a participial phrase or non-finite verb to modify the place "US Customs"? is it the same grammar as "the boy wearing a blue coat is Charlie." I think they are different, but I don't know why.

Thank you so much again.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

"The mail's status was not updated because ~~due to~~ it was in US Customs being prepared for customs clearance."

"The mail's status was "no update" because ~~due to~~ it was in US Customs being prepared for customs clearance."

1) mail status: some nouns can modify other nouns. In this case, the possessive should be used.

2) "no update" in quotes means a literal status. Typical status designations are "received," "processing," "in transit" etc. "No update" is possible but strange. If you mean the verb: "It was not updated," you need the adverb "not" and the past participle.

3) "because" is much more natural than "due to"

4) "preparing" - Mail does not do any action. The action is done by postal workers. You need the passive participle here.

5 "customs" is the correct form.

What the grammar point is it?

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