The Use of Participles and Gerunds
Wenyuan Gu
West Career& Technical Academy
Las Vegas, Nevada
July 3, 2020
The English verb has two major forms, finite and non-finite. How to use them correctly is very
important to English language learners (ELL), whose native language is not English when they
study English. The writer tried to summarize and describe the various use of the participles and
gerunds, two of the three non-finite forms - the infinitive, the participles (which have two
forms, the present participle and the past participle), and gerunds, on the basis of his extensive
reading and review of different English grammar books, reference books, magazines,
newspapers, books, and English dictionaries, etc., in order for English language learners to
further understand how to use the participles and gerunds properly in the English language.
Some contemporary grammarians do not like to have a clear distinction between present
participles and gerunds. They called both the -ing form or -ing participle or the -ing clause, but
the writer still wants to follow the traditional way of English grammar, because this would be
beneficial to those whose native language is not English when they are studying English. A
gerund is a form of verb functioning as a noun. For this reason, we can say “I don’t mind
him/John smoking here” or “I don’t mind his/John’s smoking here’, in which smoking is a
gerund (used as a noun) rather than a present participle. We can say “I always see him/John
going there’, in which going is a present participle rather than a gerund. But we cannot say “*/
always see his/John’s going there”, because going in this sentence is not a gerund. The correct
use of participles and gerunds is a matter of usage and cannot be explained by all rules.
Therefore, the writer used a wide variety of examples cited or given to describe the use of
participles and gerunds so that learners further understand how to use them appropriately.
The symbol*(asterisk) means that the phrase or sentence is unacceptable. The question mark? is
used for forms that are doubtful. / means the choice of items. A cross-reference, (see 8.2), means
“see 8.2” in this article. NP means a noun phrase. AME means American English, and BrE,
British English. SVO means subject + verb + object; SVC, subject + verb +complement;
SVOiOa, subject + (indirect) object + (direct) object; SVOC, subject + verb + object +
complement; SVOA, subject + verb + object + adverbial; SVOCA, subject + verb + object +
complement + adverbial.
1 The finite verb vs. the non-finite verb
A finite verb phrase is one that can be the main verb of a sentence. A non-finite verb phrase is an
infinitive, participles (present or past), and a gerund. In the sentence “Many people stay up late
at night”, we have “stay up late at night” as its predicate, in which the verb “stay up” is a finite
verb. In “He went to see his father yesterday,” went is a finite verb. A finite verb is one which
predicates something of the subject of the sentence or clause in which it is. A verb is not
necessarily, however, always used as a finite verb. It can be used as a non-finite verb as well. In
fact, the whole predicate including the verb may be transplanted into other sentences, where it is
to have the function not of a predicate but of a subject, an object, a predicative, a complement,
an attributive, an adverbial, an apposition, or an independent element, as the case may be. In
that case, it will be non-finite, i.e., a gerund (if it is tantamount to a noun) or an infinitive (if it is
tantamount to a noun, an adjective or an adverb) or a participle (if it is tantamount to an
adjective or an adverb).
2 The Participles
Forms of the participles
Transitive Verb Write Intransitive
Verb go
Active Passive
Present Indefinite writing being written going
Participle Perfect having written | having been having gone
written
Progressive Perfect having been having been
writing being written
(?)
Past Participle written gone
Like the finite verb, the non-finite verbs can be put into the passive voice, if the meaning
requires. If the subject or the understood subject of the sentence is also the logical object of the
non-finite verb, then a passive participle is used if its action is in progress.
For example:
The houses now being built will be quarters for scientific workers.
(The logical object of the non-finite verb, built, is the houses.)
Being encouraged by this discovery, the researchers went on working with all the
more application and fortitude.
(The logical object of the non-finite verb, encouraged, 1s the researchers. Here the
present participle phrase Being encouraged by this discovery is adverbial in function,
in which the word being can always be omitted. Then the phrase becomes the normal
past participial adverbial denoting passive voice.)
She heard the door being closed.
(The logical object of the non-finite verb, closed, is the door.)
The houses now being built will be our new school.
(The logical object of the non-finite verb, built, is the houses.)
3 Participles used as part of the finite-verb
3.1 Present participles
The present participle expresses an action that is in progress or taking place at the same time
with or immediately before the action indicated by the main (or principal) verb, e.g.
They are having lunch now. (present progressive tense)
Jean is reading a book now while Sandy is using her computer.
(present progressive tense, indicating two actions are happening at the same time)
Seeing the bus coming, he ran for the bus-stop.
=As soon as/When/After he saw the bus coming, he ran for the bus-stop.
(present participle, seeing, to show simultaneous action with that of ran)
Beibei came to visit us, bringing her elder sister with her.
(present participle, bringing, to show simultaneous action with that of came)
3.2 Perfect participles
The perfect participle expresses an action completed before that indicated by the main verb, e.g.
Having graduated from West Career &Technical Academy (West CTA), she began to
study accounting in college.
=After/When she had graduated from West CTA, she began to study accounting ....
(perfect form to show prior action to that of began)
Having been despised/ Despised /Being despised/ by all, he felt ashamed to see his
father.
(perfect form to show prior action to that of felt)
Having been married, they moved to Las Vegas. (married first and moved second)
Having been reminded of his doubtful personality, I was ever on the lookout in my
dealing with him.
= After/When I had been reminded of his doubtful personality...
(perfect form to show prior action to that of was in the main clause)
Having seen the movie, he wrote a comment.
=After/When/As/Because he had seen the movie, he wrote a comment on it.
(perfect form to show prior action to that of wrote in the main clause)
3.3 Present or past
In the finite form the verb agrees in person and number with its grammatical subject and has
tense distinction, 1.e. He studies/studied/can/will study English. He is/was/has been/had been
studying English. She is/was seen in Las Vegas. I am/was here, etc. The following are some
examples of the participles used in the finite verb phrases, as in
What are you doing here ? (present continuous/progressive tense)
They were working on the project when I came. (past progressive)
The house was built. (past tense with passive)
The house is being built. (present progressive with passive)
The house was being built. (past progressive with passive)
He was being examined. (past progressive with passive)
He was killed by a car accident last week. (past tense with passive)
They have been partners for years. (present perfect)
John has worked hard. (present perfect)
Sandy had completed the project by yesterday. (past perfect)
They have been working for five hours. (present perfect progressive)
They had been working for five hours. (past perfect progressive)
He has been examined. (present perfect with passive)
He had been examined. (past perfect with passive)
He has been being examined. (present perfect progressive with passive, rarely used)
He had been being examined. (past perfect progressive with passive, rarely used)
3.4 Used with modal auxiliary verbs
The finite verb phrase also has mood and can be used with modal auxiliaries. We use may as an
example, and the verb, examine, as participles (present or past) to illustrate the following:
He may be examining.
He may be being examined.
He may be examined.
He may be being examined.
He may have examined.
He may have been examining.
John may have been working hard.
He may have been examined.
He may have been being examined. (R. Quirk et al., 1972)
He'll be being examined, while we are there. (F.R. Palmer, 1978)
4. Tenses
Traditionally, we have sixteen tenses, most of them containing present participles and past
participles as you can see some examples above.
5 Participles used as premodifiers and postmodifiers
The participles (present or past) can be used as adjectives to modify a noun or noun phrase. They
can be placed before or after a noun. They are called premodifiers (before a noun) and
postmodifiers (after a noun), respectively.
6 Premodifiers (modifiers placed immediately before NP)
The present or past participles can be used as adjectives to premodify NP, as in
I was always awakened by the coming ambulance at night.
(the coming ambulance = the ambulance that/which was coming)
The dying soldiers were removed immediately before the enemy came.
(The dying soldiers = the soldiers who were dying ....)
Ms. Roden told us that the experiment had to be done under controlled conditions.
Thad a reserved seat. (= a seat which/that was/had been reserved)
The running machine we saw the other day was made in USA.
(the running machine = the machine that was running)
They used a stolen car to run away.
They discovered a sunken ship last week.
The lady often ordered undercooked meat.
The wounded soldiers were rescued before the enemy came.
(The wounded soldiers = the soldiers who were wounded ...)
Generally speaking, a present participle when used as adjective usually donates the
characteristics of the modified noun rather than its verbal action. A past participle when used as
adjective indicates the state of the modified noun with passive meaning. From the examples
above, we can see that a present participle or a past participle is used as an adjective to
premodify a noun or a noun phrase. Besides, adverbs or compounds with adverbs or nouns or
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adjectives are used before the participles, all of which are used to premodify the noun or the
noun phrase. They are used as adjectives. Some of the examples are:
We were welcomed by fanatically cheering crowds.
(cheering premodified by the adverb fanatically)
USA is a country with a fast-growing economy.
(a compound word, fast-growing, formed by an adverb + present participle,
see 2) in 20.1)
She always gave me some handwritten notes before I left the office.
(a compound word, handwritten, formed by a noun + past participle, see 1) in 20.2)
We have properly trained staff all the year round.
(trained premodified by the adverb properly)
The badly injured man was taken to hospital.
The house is installed with a wood-burning stove.
(a compound word, wood-burning, formed by a noun + present participle, see 1) in 20.1)
USA owns a lot of nuclear-powered submarines.
Do you know the dark-haired man at the corner? (= a man with dark hair)
(a compound word, dark-haired, formed by an adjective + a noun-ed, see 4) in 20.2)
He always wears a short-sleeved shirt regardless of any weather, hot or cold.
(= a shirt with short sleeves)
More examples for past participles used as premodifiers:
an abandoned city, a broken window, changed condition, a chained slave, a clenched
fist, a closed shop, a crowded place, controlled vocabulary, a defeated army, a
depressed man, a devoted friend, diseased lung, distinguished guests, an experienced
doctor, a faded flower, a finished article, a fixed habit, an honored guest, hurried
retreat, improved status, an injured man, a locked door, a lost property, a murdered
man, an organized attempt, planned economy, a recorded talk, retarded development,
aruined city, scrambled eggs, shared view, sighted people, the spoken word, a spoiled
child, a sprained ankle, a talented painter, a trained dog, an unbroken record, an
unheard-of story, an undetermined boundary, an unfinished problem, an uninvited
guest, untold sufferings, a walled city (a city with a wall), etc.
It is to be noted that when the present participle is used to premodify a noun, it has the meaning
of active voice while the past participle has the meaning of passive voice. Let us see the
following:
The exploiting class is rich while the exploited class is poor.
From the example above, the exploiting class means the class exploits people, while the
exploited class means the class is exploited.
US is a developed country while Mexico is a developing country.
Generally speaking, the transitive present participle is active, while the transitive past participle
is passive in its adjective use, in meaning. They have nothing to do with tenses at all, but its time
reference may be to the present, to the past or to the future, and must be interpreted according to
the context. For example:
Active Passive
a box containing tea tea contained in a box
a delighting speech the delighted audience
the exploiting class the exploited class
trees lining a street a Street lined with trees
etc. etc.
From the examples above it is seen that the transitive present participle loses its verbal
construction 1.e. its object, when used as a premodifier, and forms the attributive by itself, in the
same way as it does when used as a predictive.
6.1 Intransitive present participles vs. intransitive past participles as a premodifier
(adjective/attributive)
As is known to all, intransitive verbs as a rule have no passive voice; however, their past
participial forms can be used as adjectives. But just as is the case with the predicative, some
(though a very limited number) do have forms as premodifier, in which case, they do not, as
transitive past participles do, connote any passiveness, but refer to the past of the action. The past
participle of an intransitive verb (see 6.2) is active in use and expresses a state of completion.
The present participle, on the other hand, shows the action to be in progress. The following are a
few pairs for comparison:
falling leaves/trees (leaves/trees that are falling)
fallen leaves/trees (leaves/trees that have fallen on the ground)
a faded flower/rose (the flower/rose that has faded)
a growing boy (a boy who is still growing)
a grown boy (a boy who has already grown up)
the rising sun (the sun in the process of rising)
the risen sun (the sun in the state of having risen), etc.
More examples:
The children are gathering the fallen leaves.
= The children are gathering the leaves which have fallen.
The only persons in the room were grown men.
= The only persons in the room were men who had grown up.
They turned their faces toward the risen sun.
= They turned their faces toward the sun, which had risen.
A few more instances of the intransitive past participles used as premodifiers are given below:
a collapsed tire, the deceased statesman, a departed guest, escaped prisoners, an
expired certificate, a faded rose, a failed candidate, fallen leaves, fallen rocks, a fallen
tree, fallen soldiers, a grown-up daughter, the newly-arrived guest, the recently-fallen
city, a retired officer, a returned student, vanished civilizations, a withered flower, etc.
Some intransitive past participles seem to require the prop of a premodifying adverb, before they
can be used as premodifiers themselves. For instance, we can say the newly-arrived guest, but
not simply *the arrived guest (see 7.3).
6.2 Past participles deriving from intransitive verbs used as premodifiers
The intransitive present participle after the linking verb be (e.g. He is coming) can be the finite
progressive tense and not the predicative, but we have only the predicative use of the intransitive
past participle to consider. Such a use, however, is a matter of usage, and is limited to only a few
intransitive verbs as non-finites (see 8.3). In “He is come/gone,” they are not passive (but often
active) content. Although a distinction has been made between he is come/gone and he has
come/gone to the effect that the former emphasizes the resultant state of come/go and the latter
the activity or occurrence of come/go, yet, generally, it seems to be the present tendency for the
perfect form to oust the predicative form. When a past participle is used as adjective, the
participle usually derives from the transitive verb rather than an intransitive verb, but there are a
very few past participles that derive from intransitive verbs can be used as adjectives. Examples
of possible predicative intransitive past participles are those of the verbs: arrive, collapse, come,
expire, fade, fall, go, grow (up), return, retire, rise, etc. They do not express passive meaning,
but complete action, and these intransitive participles usually indicate a transitional event,
process, or activity, etc., as in
an escaped prisoner (= a person who has escaped),
an escaped convict (= a convict that has escaped, but not *a convict is escaped.)
an expired lease (= a lease that has expired)
a faded flower/curtain (= a flower/curtain that has faded)
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fallen leaves/trees (= leaves/trees that have fallen)
the gone days (= the days that have gone)
a grown man (= one who has grown to a man’s size)
a grown boy (= a boy who has grown (up))
the risen sun (= the sun that has risen)
aretired worker (= a worker that has retired)
the returned student (= the student who has returned)
the vanished temple (= the temple that has vanished)
the withered leaves/flowers (the leaves/flowers that have withered), etc.
Such participles whose corresponding verbs are intransitive verbs. We usually do not say an
arrived girl, a departed friend, etc., because they come from their intransitive verbs. However, a
past participle deriving from such an intransitive verb can be used as adjective as long as it is
premodified by an adverb or adverbial phrase (see 7.3), as in
The newly arrived girl from New York is waiting for you downstairs.
The gentleman recently arrived in Las Vegas is my former professor, Dr. Palmer.
The train just now arrived at the station is from New York.
(Not:*The arrived train at the station is from New York, but we can say, “The train
which/that arrived at the station is from New York.)
I will miss the recently departed friends.
Her husband recently returned from USA is an engineer.
(Not: *Her husband returned from USA is an engineer.)
The properly started engine just broke down.
6.3 Used as a noun generally with the definite article the
Just like the present participle, some of the past participles followed by the definite article, the,
can be regarded as a noun phrase (NP) to be used as subject or object. In such cases, we think
that the head noun (e.g. people, person, etc.) is omitted from NP 1.e. the wounded (people/person,
etc.). The wounded can be a collective noun (i.e. people) or a noun (i.e. a person) with singular
meaning or a plural noun, according to context or the meaning required, as in
The accused have been acquitted. (= the accused people — a collective noun)
The accused was saved from the gallows. (= the accused person — a singular noun)
The bullied were shot to death. (= the bullied people)
They came to rescue the dying and heal the wounded/the injured.
The deceased is her mother. (= the deceased woman — a singular noun)
The deceased are cremated. (= the deceased people — a collective noun)
The human race has a great thirst for the unknown.
The wounded were carried to cross the enemy line. (= the wounded soldiers/people)
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She worked hard as a volunteer to help the wounded and the dying.
(= the wounded people and the dying people)
The past participles used like this are: the accused, the bullied, the condemned, the deceased,
the departed, the disabled, the disadvantaged, the exploited, the handicapped, the
inexperienced, the injured, the last named, the middle-aged, the oppressed, the privileged, the
underprivileged, the unemployed, the undersigned, the unexpected, the unknown, the
wounded, etc.
7 Postmodifiers (modifiers placed immediately after NP)
The present participial and past participial postmodifiers are all comparable to relative clauses in
function (see 7.1). They have nothing to do with tenses at all, but its time reference may be to the
present, to the past, or to the future, and must be interpreted according to context. They can be
either restrictive or non-restrictive: “The girl sitting near the corner is my sister.” “The dog
killed by police belonged to our neighbor.” “The apple, swaying gently in the breeze, had a
good crop of fruit.” “The substance, discovered by accident, has been used to treat patients with
coronavirus,” etc.
7.1 The present participial phrases
When a present participial phrase is used as postmodifier, it is tantamount to a relative clause:
The shop assistant attending to customers will give you all the information you want.
= The shop assistant who’s attending to customers will....
The gentleman coming (= will come) to meet us next Monday is our former
professor Dr. Palmer.
The matter being discussed (= which is being discussed) now is very important.
(passive)
The girl reading (= who was reading) a book in the library just now is my
girlfriend.
The car hit the boy running across the street.
= The car hit the boy who was running across the street.
The girl working there is my younger sister.
= The girl who is working there is my younger sister.
The boys shouting (= who have shouted/who have been shouted) loudest are the winners.
The boys shouting (= who shouted/who were shouting/who had shouted/who had been
shouting) the loudest were the winners. (Zhang et al.,1981)
The person, standing over there, is my brother, who just came from Las Vegas.
= The person, who is standing over there, is my brother, who just came from Las
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Vegas.
When a present participle is used to postmodify NP, it is either a restrictive or non-restrictive just
like a restrictive or non-restrictive relative clause, as we can see the last sentence above. To
express a non-progressive meaning, we use a relative clause, as in
The boy who delivered pizza to us has got coronavirus.
*The boy delivering pizza to us has got coronavirus.
The man who threw the bomb was arrested.
*The man throwing the bomb was arrested. (Swan, 1980)
When a present participle is used as postmodifier, it is usually in progress in a relative clause if
the present participle refers to a present moment or a particular action now in the past, i.e. “The
man sitting (= who is sitting) there is my brother.” “The girl talking (=who was talking) to me
just now used to work in our building.” When a present participle is used to postmodify a noun
or a noun phrase, it is only used for both actions happening at the same time, i.e. “J notice the
students doing their assignments attentively in the room.” “Do you see the girl standing over
there?” Notice and doing and see and standing above happen at the same time. “The man
working (= who were working) on the site were in some danger.” Working and were in some
danger happen at the same time. When a present participle is used as postmodifier, it is usually
not in progress in a relative clause if the present participles refers to a specific future time (Wang
et al., p.114,1981), ie. “The man visiting (= who will visit) us tomorrow is my former
professor.” When a present participle is used as postmodifier, it is usually a simple tense in a
relative clause if the present participle comes from a momentary verb or when a postmodified
noun has a more general, less specific meaning, a simple tense is said to be used in a relative
clause, i.e. Women working (= who work) as waitresses in restaurants get more tips than men
waiters (general). Start, for example, is a momentary verb. We can say “Jn our desire to
modernize, the seven years starting (= which starts) from now are crucial ones” (Wang et al.,
1981).
When a noun has a generic reference, either a participle or a relative clause can be used, but
when a noun has more general reference, a relative clause is preferred rather than a participle.
Compare:
Any window that faces south has more sunlight. (general)
Any window facing south has more sunlight.
It must be also noted, however, that the present participle form does not necessarily carry the
meaning of the progressive tense, especially if it comes from a state verb, which, of course, is not
used in the progressive form, or forms a verb which shows or is intended to show, a general or
repeated time reference, e.g.
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Anyone wishing to apply is to write to the following addresses.
= Anyone who wishes to apply/*Anyone who is wishing ..., where the verb wish
is a State verb.
Everything belonging (= that belongs/*that is belonging) to you should be clearly
marked with your own name. (Belong 1s a state verb.)
Anyone knowing (= who knows/*who is knowing) anything about the crime calls the
police, please. (Know is a state verb.)
The man owning that car will be fined for illegal parking. (Own is a state verb.)
(*The man who is owning that car will be fined for illegal parking.)
Sandy is talking to the gentleman resembling Casey. (Resemble is a state verb.)
= Sandy is talking to the gentleman who resembles Casey/*who is resembling
Casey.
Generally speaking, a perfect progressive form is usually not used as postmodifier, but it is used
to postmodify the noun preceded with an indefinite pronoun or the like, as in
*The man having written that book is a scholar of history.
Cf. The man who has written that book is a scholar of history.
*The girl having won the race is my sister.
Cf. The girl who has won the race is my sister.
*The food having been eaten belonged to someone else. (R. Quirk et al., 1972)
Cf. The food which has been eaten belonged to someone else.
Any man having done such a fine job should be praised.
Any student having handed in his paper must leave the classroom.
Any man having witnessed the attack is under suspicion.
From the sentences above with the symbol*, they are unacceptable. We do not use a perfect
participial phrase postmodifying the head nouns (i.e. the man, the girl, and the food) as part of
the subject of the main clause, but there is no problem if it is used as a non-finite clause or in a
relative clause. We can say “The food which is being eaten/is eaten/has been eaten belongs to
someone else.” “The food having been eaten, the movie started.” “The food being eaten, an
earthquake startled everyone.” The last two sentences are the absolute construction of the
participles (see 14). The food having been eaten is only regarded as a non-finite clause in “The
food having been eaten, the movie started.”
In rare occasions, a present participle is used alone without anything attached, as in
The student obtained straight A’s for three years running.
Beibei lives here for the time being.
On the day following Sandy left for New York.
Oh, it’s the cake burning.
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There are clear sings of great changes impending.
Dr. Palmer is the greatest writer living (= alive).
7.2 The past participial phrases
Just like present participles, the past participles are used to postmodify a noun or noun phrase, as
in
The man killed in a car accident is a friend of mine.
=The man who was killed in a car accident is a friend of mine.
The past participle used as a postmodifier expresses passive in meaning and the action is usually
(but not always) completed. Then, like the present participial phrases above, the past participial
phrase may have different time reference, which can be more clearly stated by a corresponding
relative clause, e.g.
The ship battered by the storm made the harbor at last.
= The ship which had been battered by the storm made the harbor at last.
He asked for a cup of iced boiled water.
= He asked for a cup of water that had been boiled and then iced.
The letter sent by Beibei yesterday relates to this very matter. (passive meaning)
= The letter which was sent by Beibei yesterday relates to this very matter.
The letter sent by me relates to this very matter. (passive meaning)
= The letter which has been sent by me relates to this very matter.
Energy stored (that/which is stored) in fuel is chemical energy. (passive meaning)
This novel about the undersea war is the best of its kind ever written.
= This novel about the undersea war is the best of its kind that has been ever
written.
The letters in the drawer written in English are all from Dr. Kang.
= The letters in the drawer which were written in English are all from Dr. Kang.
We visited Las Vegas, grown prosperous and beautiful.
The first person I saw was Roden herself, seated in a corner, staring out of the
window.
The letters in the drawer, written in English, are all from Dr. Kang.
= The letters in the drawer, which were written in English, are all from Dr. Kang.
The wild flowers, washed by rain, were swaying in the gentle breeze.
= The wild flowers, which were washed by rain, were swaying in the gentle breeze.
When a past participle is used to postmodify a noun or a noun phrase, it is either a restrictive or
non-restrictive just like a restrictive or a non-restrictive clause. The last two sentences above are
non-restrictive. They can express adverbial of time or cause, it depending on the context. For
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instance, “The wild flowers, washed by rain, were swaying in the gentle breeze” can be
regarded as the interpretation of time or cause (see 12).
To express some action in progress, we usually prefer the passive present participle to the past
participle itself. Thus:
The letter now being sent relates to this very matter.
= The letter which is now being sent relates to this very matter.
The houses now being built will be quarters for teachers.
=The houses which are now being built will be quarters for teachers.
The house being built (= that was being built) would be our lab when I visited last
month.
Being is not used alone to postmodify a noun, except in passive verb constructions as seen from
the examples above. For example, “Anybody who is outside after ten o’clock will be arrested.”
“* Anybody being outside after ten o'clock will be arrested.”
Likewise, to express a future meaning of an action, we usually prefer to use the passive infinitive
rather than the past participle itself. Thus:
The questions to be discussed tomorrow relate to this very matter.
= The questions that will be/are to be discussed tomorrow relate to this very matter.
Please mark out all the sections to be explained by me.
= Please mark out all the sections which are to be explained/will be explained by me.
But, for a particular action or a past action, we prefer the past participle itself. Thus
Please make a record of all letters sent.
= Please make a record of all letters which are sent/have been sent.
The impression created is that the task is very easy to accomplish.
= The impression that has been created is that the task is ....
The examples chosen give an unduly simple picture.
= The examples that have been chosen give an unduly simple picture.
She made a detailed description of everything found (= that was/had been found).
The language used is not appropriate.
In spite of all this, the use of participial postmodifiers in the prefect form, whether active or
passive, are altogether unidiomatic. Therefore, we do not say the following:
*Those having never seen a tiger had better go to the zoo.
*The letter having been sent by me relates to this very matter.
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*The food having been eaten belonged to someone else.
But we can say:
Those who have never seen a tiger had better go to the zoo.
The letter which has been sent by me relates to this very matter.
The food which/that has been eaten belonged to someone else.
The perfect participle is generally not used as attributive unless its antecedent is premodified by
a non-assertive any as seen in 7.1, e.g. “Any student having handed in his paper must leave the
classroom.” We have already seen that as a rule, past participles of transitive verbs alone can be
used as postmodifiers. When past particples such as concerned, involved, etc., are used to
premodify or postmodify a noun or a noun phrase, they have different meaning, 1.e. involved,
when used as premodifier, means “complicated”, while used as postmodifier, it means
“connected with in some way”; concerned, when used as premodifier, means “worried”, while
used as postmodifier, it means “interested” or “taking part” or “affected”, as in
We’d like to meet all the students concerned/interested. (= who are concerned/interested)
All parties concerned are present. (Concerned means interested or taking part)
The affair is greatly regretted by everyone concerned.
All concerned very much enjoyed their afternoon visit to the country.
The concerned (=worried) mothers anxiously waited for their children.
Concerned parents approached the school with the problem.
She sat there with a concerned look on her face. (concerned = worried)
We’d like to see all the people involved (= who are involved).
That is an involved (=complicated) sentence.
Will the students interested please come to sign their names here? (=who are
interested)
Sandy was standing there with an interested look.
The interested parties should attend the meeting.
She did that out of interested motives.
This email should be sent to the people interested/concerned/involved
The iPad given to me is out of order. (given = offered)
We solved a given problem. (given = specified or stated)
I have a used iPhone. (Used is an adjective = second-hand)
The method used is very efficient. (= Used means “put something into service.’’)
7.3 Intransitive past participles used as postmodifiers
It must be noted that unlike the transitive past participle, the intransitive past participle cannot be
used as a postmodifier, except very occasionally when it is itself premodified by an adverb of
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time. For example, the following sentence containing an intransitive past participle as a
postmodifier would be wrong:
*The guests arrived in Las Vegas yesterday are from Canada.
The remedy is to make the participial phrase into a relative clause, as in
The guests who arrived in Las Vegas yesterday are from Canada.
But when a premodifier of time is used before the participle (see 6.2), the sentence becomes
acceptable. Thus, there is nothing objectionable in the following sentence:
The guests recently arrived in Las Vegas are from Canada.
The whole participial phrase, recently arrived, is used as a postmodifier to the noun phrase, the
guests, in the sentence above.
8 Used as predicative or attributive (adjective)
When the participles (present or past) are used predicatively, they are adjectives in SVC
construction, expressing the condition or state of the subject, and they are also used attributively,
expressing quality or characteristics of the modified noun or noun phrase.
8.1 Present participles
This is a very/more interesting story.
The book is very interesting.
That was a very illuminating example.
He is a promising young boy. (expressing quality)
That was shocking news.
That sleeping child at the corner is my son.
Our achievements in technology are very striking.
These are the most striking features of the book. (expressing characteristics)
His sudden resignation is quite surprising.
Occasionally, a present participle can be used in the imperative sentence with the verb be, as in
Be preparing the dinner when he comes in.
Be being dressed. (possible, but rarely used)
Do be reading when I arrive. (F. R. Palmer 1978)
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Be being taken. (possible, but rarely used)
Do be being taken. (possible, but rarely used)
Don’t be reading when I come in!
It is to be noted that a present participle, when used as adjective, is sometimes with the empty it
used as subject followed by a that-clause to express personal feelings (happiness, sadness,
anxiety, etc.), in which a model auxiliary verb, should, is often used (see 8.2). This use of should
does not carry any sense of obligation; it does not express a subordinate statement of fact, but a
“putative idea” (R. Quirk at el., 1972, p.784), as in
It is annoying that the meeting should be put off.
=It is the very idea of putting off the meeting that annoys me.
It is perplexing that they should make a nasty decision not to attend the meeting.
Here are some of the present participles used as adjectives deriving from certain verbs:
alarming, amazing, amusing, annoying, appalling, appealing, arresting, astonishing,
becoming, boring, charming, completing, comforting, confiding, confusing,
convincing, damaging, daring, deafening, demanding, deserving, disappointing,
discouraging, disgusting, disturbing, embarrassing, enchanting, encouraging,
enterprising, entertaining, exacting, exciting, fascinating, fleeting, flourishing,
forgiving, frightening, frustrating, grasping, heartening, humiliating, illuminating,
imploring, interesting, insulting, inviting, lasting, loving, maddening, menacing,
misleading, missing, moving, obliging, overwhelming, pleasing, penetrating,
perplexing, pressing, promising, provoking, puzzling, reassuring, refreshing, retiring,
revealing, rewarding, satisfying, shocking, stimulating, striking, surprising, tempting,
terrifying, thrilling, thriving, tiring, touching, understanding, vexing, willing, winning,
worrying, etc.
When they are used predictively, they are present participles used as adjectives rather than
gerunds. R.A. Close (1975) called these present participles “full adjectives.” Because they are
full adjectives, they can be modified by very, as in
That is a very amusing/entertaining/exciting/interesting story.
His views were very alarming.
Besides, we have some of the present participles with such pre-suffixes as non and un to denote
negative meaning, e.g. nonvoting, unbending, unfailing, unflagging, unswerving, untiring, etc.
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8.2 Past participles
When a past participle is used as adjective, it indicates a subject being in the state of what is
described. The main verb is usually the linking verb, be, but there are other linking verbs:
appear, become, come, feel, get, go, grow, look, remain, run, seem, sound, etc., as in
They are grown boys.
We are firmly opposed to bullying.
The afternoon was already half spent.
Sandy was both stunned and scared.
What he’s done is spoilt the whole thing. (R. Quirk at el., 1972)
The lady is quite surprised.
When I got there, the market was closed.
I’m surprised that Sandy should resign.
We became acquainted.
(When become is followed by a past participle, it expresses a change from one
condition to a new condition.)
You'd better go armed.
They appeared confused about how to solve the problem.
Marlowe was delighted with the result of his recent surgery.
Sandy looked delighted/annoyedftired.
He seems (to be) disappointed. (Hornby, 1977)
She got relieved when she heard her husband was safe and sound in a car accident.
Jean felt depressed at her husband’s leaving.
How many people got killed?
(Get is often used in colloquial speech as passive auxiliary verb.)
Marlowe became known as a horticulture expert.
Beibei seemed (to be) surprised at the news.
You sound surprised.
So far the boss seemed unconcerned.
The issue remains unsolved.
As mentioned earlier, when a past participle, used as adjective followed by a that-clause,
expresses personal feelings (happiness, sadness, anxiety, etc.), a model auxiliary verb, should, is
usually used (8.1). This use of should does not carry any sense of obligation; it does not express
a subordinate statement of fact, but a “putative idea” (R. Quirk at el., 1972, p.784). In “7’m
surprised that Sandy should resign” above, the very idea of resignation surprises me. Of course,
we can use will or is in “I am surprised that Sandy will resign” and “I am surprised that Sandy is
resigning.” When will is used in the first sentence, it asserts the resignation as a fact, and
assumes that the plan will be carried out; in the second sentence, it is the resignation itself, as an
assumed fact.
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The verb come and go are intransitive verbs. They can be followed by a past particle or an
adjective and it is SVC construction. The past participle is usually ending in un-, which denotes
an undesirable or unhappy condition, as in
That little boy’s shoelaces always came undone.
The buttons on my coat came unfastened.
The door came unhinged. (Hornby, 1977)
The seam came unsewn.
The seam came unstitched.
Your shoelace is coming untied.
Her absence went unnoticed.
Police are worried that many crimes go unreported.
The nail has come loose. (adjective)
The bottle came open in my bag! (adjective)
Don’t worry. Everything will come right in the end. (adjective)
Beibei’s dream has come true of becoming a doctor. (adjective)
He often went hungry. (adjective)
Occasionally, a past participle can be used in the imperative sentence with the verb be, as in
Be prepared.
Be seated.
Be reassured by me, etc.
Be dressed.
Do be taken.
Don’t be taken.
Do be being taken. (possible, but rarely used)
Be being dressed. (F. R. Palmer, 1978, p.33)
Here are some of the past participles used as adjectives deriving from certain verbs:
accomplished, accustomed, agitated, alarmed, amazed, amused, ashamed, astonished,
balanced, bored, broken, burst, celebrated, civilized, chosen, closed, completed,
complicated, conceited, confined, confused, connected, contended, contented, covered,
crowded, decided, dedicated, delighted, depressed, deserted, deserved, determined,
devoted, disappointed, discontented, discouraged, disgusted, distinguished, disturbed,
divided, done, dressed, drunk, embarrassed, enlightened, excited, exhausted,
experienced, faded, fatigued, fascinated, finished, fixed, flattered, flushed, frightened,
gone, grieved, guarded, harassed, hurried, hurt, illustrated, inexperienced, injured,
interested, killed, known, learned, limited, lined, loaded, lost, marked, married,
mispronounced, misspelt, neglected, noted, offended, overgrown, painted, paved,
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pleased, posted, proven, puzzled, qualified, recovered, relaxed, relieved, repeated,
reserved, satisfied, saved, shocked, shut, soaked, spent, surprised, surrounded, terrified,
tinged, tired, translated, tried, troubled, typed, undressed, unexpected, unknown,
unloaded, unsettled, upset, won, worried, etc.
These adjectives come from corresponding past participles. They can be used as predicative or
premodifiers. More examples:
The supermarket was a very crowded place.
Jean was too upset to talk.
Let’s consider the following:
I am very annoyed with you. (adjective)
I was very much annoyed by what you just said.
(passive voice, obviously because of by)
Some of the past participles (gradable adjectives) above can be modified by very; very much is
used as intensifier. More examples:
She was very surprised when she heard of the bad news.
He is very much loved (by her).
He is loved very much (by her).
*He is very loved.
The man was very offended.
Tam very annoyed with you
The man was very offended.
They are very relieved to find her at home.
We are very much appreciated.
R. Quirk et al. (1972) pointed out “if the corresponding verb allows (say) very much while the
participle form disallows very, ... the form in question is a participle rather than an adjective.”
As shown above, when the past participle is used as predicative, it can be modified by very or
very much, but when the adjective derives from its participle, (very) much is usually used,
especially it expresses degree of adverbial, as in
*He was very loved. (Because loved is a past participle, very cannot be used to
modify a pure past participle. Very much should be used.)
Cf. He was very much loved (by her).
*The child was very frightened by the noise. (past participle)
The child was much frightened by the noise.
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The girl was very shocked/surprised. (Shocked/Surprised is a gradable adjective.)
She greeted me with a very shocked/surprised expression.
She is very pleased.
We are very worried about your health.
They were very relieved to find the girl at home.
The lady was very offended.
They were very upset when they parted.
I’m very much pleased.
You are very much appreciated.
She’s very much changed.
Her performance was (very) much admired.
She was very irritated by the man in the yellow shirt.
The girl was very shaken by the news.
She was very surprised by your resignation from the club.
(Occasionally, very is used when a by-agent is followed, as seen above.)
The following past participles can be followed by very or much or very much or too: admired,
alarmed, amazed, amused, annoyed, balanced, badly-behaved, bored, conceited, confused,
contented, depressed, determined, disappointed, distressed, distinguished, disturbed, divided,
embarrassed, encouraged, excited, experienced, fascinated, frightened, interested, irritated,
limited, mistaken, offended, pleased, relaxed, relieved, reserved, satisfied, shocked, surprised,
tired, unexpected, unsettled, upset, used, well-balanced, well-built, well-defined, well-dressed,
well-educated, worried, etc.
Besides very or very much, we can use completely, extremely, greatly, well, etc., as in
It’s a well/hardly/half finished job. (But not: *It’s a very finished job.)
They were greatly surprised at hearing the news.
The past participles commonly modified by greatly, much, well, etc are as follows:
Participles Modifiers used include
admired greatly, much
amazed absolutely
amused highly
annoyed extremely, thoroughly,
astonished absolutely
attended well
based broadly, soundly, well
bored completely, utterly
broken completely, badly
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built
changed
confused
controlled
cooked
covered
damaged
delighted
depressed
determined
disappointed
distressed
disturbed
dressed
educated
encouraged
exaggerated
excited
exhausted
experienced
fed
forgotten
frightened
furnished
grieved
hurt (physically)
hurt (feelings)
injured
insulted
insured
interested
justified
known
limited
mistaken
moved
offended
opposed
organized
overcome
qualified
badly, soundly, well
completely, entirely, greatly
completely, highly
completely, severely, strictly
badly, well
entirely, completely, fully
badly, slightly
highly
deeply, utterly
absolutely, thoroughly
bitterly, deeply
deeply
deeply
badly, fully, well
well
greatly
greatly, much
highly, thoroughly
completely, thoroughly
completely, fully
badly, well
entirely, completely
badly, thoroughly
badly, well
deeply
badly, seriously, slightly
deeply
badly, seriously, slightly
thoroughly
completely, fully
keenly
completely, entirely, thoroughly
well, widely
severely, strictly
completely, entirely, greatly
deeply
deeply
completely, entirely, utterly
badly, well
completely
highly, well
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relieved greatly
shocked deeply
trained highly, well
treated badly, well
upset thoroughly
used much, well. Widely
worried seriously
written badly, well
etc.
8.3 Come and go
The past participle of intransitive verbs used as predicative in (SVC) are very few (see 6.2). They
are not passive (often active) content. They are usually the verbs used after the linking verb, be.
These verbs indicate the transitional movement or activities, with resultant state of com/go, as in
He is come. (denoting the state rather than an action.)
Cf. He has come. (perfect tense, denoting the action.)
The sun is set. Let’s go home. (in reference to state)
Gone forever are the days when he bullied us. (inversion sentence)
He is far gone. (in reference to state)
My money is gone! (in reference to state)
9 A verb may have two forms of past tenses and past participles
In English there are a few verbs that may have two forms of past tenses and past participles.
They are old past participles that survive as adjectives. They are used in different contexts. The
best way to know their different use is look up the word in a good English dictionary. A few
examples are described as follows:
Verb Past tense Past participle
bless blessed/blest blessed/blest
Bless the name of the Lord!
The priest blessed the ship before it left port.
The villages lived their lives in blessed calmness.
There came a few moments of blessed silence.
I'm blest if I know.
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Verb Past tense Past participle
rot rotted rotted/rotten
This cheap wine will rot your stomach.
The rain has rotted the roof of beams,
You can’t eat rotten eggs.
What a rotten thing to do to her!
Wood that has rotted is rotten (F. T. Wood, 1981).
Verb Past tense Past participle
sink sank sunk/sunken
This rubber won’t sink.
The enemy sank the ship.
A ship has sunk.
I’ve sunk all my money into buying a new house: I hope I won’t be sorry.
There is a sunken ship near the island.
That gentle man has sunken eyes.
The old man has sunken cheeks.
There used to be a sunken garden at the foot of the mountain.
Verbs of this type whose participles are used as adjectives are: bend (bent, bent/bended), bless
(blessed/blest), bind (bound, bound/bounded), burn (burned, burned/burnt), drink (drank,
drunk/drunken), light (lit, lit/lighted), melt (melted, melted/molten), prove ( proved,
proved/proven), rot (rotted, rotted/rotten), shave (shaved, shaved/shaven), shrink (shrunk,
shrunk/shrunken), sink (sunk, sunk/sunken), sow (sowed, sowed/sown), spill (spilt/spilled,
spilt/spilled), spoil (spoiled/spoilt, spoilt/spoiled), strike (struck, struck/stricken), strew (strewed,
strewn/strewed), swell (swelled, swollen/swelled), wake (woke, waked/woken), etc.
More examples:
All the burnt wood would mean “wood with a burnt appearance.”
All the burned wood would mean “wood that has been consumed.”
I met a drunken man that day.
A crowd of drunken teenagers smashed the shop windows during the riots.
Tam unable to repair the broken windows because I am broke.
I found her dead drunk before I left the party.
The fire is lithlighted.
Cf. The fire was caused by a lighted match.
I had proved my point.
She proved you wrong.
That’s a well-proven method.
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Honey is a proven remedy for a sore throat.
(Note: Proven is usually used as an adjective.)
A clean-shaven man is one who has been shaved.
Marlowe is a tall, clean-shaven man.
That man has shaved with a shaven chin.
She has a shaven head.
It’s no use crying over spilt milk.
She is a spoilt girl. (spoilt, BrE)
They were papers strewn all over the floor.
They saw the ground strewn with enemy dead.
He was desolated, utterly stricken.
Stricken often used with other nouns becomes compound words, e.g. fever-stricken, poverty-
stricken, sorrow-stricken, terror-stricken, but also horror-struck, thunder-struck, etc. Moreover,
stricken is used with afflictions or illness: stricken by grief, sorrow, etc., stricken with fever.
Her face has swollen/swelled.
He has a swollen head after a car accident.
She has a swelled (= conceited) head. (K. Schibsbye, 1979)
There was a swollen river after the storm.
My swollen eyes bothered me too much last week.
(Note: The past participle of swell is swelled.)
Has she waked the patient for meds?
I was woken by the thunder.
What time do you want to be waked?
He often slept at 8 and waked at 5.
burnt toast/bread/umber
on bended knees (= kneeling)
my bounden duty (Note: The past participle of bind is bound.)
cloven hoof (Note: The past participle of cleave is cleft.)
alighted match/candle/torch
molten lava/lead/steel
molten rock/metal, but melted chocolate/ice, etc.
(Note: Molten is used for things that melt at a very high temperature; melted for a low
temperature.)
a small, shrunken body (but “The garment has shrunk in the wash.’’)
a sown seed
stricken area (Note: the past participle of strike is struck.)
a sunken eyes/garden/ship (cf. The past participle of sink is sunk
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In most cases, the -en forms have only an adjectival function (e.g. drunken, molten, shrunken,
stricken, etc.). Some of the past participles ending in -en are totally adjectives to denote state or
condition. As mentioned earlier, the best way is look up the word in a dictionary or reference
books in order to know how to use these verbs correctly with different past participles.
10 Used as part of complex object
The participles (either present or past) just like adjectives can be used in complex object (object
+ participles). A present participle means active, but the past, a passive. When the participle is
the object complement in complex object constructions, it belongs to SVOC (subject + verb +
object + complement) pattern. The relationship between the object and complement is that of
subject and verb, i.e. J saw him leaving. It means “He was leaving” not “I was leaving.” A
present participle is often used after the verbs denoting physical perception of hearing, seeing,
smelling, listening, and touching. These verbs are feel, find, hear, listen to, look at, notice,
observe, see, watch, etc. We also have the verbs denoting “cause ( ... ) to do...” such as catch,
get, have, keep, leave, set, etc.
10.1 Present participles used in complex object
She found him dozing in a chair. (= She found that he was dozing in a chair.)
I found/noticed her talking to her boyfriend. (I found/noticed that she was talking....)
When I went home, I found my friend waiting for me.
I heard the students/them singing the song.
I used to listen to the birds singing in the morning when I was a boy.
Look at the rain smashing on the windows; it’s raining cats and dogs.
She didn’t notice me passing by.
I observed them working on the computers.
They saw Beibei leaving the house with a bag in hand.
This set me thinking.
Do you smell something burning?
Can you start/set the engine running?
I want you sitting at the corner while I am working here.
Cf. J want you to sit at the corner while I am working here.
I watched my daughter swimming.
I can’t get the clock going again.
We'd better get these people moving.
I got them working hard at the project.
Cf. I got working hard at the project.
Iam sorry I have kept you waiting.
The news left me wondering what would happen next.
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As shown above, when a present participle is used as complex object or object complement, a
possessive pronoun cannot be used if the object is a pronoun, so we do not say “*This set my
thinking; instead, we can say “That set me thinking” because thinking is a present participle
rather than a gerund (see 23). Verbs of this type used with the objective case are: catch, discover,
feel, find, get, have, hear, keep, leave, listen to, notice, observe, see, set, smell, start, stop,
watch, want, etc.
It is to be noted again that a present participle cannot take a possessive pronoun/noun. Instead,
we use its object case because a participle is not a gerund. Let us consider the following:
I saw him going there just now.
(*I saw his going there just now.)
I watched him/John looking at the picture.
(*I watched his/John’s looking at the picture.)
But we can say I don’t mind him/his/John/John’s coming early, because coming here is a
gerund rather than a present participle, and “him/his/John/John’s coming early” is regarded as
a whole object of the verb, mind.
Sometimes we use the pronoun it in SVOC construction to represent the real object, as in
We found it a pity not inviting her to the party.
You must find it exciting working in our school.
10.2 Present participles used in passive voice in complex object
We say, “J saw him leaving the house.” When the object (i.e. him) in the main verb (i.e. saw)
becomes the subject of the sentence in passive, we keep the present participle, as in
He was seen leaving the house.
More examples:
Police found the littler girl sleeping when they arrived at the house.
The little was found sleeping when police arrived at the house.
The stolen statue was left standing in the field.
Sandy was observed performing her experiment.
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10.3 Have + noun + bare infinitive or present participle
When have means wish, experience or cause (someone to do something), it is usually followed
by bare infinitives (Hornby, 1977, p.66), and get a to-infinitive (Eastwood, 2002, p.140), as in
What would you have me do?
(meaning wish or want; more usual: What do you want me to do?)
Thad a very strange thing happen to me yesterday. (experience)
Thad John find me a house. (caused John to find me a house)
We like to have our friends visit us on Sundays (Hornby, 1977). (Here have means wish.)
What would you have that girl do? (wish)
I'll have Hudson show you to your room.
(L. Quirk et al., 2004)
Thad the garage service my car.
Tam having my daughter help you with the work.
I got the garage to service my car. (Eastwood 2002)
(Get is informal)
When the verb have means “making someone start doing something” or “persuade or order
someone to do something,” or “experience (i.e. in the sense of “have something happening to
you.”), it is usually followed by a present participle.
Within minutes he had the whole audience laughing and clapping. (L. Quirk, 2004)
She suddenly realized that she had a dog following her. (experience)
Dr. Kang won’t have people treating this house like a hotel. (experience)
While he had this threat hanging over him, he was quite unable to work.
(Hornby, 1977)
= Because of this threat which was hanging over him, he was quite unable to work.
Have takes either a bare infinitive (an infinitive without fo) or a present participle when it
indicates a result or outcome or experience or causes someone to do something, according to
implication:
He soon had them all laughing. (= Soon they were all laughing as a result of what he
had said, done, etc.)
Thad them all laughing at my jokes. (caused them to laugh)
I'll have you all speaking English well within a year. (result/outcome)
(Hornby, 1977)
We shall soon have the mists coming down to us.
While he had this threat hanging over him, he was quite unable to work.
= Because of this threat which was hanging over him, he was ....
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Eastwood (2002, p.174) pointed out that after have, get, and leave we can use an infinitive for an
action seen as a whole while the participle means action for a period of time, as in
The trainer has the players running round the field.
The trainer has the players run/got the players to run round the field
We soon got the machine working again.
The trainer got the players to run round the field
Dr. Kang is rather slow. She often keeps her patients waiting.
The driver left us standing at the side of the road.
Cf. The driver left us to find our own way home.
I caught the student cheating in the test yesterday.
It is to be noted that when won’t or can’t have means don’t allow/permitlagree (Hornby, 1977)
or have (used in questions or negatives), it usually takes a present participle. For example:
I can’t/won’t have you doing that.
=I can’t/won’t allow/permit you to do that.
We can’t have them wasting their time in this matter.
I wouldn’t have you walking home all by yourself.
Dr. Kang won’t have people treating this house like a hotel.
= Dr. Kang won’t allow people to treat this house like a hotel.)
Tam not having you running all over the place.
= Iam not willing to allow you to run all over the place.
10. 4 Passive voice in complex object
When the logical object of the present participle is also the object of the main verb in sentence, a
Passive voice is often used in complex object, especially in the verbs such as catch, feel, find,
hear, notice, observe, see, watch, etc., as in
She felt herself being embarrassed.
She found herself being looked after by her ex-boyfriend when she woke up.
(Herself is the logic object of the phrasal verb look after and is also the object of the
main verb found.)
= She found her ex-boyfriend was looking after her when she woke up.)
I heard the door being closed with a great bang.
= [heard someone closing the door with a great bang.
I saw him being beaten by a stranger.
Cf. I saw a stranger beating him. He was seen being beaten by a stranger.
I saw him beaten by a stranger.
Cf. He was seen to be beaten.
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*He was seen beaten.
We watched the pig being killed.
= We watched them/people killing the pig.
It seems that the present participle shows progression of action, but not implied in the infinitive,
which shows rather completion of action (see 11.1).
10.5 Past participles used in complex object
When have has the meaning of “cause (something) to be done (by someone)”, it may have the
past participle, as shown from the examples below. The pattern, have + object + done, the
causative use of the verb have, indicates what the subject of the sentence experiences (something
unpleasant), undergoes, or suffers (Hornby, 1977). The action is caused by the subject of the
sentence or somebody or something else. In such a case, have can be used in progress, as in
He’s had his iPhone X stolen. (suffering/experiencing)
He’s having his eyes tested. (undergoing)
She doesn’t have money left. (experiencing)
I had my car broken down on the way home. (suffering/experiencing)
The pilot had his plane hijacked. (caused by somebody else)
We shall have the room painted. (painted by us or by someone else)
I will have my hair cut tomorrow. (undergoing)
Iam going to the dentist to have my bad tooth pulled out.
Let’s have the most difficult question answered first.
We will have these computers repaired tomorrow.
Do you have to have these problems discussed?
We re having/getting a new kitchen fitted. (Get is more informal than have.)
Sometimes we use get in such a construction but is not have got (F. R. Palmer, 1978). Besides,
we have verbs such as get, help, make, etc., as in
Would you like me to get the work done before we go fishing?
I must get/have my bad tooth pulled out at the dentist's this afternoon.
It’s about time we got the kitchen repainted.
(Subjunctive mood is used in a that-clause after “it’s about time ...’’)
Why don’t we have/get the house painted ?
He must have/get his hair cut this weekend.
Sandy got the work done in a day.
I get my hair cut once a month.
(*I have got my hair cut once a month.)
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He is getting a new house built.
We will have/get the matter seen to.
Can I make myself understood?
Please help us informed of the latest development.
Past participles are used after the verbs denoting senses, feeling or perception, etc., when the
object of the main verb is also the logical object of the verb with that past participle indicating
change, experience, happening, undergoing, etc. They are feel, find, hear, see, think, watch, etc.,
as in
I found her greatly changed when I saw her the second time.
We found the door (to be) unlocked.
She felt her eyes dazzled by the bright light.
Beibei has never heard a word of Chinese spoken here.
I found myself greatly shaken after I met with her the other day.
Sandy saw the door safely locked.
Everyone thought the battle lost.
Intransitive verbs of past participles are seldom used in complex object (e.g. J saw him gone).
We usually have the following transitive verbs used in a complex object construction (SVOC or
SVOCA). They are allow, ask, behold, conceive, consider, depict, desire, eat, expect, fancy,
feel, get, have, hear, imagine, keep, leave, like, make, observe, order, perceive, permit, prefer,
remember, request, require, see, urge, want, watch, wish, etc., as in
We eat our meal cooked.
When he woke up, he found her gone. (Go is an intransitive verb.)
We found the house deserted.
I heard my name called.
I never heard the song sung.
It’s better to leave some things unsaid. (Hornby, 1977)
This left her/Casey shocked.
She doesn’t like the work (to be) done immediately.
That job made me tired.
You must make yourself respected.
Have you ever seen the mountains covered in snow? (Hornby, 1977)
I'll see you damned first.
Sandy wants the work finished by tomorrow.
Beibei wants the work completed by Friday.
I don’t want any one of you (to be) involved in this matter.
You don’t want her caught, do you?
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When they are changed into passive voice, the object complement becomes subject complement,
as in
The door was found locked when I came. (SVC)
Cf. When I came, I found the door locked. (SVOC)
The poor woman was left uncared for. (SVC)
Cf. They left the poor woman uncared for. (SVOC)
In such a pattern not all the main verbs can be converted into passive, i.e. “Z don’t want him
caught.” *He is not wanted caught.” “*The work was got done in a day.”
Sometimes we use the pronoun it in SVOC construction (10.1), as in
I felt it working here bored.
11 Present participles vs. the bare infinitive in complex object
construction
11.1 Either the participles (present or past) or the bare infinitive with slight
difference in meaning
Examples:
She can feel her heart beating/beat quickly.
(Beating/Beat is the complement. It is SVOC.)
I heard him giving/give orders.
(Giving/Give orders is the complement. It is SVOC.)
We listened to the band playing/play in the park.
(Playing/Play in the park is the complement, which is made up of the present
participle, playing or the bare infinitive, play, and the adverbial of place, in the park.
It is SVOCA.)
We looked at the rain coming/come down.
(Coming/Come down is the complement. It is SVOC.)
Did you notice anyone standing/stand there?
(Standing/Stand is the complement. It is SVOC.)
I saw the thief running/run away.
(Running/Run away is the complement to the object, the thief. Running is the present
participle and run is a bare infinitive. It is SVOC.)
I saw the drunkard cross the road.
(Cross is the bare infinitive. Cross the road is the complement, which is made up
of the bare infinitive, cross, and its object, the road. It is SVOC.)
Do you smell something burning now? (SVOC)
We watched the ship steaming/steam past.
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(Steaming/Steam past is the complement. It is SVOC.)
I watched Dr. Kang playing/play football.
(Playing/Play football is the complement. It is SVOC.)
There is no practical difference in meaning between the bare infinitive and the participles, except
that in general the former suggests a completed activity and the latter an activity in progress. To
make the point clear, let’s consider the following:
I saw the drunkard cross the road.
= I saw the whole journey from one side to the other (completed activity). Cross is
the bare infinitive. It is SVOC.
Note that when the sentence is converted into a passive voice with the bare infinitive, the
infinitive with to should be used, e.g. “The drunkard was seen to cross the road.”
I saw the cat fed. (I saw the whole action of someone feeding the cat.)
I saw the drunkard crossing the road.
= I saw the drunkard at a moment while he was crossing or in the middle of the road.
Crossing is the present participle and the complement is crossing the road. It is SVOC.
In passive, “The drunkard was seen (to be) crossing the road.”
I saw the cat being fed. (It means “I saw the cat. Someone was feeding the cat.”’)
But if the present participle comes from a verb denoting a transient (momentary) action, the
present participle in such a case indicates the action is repeating, as in
I heard the door slamming. (repeating action)
I heard the door slam. (one action)
I watched the frog jump/jumping in the jar. (Note we can use either participle or
bare infinitive with reference to a short action.)
Such verbs of perception as feel, glance, glimpse, hear, listen to, look at, notice, observe, see,
smell, watch, etc., can be followed by participles (active or passive) as seen from above. As
mentioned early, their logical subjects cannot be in possessive forms, therefore, we do not say,
“*T saw John’s/his leaving the house.” With the bare infinitive, we are more interested in the fact
of the completion of the action while with the present participle we are more interested in the
continuity or the performance of the action.
11.2 Either the present participles or the infinite, but with marked distinction of meaning
As examples, the verbs have, leave, and find may be cited, for the following sets of sentences:
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Would you have me believe that? (Here, “Would /will have” means “want” or “wish” or
“like”. It is SVOC.)
We like to have (meaning “‘let’”’) our friends come to stay with us. (It is SVOC.)
We cannot have you wasting (meaning “cannot allow you to waste”) time.
(It is SVOC.)
We shall soon have the fog rising.
(The sentence means “The fog will soon be rising.” It is SVOC.)
The news left me wondering (meaning “caused me to wonder”) what would happen next.
(It is SVOC.)
I will leave (meaning “‘trust’’) you to settle all the business. (It is SVOC.)
I found the box to contain odds and ends. (It is SVOC.)
I found him lying in bed. (It is SVOC.)
Here it seems that all depends whether the verb forming the verbal complement can or cannot
have the progressive form. If it can, the present participle should be used; if it cannot, the
infinitive. “Contain”, a state verb, for example, has no progressive or ing form, here the
infinitive in “J found the box to contain odds and ends’; “lie” can have its progressive form,
hence the participle in “/ found him lying in bed’. In fact, the infinitive “to be” may be inserted
before “/ying” in the sentence: “J found him to be lying in bed.” It is noted that when the object
used in the complex object construction becomes the subject of the sentence, the sentence is no
longer aSVOC construction, but it is SVC construction, as in,
I saw her leaving the house. SVOC)
She was seen to leave the house. (SVC)
As stated earlier, it is very important that we cannot use a possessive followed by the present
participle, because the present participle is not a gerund; therefore, we do not say: */ saw
his/John’s leaving the house; instead we say, “I saw him/John leaving the house,” but “I dislike
his/John’s/him/John leaving early,” where leaving is a gerund, and his/John’s/him/John
leaving early can be considered as a whole noun phrase; the whole sentence, J (S) dislike (V)
his/John’s/him/John leaving (O) early (A) is SVOA construction. In such a case, the logical
subject of the gerund cannot be converted into passive, i.e. *He is not minded smoking here (see
23).
12 Participles (present or past) used adverbially
12.1 Present participles to express time
The present participles are usually placed before the main clause. The action in the main clause
begins immediately after the action of the present participle finishes or begins at the same time
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with the action of the present particle; that is, more or less simultaneous. However, “when placed
after the finite verb they are not limited in time in this way. Compare: arriving in London at ten,
I'll go by train ... and I'll go by train, arriving in London at ten” (K. Schibsbye, 1979, p.59).
For example:
Coming up the steps, I fell over. (more or less simultaneous)
She hailed a taxi, leaving the building. (less simultaneous)
Turning on the light, I found what had happened in the room.
(one action happening after another)
Ms. R hurt her hand playing the basketball. (At the same time)
Walking along the street, I met a friend.
= While/When/As I was walking along the street, I met a friend.
The perfect tense is usually placed before the main clause to emphasize the action in the perfect
participial phrase that happens earlier than that in the main clause, as in
Having completed my project, I drove home.
= After/When I had completed/completed my project, I drove home.
Having met my friend (=After/When I had met/met my friend), J went with her to her
house.
They left the lab, having spent two hours for the experiment.
As seen from above, the perfect participial form can be placed either at the beginning or at the
end of, the sentence. But normally, they are placed before the main clause. We use a prefect
participle to emphasize the completion of the action which last for some time before another
action happens. If the action is short before another action happens (or two actions are very close
in time), we do not use a perfect participle. When the first action is not short, we must use the
perfect to indicate the duration of the first action. More examples:
Having completed the project, she went home.
(It takes time to complete the project, and the action is not short, so a perfect
participle is preferred.)
Having cut the hard wood into twenty pieces, she went back to her house.
Not *Cutting the hard wood into twenty pieces, she went back to her house.
(It is not a short time for her to cut the wood into twenty pieces, so a perfect is used.)
Having sat in the sun for one hour, we are very thirsty.
= We have sat in the sun for one hour and we are very thirsty.
Walking along the street, I met a friend of mine.
(The actions of walk and meet happened at the same time, so a perfect participle is
not necessarily used.)
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When no ambiguity arises, either a perfect participle or a simple participle is used, as in
Having filled her glass, Sandy took a long drink.
Filling her glass, Sandy took a long drink.
When the two actions happen close to each other or at the same time, its function is tantamount
to a compound sentence introduced by and, as in
Sitting down, Dr. Kang began to write her report.
= After/When she sat down, Dr. Kang began to write her report.
= Dr. Kang sat down and began to write her report.
Cf. Dr. Kang sat down, beginning to write her report.
Sandy picked up where she left off and talked for another five minutes.
Cf. Sandy picked up where she left off, talking for another five minutes.
We also use a conjunction followed by a participle to indicate the time reference. We usually
have conjunctions: after, as, before, on, since, when, while, etc. Both actions happen nearly at
the same time or one after another when after, before, when, while, etc., is followed by the
present participle or gerund according to the meaning, as in
After having (=After she had) the meal, she went shopping.
After staying (=After he stayed) at home for 14 days due to coronavirus, he had
been in much better health.
After having left the office, he went home by car.
(perfect gerund), (G. Leech et al., 1974)
After/Since being invited, I have been told that the party was cancelled. (passive)
Before leaving (= Before he left) the room, Marlowe turned off all the lights.
On being told the party was cancelled, the girl burst into tears.
=As soon as she was told the party was cancelled, the girl burst into tears.
Since leaving (= Since I left) school, I haven’t seen her.
She’s been quite different since coming from China.
Since being (= Since he was) in the school for ten years, Martin has known every one.
When (= When/While/As I was) going home, I met Dr. Kang.
While walking (= While/As she was walking) along the street, Sandy answered
her phone from her daughter.
While being flown (= While it was being flown) by a champion amateur cyclist in
1963, the plane crashed on a field.
It is noted that after the logical subject is omitted from the clauses introduced by after, before,
and since when they are used to express time, the —ing form is a gerund rather than a present
participle because they become prepositions rather than conjunctions, but when since is used to
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express reason, we cannot use since to be followed by the -ing form. For example, Since you
know the answer, why didn’t you speak up? But it’s incorrect to say, “*Since knowing the
answer, why didn’t you speak up?”
12.2 Past participles
The past participle can be also used to express time, but it has passive meaning because the
subject of the main clause is also the logical object of the past participle, as in
Asked whether or not he would stay, he gave a non-committed answer.
= When/After he was asked whether or not he would stay, ....
= When/After we/they/you/anyone asked him whether or not he would stay, he gave ....
(Him is the logical object of ask, so passive is used.)
Thrown to the floor, Jean regained her footing and rushed into the street.
United, we stand; divided, we fall.
= When/If we are united, we stand; when/if we are divided, we fall.
Cleared, the site will be valuable. (G. Leech et al., 1974)
= When cleared/When it is cleared, the site will be valuable.
I will like your house painted white.
= I will like your house when/after/if it is painted white.
I will gladly come to visit you when/whenever/if invited.
=I will gladly come to visit you when/whenever/if I am invited.
Having been experimented many times, this new medicine will be put into mass
production.
Having been invited to speak, I'll start making preparations tomorrow.
We can also retain the conjunctions such as once, until, unless, when, whenever, while, etc.,
followed by a past participle, as in
(Once) appointed supreme commander, he took the stern measures expected of him.
(R. Quirk, et al., 1972)
Once opened, the contents should be consumed within four days.
When finished (= When it is finished), the project will be great.
I will gladly come to visit you when/whenever/if invited.
12.3 Cause or reason
Present participles used to express cause or reason
Living near the sea, they enjoy a healthy climate.
Meeting with cold reception at his son’s house, the old man went away in a rage.
Not feeling well, Casey decided to sit in the chair for a while.
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Not having a telephone, I will have to write to her.
Not knowing what to say, he kept silent.
The little girl, not knowing what to do, began to cry. (placed after the subject)
(Being) tired (= Because/As/Since he was tired) with the work, he sat down to rest.
(Being) amiable and sincere, he is welcome everywhere.
= Because/As/Since he is amiable and sincere, he is welcome everywhere.
Being done ina hurry, the exercises were full of mistakes.
Being a professor, you should know.
Not being an expert, I cannot explain it.
Not being prepared for the tragic news, he fainted.
The participle being is omissible in an adverbial participial phrase, as shown in the examples
above. Perfect participles are also used just like the use in expression of time clauses, as in
Having lost my iPhone X, I had to buy another one.
Having lived in Las Vegas since 2005, Sandy knows the city very well.
The old man was hungry, not having eaten since yesterday.
The lady, having lost most of her fortune, decided to sell her estates.
Having been working for four hours in the lab, Dr. Kang was very tired, but she
refused to take a break.
(Perfect progressive tense used to express her continuation of her work)
Sometimes we use an as-clause preceded by a present participle to emphasize the meaning of the
cause or reason, as in
Sitting at the back as we are, we can’t hear a word.
= Because we are sitting at the back, we can’t hear a word.
Shouting loudly as they were, the boys got quite hoarse.
= Because the boys shouted loudly, they got quite hoarse.
Wanting a ticket as I do, 1 will apply for one at once.
= Because/Since I want a ticket, I will apply for one at once.
Standing as it does ona high hill, the temple commands a fine view.
I feel it to be a rare occasion, occurring as it does only once in many years.
Realizing as I do that I shall be very much occupied in the afternoon, I must send off
all these letters this morning.
Past participles used to express cause or reason
Destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, the city had to be rebuilt.
= Because/As the city was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, the city had to be rebuilt.
Taken by surprise, the enemy surrendered.
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Tired (= Because/As/Since he was tired) with the work, he sat down to rest.
She left the room, discouraged.
Not/Never having been to China, I can’t tell you what it looks like.
The children, exhausted, fell asleep immediately.
= As/Because the children were exhausted, they fell asleep immediately.
Not allowed to use a calculator, he fell in his math test last week.
= As/Because he was not allowed to use a calculator, he fell in his math test...
Never seen before, the machine working so fast surprised people at the exhibition.
Having been addressed (= Because/As/Since it had been addressed) to a wrong
house, the letter never reached me.
Having been informed that his father was seriously ill, he left the office at once.
= He left the office at once because/as/since he was informed that his father was
seriously ill.
Having been laid up with a broken back for years, he lost all hope of recovery.
Not having been told what to say, she kept quiet.
Kayla Yao, having been to Las Vegas many times, knows the city very well.
The professor of virology, not having slept a wink the whole night, felt very tired.
Jean, having been consoled by a large inheritance, wept few tears of remorse over
her father’s grave.
= Since she had been consoled by a large inheritance, Jean wept few tears of ....
It is to be noted that the last three sentences above have a perfect tense and whose present
participles are inserted between the subject and the main verb. They are used to express reason
rather than used as postmofiers to modify the subjects: Kayla Yao, the professor of virology, and
Jenny, respectively, because a present perfect tense is usually not used as a postmodifier.
Besides, we can use a non-restrictive relative clause to express cause or reason according to
context. Let’s consider the following sentences:
The girl, who was upset by the activities of the ghost, decided to leave.
= Because/As she was upset by the activities of the ghost, the girl decided to leave.
= Upset by the activities of the ghost, the girl decided to leave. (initial)
= The girl, upset by the activities of the ghost, decided to leave. (middle)
= The girl decided to leave, upset by the activities of the ghost. (final)
= The girl was upset by the activities of the ghost and decided to leave.
It is noted that “Unlike relative clauses, however, non-finite and verbless clauses can occur
freely in initial, medial, or final positions” (R. Quirk et al., 1972. p.760), as seen from above.
Sometimes we use an as-clause preceded by a past participle to emphasize the meaning of the
cause or reason and the as can be replaced by that, as in
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Absorbed as she was in a mathematical problem, she did not notice me entering
the room.
Situated as it was at the foot of the mountain, the house was very quiet.
= As/Because the house was situated at the foot of the mountain, it was very quiet.
Unaccustomed as/that he was to public speaking, he required himself rather ill in
that speech.
= Since/Because he was unaccustomed to public speaking, he required ....
Unarmed as/that he was, he couldn’t resist them for long.
= Since/Because he was unarmed, he couldn’t ....
Moreover, we can use a past participle, especially ending in -ed, followed by an infinitive or
infinitive phrase to express reason or cause, as in
I am pleased to meet you.
= Iam pleased because/as I meet you. (The two actions happen at the same time.)
She was disappointed to find that all people left the party without saying a good-bye
to her.
Here are some of the -ed participles that are used in such a case are: annoyed, ashamed,
astonished, bored, concerned, delighted, destined, determined, disappointed, disconcerted,
disgusted, displeased, distressed, embarrassed, excited, fascinated, inclined, overjoyed,
overwhelmed, perturbed, pleased, prepared, puzzled, qualified, surprised, worried, etc.
Besides, a participle can be followed by a that-clause to express reason or cause, too, as in
Tam surprised that Sandy will come to see me this afternoon.
= Iam surprised because Sandy will come to see me this afternoon.
Marlowe seemed pleased that his greenhouse was prolific last year.
Dr. Kang was upset that her computers in the lab were out of order.
Some of the past participles of this kind are: alarmed, amazed, amused, annoyed, astonished,
depressed, disappointed, distressed, disturbed, frightened, horrified, irritated, pleased, shocked,
upset, etc.
12.4 Concession
Present participles used to express concession
Granting the achievements to be great, we have no reason to be conceited.
Although working (=Although he works) very hard, he still cannot make both ends
meet.
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(ADthough/While impressing the examiners, he nevertheless failed.
Although knowing Chinese, she attended the course.
(*Although she was knowing Chinese, she attended the course.)
Though (being) well over eighty, she can walk a mile faster than I can.
Although expecting the news, I was shocked by it.
Although having slept more than eight hours, she still felt dog-tired.
They talked as if intending to prevent war.
Even if still operating, the factory was still unable to produce as many face masks as
we needed during the coronavirus outbreaks.
As seen above, followed by a present participle, the conjunctions can be retained such as
although, even though, as if, as though, even if. A state verb can have the present participle in
non-finite, but it does not mean progressive. Therefore, we can say, “Although knowing Chinese,
she attended the course,” but we do not say, “*Although she was knowing Chinese, she attended
the course.”
Past participles used to express concession
We use a conjunction followed by a past participle to indicate the concession. We usually have
such conjunctions as although, though, as if, as thought, even if, as in
Although covered by insurance, Jean was annoyed by the accident.
Though warned (=Though he was warned) of the danger, he still went skating on the thin
ice.
Though tortured many times by the enemy, he did not say a word about his secret.
Though (she was) already middle-aged, she was very pretty.
Even though tortured many times, the agent never surrendered.
He threw himself down from his horse, as if shot (= as if he had been shot).
Even if invited (= Even if I am invited), J won’t go.
Sometimes we use an as-clause preceded by a past participle to emphasize the meaning of the
concession and the as here can be replaced by that, as in
Naked as/that I was, I braved the storm.
= Even though I was naked, I braved the storm.
12.5 Condition used to express condition
Present participles used to express condition
Heating water, you can change it into steam.
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= If you heat water, you can change it into steam.
Meeting (=If we had met) anywhere else, we wouldn’t have recognized each other.
(subjunctive mood)
You'd be warmer walking (=if you walked).
Turning to the left (=If/When you turn to the left), you will find the house you want.
Sometimes we use the present participles after the conjunctions, if, unless, even if, whether, etc.,
as in
[f/unless arriving by taxi, please let me know.
= If/Unless you arrive by taxi, please let me know.
Past participles used to express condition
Cleared, this site would be very valuable.
= If /When cleared or If/when it is cleared, this site would be very valuable.
Criticized by his colleagues, he will feel unhappy.
What would she have done confronted (= if she had been confronted) with a similar
situation? (subjunctive mood)
Everything considered (= If everything is considered), the city is the most exciting of
the world. (absolute construction)
Given due consideration (=If it is given due consideration), the question should be
easy to settle.
Given more time, Kayla would have done much better. (subjunctive mood)
Given (= Considering) their inexperience, they've done a good job.
Heated (= if it is heated), water changes into steam.
Taken daily, Vitamin C can help to reduce your catching cold.
= If Vitamin C is taken daily, it can help to reduce your catching cold.
United, we stand; divided, we fall.
= If/When we are united, we stand; if/when we are divided, we fall.
We can retain the conjunction if or unless followed by a past participle, as in
I will gladly come to visit you if invited (=if I am invited).
The book will be returned to Kayla if found (= if it is found).
We won’t attack unless attacked (= unless we are attacked).
We’ ll counterattack if attacked (= if we are attacked).
Don’t come unless told to (= unless you are told to come).
The virus will be killed if kept (= if it is kept) in a close container.
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12.6 Place
Used after where or wherever:
Where(ver) known, such facts have been reported. (R. Quirk et al., 1972., p.745)
12.7 Purpose
Chamberlain and his like pursued an appeasement policy toward Hitler, vainly
attempting to divert the disaster eastward.
I went out shopping.
12.8 Result
When a participle is used to express result, it is usually an active participle and sometimes
preceded by such adverbs as so, thus, or thereby, as in
The movie star made a dramatic entrance, attracting everyone's attention.
Marlowe gave a penetrating analysis of some of the questions, clarifying much of the
confusion.
They pumped waste into the river, killing all the fish.
Dr. Palmer wrote me a letter of recommendation, so keeping a promise he had
made last month.
We hope the new machine will work faster, thus reducing our costs.
The train stopped suddenly, thus causing the delay.
Ms. Rine fell ill, thus/thereby making it necessary for us to find a substitute for her.
She picked up great support from the union, thereby guaranteeing that she would win
the election.
When so, thus, and thereby is used, a comma is usually inserted as seen from above. In such a
case, a participle phrase is tantamount to a relative clause. The relative pronoun, which,
represents the whole content of the main clause, and which acts as a sentential relative clause, as
in
The train stopped suddenly, which caused the delay.
(The antecedent of which is “the train stopped suddenly.’’)
Ms. Rine fell ill, which made it necessary for us to find a substitute for her.
(The antecedent of which is “Ms. Rine fell ill”’.)
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12.9 Manner/accompaniment (or attending circumstances)
Present participles used to express manner/accompaniment (or attending circumstances)
A participial phrase showing accompaniment cannot well be converted into an adverbial clause.
But beyond doubt, it has an adverbial function, and can be regarded as an adverb of manner, or
of attending circumstances, so to speak. We usually use a participle to indicate manner after
such verbs as arrive, come, go, leave, lie, run, sit, and stand, etc. For example:
He arrived puffing and panting. (F.R. Palmer, 1978)
Cf. He arrived hot and miserable.
The birds came hopping round my window. (Hornby, 1977)
Please fill in this form, giving your name, address, etc.
(The participial phrase here denotes how or in what manner the form is to be filled
in.)
They left for the fields, shouldering spades and hoes.
(The participial phrase here denotes in what manner or in what circumstances they
left for the fields.)
She lay smiling at me.
The sunshine came streaming through the window.
People ran screaming for help when the earthquake broke out.
Dr. Kang sat there, reading a newspaper.
They sat there, talking and laughing.
Sandy sat telling me what happened last night. (accompaniment)
The sun was setting, spilling golden light on the low western hills.
The two ladies shook hands, smiling at each other.
They were standing there, waiting for the bus.
Sandy stood talking about the good old times. (= Sandy stood and talked ....)
The children stood by the roadside, watching the parade.
The whole family stood waving in the road. (accompaniment)
We must pay attention to the use of a present participle above. The logical subject of the present
participle must be the subject of the sentence. We do not say *Working in the field, my ankle
was broken. The logical subject of working is not the subject, my ankle, of the sentence. Instead,
we can say Working in the field, I broke my ankle or When/While working in the field, I broke
my ankle. See 14 The nominative absolute construction.
Past participles used to express manner/accompaniment (or attending circumstances)
Just like the present participles, the past participles can be used to express accompaniment to the
main verbs, as in
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She came back, utterly exhausted.
= She came back and was utterly exhausted.
He continued to walk up and down, lost in thought.
He drove the damaged car home undismayed. (R. Quirk et al., 1972)
The girl lay trapped in the car wreckage for three days after the accident.
Sandy returned home overjoyed.
Beibei sat in the chair exhausted.
Dr. Kang sat in a chair, lost in thought.
Heishman sat at the corner of the library, absorbed in painting her picture.
Surrounded by a group of students, Mr. Roser sat in a chair, answering each student’s
question.
12.10 Used as an adverbial of degree to make an overstatement
Some present participles can be used like adverbs to modify adjectives or participles to
emphasize their meaning, and in such a case the present participle is tantamount to the meaning
of the adverb - exceedingly or extremely or very, as in
The summer weather in Las Vegas is often blazing/burning/scorching hot.
The soup is boiling hot.
She wore shocking pink clothes at her son’s wedding party.
His clothes were dripping/soaking wet when he came in.
The weather in December here is biting/freezing/piercing cold.
Don’t eat steaming hot food. It will hurt your tongue.
The fierce lady was raging/raving mad when she left.
At noon, the snow on the mountain looks dazzling white.
Despite the piercing cold weather, Marlowe still went swimming.
There came a groping dark wilderness.
Don’t be fooled by her flattering sweet words. You'll be taken in by her words.
The present participle used in these sentences above act like the function of an adverb.
12.11 Apposition
Occasionally a participle can be used as appositive (see 14.4), as in
He is encumbered — burdened with debts. (Zhang et al., 1981, p.631)
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13 Used as independent elements
Both the infinitive and the participles (present and past) can be used as a disjunctive element
independent of the sentence. Their logical subjects are usually not the subjects in the main
clauses. The phrase is more or less stereotyped, though with a very few of them, the infinitive
and the participles are interchangeable. They are enumerated in sentences as follows:
It will take an hour to go to the station, allowing for traffic delay.
Assuming that there is the chance, what is the use if he cannot come back in time and
avail himself of it?
Considering/Given his age, his knowledge is marvelous.
There are fifty people killed in the fire, not counting the children.
Failing the last train, you will have to stay overnight.
Granting his honesty, he is slow to work.
Things don’t look too nice, but having said that, there are still grounds for optimism.
Judging from the circumstances, the thief must have entered the house by climbing
over the wall.
Judging from his appearance, he must be a very healthy man.
Frankly speaking, you have hurt her feelings.
Generally speaking, everyone has done a good job.
Putting it frankly, you have made a grave mistake in this matter.
Roughly speaking, the two are identical.
Scientifically speaking, coronavirus can be controlled.
Strictly speaking, you are not supposed to have said so.
Speaking/Talking of French, my father is an expert.
Taking everything into consideration, this is not bad.
Seeing that she once refused to help us, why should we help her now?
Seeing that there is a lot of time, there is no need to hurry like that.
Perhaps it is advisable to reiterate that all the phrases enumerated and elucidated above are more
or less fixed by usage and stereotyped, especially so far as the participle is concerned. In fact,
originally, they were dangling participles, which have at last been sanctioned by usage. They
have become legitimate, as it were. But illegitimate ones should be resisted, much less invented.
We usually have the following: (honestly, generally, normally, politically, properly, roughly,
strictly, scientifically, etc.) speaking, speaking frankly, speaking of, speaking off the record,
talking about, looking at, judging from/by, putting it (mildly, etc.), setting ... aside,, taking
...into consideration, put frankly, taken..., taken as a whole, considered ...,etc. Most of them
have become prepositions or conjunctions (see 16), e.g. assuming (followed by a clause),
barring, concerning, considering, considering that (followed by a clause), excepting, failing,
following, given, given that (followed by a clause), granted/granting, granted that or granting
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that (followed by a clause), including, owing to, pending, providing(that)/provided (that)
(followed by a clause), regarding, supposing (that) (followed by a clause), etc., as in
Assuming we have enough money, we'll buy 50 ventilators for our hospital.
Considering that he was too young, we disregarded what he had said.
Given that the voters approve the fund, we'll have a new school in our area.
Given (= considering) their inexperience, they’ve done a good job.
Granted his obsequious manner, I still think he’s ambitious enough to do the job.
(R. Quirk et al., 1972, p.301)
Provided you sign the paper, I won't arrest you.
We will play providing that the weather is fine.
I'll go with you providing you are nicer to me.
Supposing that you have a flat tire, can you replace the tire by yourself?
Supposing you had been more careful, your iPhone would not have been stolen.
(subjunctive mood)
Suppose/Say (= if) he takes the job, what sort of salary will he get?
Jean can’t come today, owing to her car accident.
14 Used in the nominative absolute construction
The nominative absolute construction is much less common in spoken than in written English.
The nominative absolute phrases or absolute construction of the participles used express: time,
cause, condition, circumstance, apposition, etc., and are equal to adverbial clauses or compound
sentences.
14.1Time
Present participles used to express time
The meeting (being) over, everyone left happily.
= After/When the meeting was over, everyone left happily.
Spring coming on, the trees turn green.
=When/After spring comes on, the trees turn green.
The lights having gone out, we couldn't see anything.
=After/When the lights had gone out or After/When the lights went out, we couldn’t
see anything.
A hole having been dug, the men just disappeared.
= After/When a hole was dug/had been dug, the men just disappeared.
The sun having set (= When/After the sun set/had set), all of us went home.
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Her aunt having left the room, I decided my passionate love for Celia.
(R. Quirk et al., 1972)
Past participles used to express time
Her coffee finished, she left without saying a good-bye to us.
= After/When her coffee was/had been finished, she left without saying a good-bye to
us.
The test completed, he gave it to the teacher.
= After/When the test was/had been completed, he gave it to the teacher.
The work done, Dr. Kang went home.
= After/When the work was/had been done, Dr. Kang went home.
Him/He taken care of (= When/As he was taken care of), we could leave without any
worry. (time or reason)
(Him used in him take care of is informal or substandard.)
He having been taken care of, we could leave without any worry.
(Rarely used with perfect, especially when a logical subject is a pronoun.)
The report having been read (= After/When the report had been read), a lively discussion
began.
Our house painted white, we'd like it better.
= Our house being/having been painted white, we’d like it better.
= After/When our house is/has been painted white, we’d like it better.
All things considered, we decided to move on.
= All things having been considered, we decided to move on.
= After/When all things were/had been considered, we decided to move on.
Kayla having watched Emily play, she left the school.
= After she watched Emily play, Kayla left the school.
= After having watched/watching Emily play, Kayla left the school.
We left the room and went home, the job finished. (R. Quirk et al., 1972)
When a past participle is used in such a case, being or having been can be omitted when they are
in passive as seen from some examples above: Her coffee (having been) finished, she left
without saying a good-bye to us. All things (having been) considered, we decided to move on.
Our house (being) painted white, we'd like it better.
14.2 Cause/reason
Present participles used to express cause/reason
So many students being absent (=As/Because/Since so many students were absent),
the field strip had to be put off.
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There being nobody in the classroom, Marlowe turned off all the lights.
Our pace was slow, the horses being tired.
= Our pace was slow because the horses were tired.
The room was quiet, the students neither talking nor laughing.
= The room was quiet because/as the students neither talked nor laughed.
No further discussion arising, the meeting was brought to a close.
It being known that he was a fluent speaker of English, many people came to learn
spoken English from him.
It being cold, Beibei put on her coat.
= As/Because it was cold, Beibei put on her coat.
He being absent, we'll have to put off the meeting.
= As/Because he is absent, we’ll have to put off the meeting.
It being now pretty late, we took our candles and went upstairs.
He, being in a hurry, began to run. (Construction of this kind is not often used.)
T having few friends, my business began to fail. (Bergen Evans et al., 1957)
Nobody having any more to say (=As/Because nobody had any more to say), the
meeting was closed. (perfect form)
The library having closed (= As/Because the library was/had been closed), I had to
go home. (perfect form)
The weather having improved (=As/Because the weather had been improved), the
game was enjoyed by players and spectators alike. (perfect form)
All the guests having arrived (=As/Because all the guests had arrived), the meeting
was declared open. (perfect form)
The lights having gone out, we couldn’t see anything. (perfect form)
Past participles used to express cause/reason
His comrades all dragged away, he was left alone in the prison cell.
= Because/As his comrades were all dragged away, he was left alone in the prison
cell.
Her leg badly wounded, she has to stay in bed.
= Because/As her leg was badly wounded, she has to stay in bed.
His shirt caught on the nail, he was unable to move.
All our savings gone, we started looking for a job.
The question (having been) settled, the meeting adjourned.
She having finished the work (= As/After/When she had finished the work), there
was nothing for us to do.
The weather having improved, we enjoyed the remainder of the game.
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In such a construction, having been can be omitted in passive voice without changing the
meaning. For example, “The building (having been) painted white, it looks magnificent.”
We can also use the construction with or without + noun + past participle or a gerund or an
infinitive or adjective to express reason, as in
With him taken care of, the parents felt happy when they were working at weekend.
You must give me a true account, with nothing added and nothing removed.
With the tree now tall, we get more shade. (Tall is an adjective.)
I wouldn’t dare go home without the job finished.
Without any food left in the house, she had to buy more.
Without anyone noticing, I slipped through the window. (Noticing is a gerund.)
With so many people helping me, I finished the work early. (Helping is a gerund.)
The war was over without a shot being fired. (Being is a gerund.)
With so much to do, I will have to go back to my office. (To do 1s an infinitive.)
Without a thing to worry about, Dr. Kang began to have her vacation next week.
(To worry is an infinitive.)
It is noted that without has a negative meaning and it usually requires a non-assertive form like
anyone or any as seen from some of the sentences above containing without. When with is
omitted, the gerundial phrase becomes the absolute construction of the participles (see 43.2).
14.3 Condition
Present participles used to express condition
Weather permitting, we will go for a walk in the park.
= If weather permits, we will go for a walk in the park.
All being well (=If all is well), we will complete the work by tomorrow.
Past Participles used to express condition
Everything taken into consideration, his work is well done.
= If everything is taken into consideration, his work is well done.
14.4 Apposition
Present participles used to express apposition
Such apposition is regarded as the reduced relative clauses (either restrictive or non-restrictive),
as in
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The two girls living in the same apartment, one (being) a Chinese and the other (being)
an American, died of coronavirus last night.
= The two girls living in the same apartment, one of whom was a Chinese and the other
of whom was an American, died of coronavirus last night.
Several soldiers, one looking like a chap I know, stepped up to the bar.
= Several soldiers, one of whom looked like a chap I know, stepped up to the bar.
I saw a lot of protesters in the street, some shouting, some yelling, and some throwing
bottles at the police.
His one claim to fame, being secretary of the local tennis club, is the recurrent theme of
his conversation. (R. Quirk et al., 1972, p.741)
Past participles used to express apposition
The soldiers, some drunk, started fighting each other.
In the riot it is estimated that 43 protesters were injured, nine of them disabled for life.
14.5 Attendant circumstances/accompaniment (manner)
Present participles used to express attendant circumstances/accompaniment
(manner)
We went sight-seeing yesterday afternoon, Mr. Marlowe acting as guide.
Our office was on the third floor, its windows overlooking the cast-iron bridge.
A little girl walked past, her doll dragging behind her on the pavement.
Off we started, the late arrivals remaining behind.
We walked in a file, he leading the way.
We all went home, she remaining behind (= and she remained behind).
I saw a lot of people in the room, some talking, and some listening.
In the room I saw three men, two of them smoking a pipe.
Mr. Roser lapsed into silence, his mind working.
That fierce lady looked at the ground, her face burning with shame.
They were watching the acrobatic show, their eyes (being) wide open.
She glanced with disgust at the cat, mewing.(R. Quirk et al., 1972)
(The logical subject of mewing is not the subject of the sentence, but the cat.)
Past participles to express attendant circumstances/accompaniment (manner)
Many students were moving to and fro, most of them muffled in their coats.
The little boy lay there, perfectly content, his head cradled in his mother’s arm.
It is estimated that more than 20,000 are infected, 500 of them disabled for life.
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Sandy sat forward in the chair, (with) her eyes fixed on her face.
We can also use the construction with or without + noun + past participle to express cause or
reason, time, circumstance, or accompaniment, etc., according to the context, as in
The hero walked to the execution ground, with his head held high.
He whipped out a gun with a silencer attached.
Beibei lay on her back, with her legs drawn up.
With the tree grown tall, we get much shade. (cause)
With one of his legs gone, he was still able to go about visiting his
friends. (concession)
They sat in the room with the curtain drawn. (accompaniment)
I wouldn’t dare go home without the job finished. (reason)
Without him taken care of, the child was left alone at home.
It is to be noted that in the absolute construction, besides the present participle, we can also use
prefect tense or passive voice. If the logical subject is a personal pronoun, we usually use a
subject case rather than object case although an object case is used in colloquial English or
regarded as non-standard, etc., as in
We were walking side by side, I still humming my little tune.
We all set out, he remaining behind.
Members of the family occupied the spare bedrooms, the remaining guests having
been booked in at neighboring hotels. (R. Quirk et al., 1972)
She having finished the work (= As/After/When she had finished the work), there
was nothing for us to do. (reason or time)
They smoked the joint in silence, her sitting, him standing. (her or him used colloquially)
We should do well together, me being a good cook. (me used colloquially)
15 The omission of being in the nominative absolute construction
As mentioned earlier, the participle being in the nominative absolute construction can be omitted
without changing the meaning. Some grammarians called it a verbless clause after being is
omitted, as in
The meeting (being) over, everyone went home happily.
(The meeting over is a verbless clause.)
Everything (being) ready, we started for the construction site.
(Everything ready is a verbless clause.)
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The children watched the gigantic bus passing through the village, their eyes (being)
bright and eager. (Their eyes bright and eager is a verbless clause.)
As shown above, when the logical subject of the nominative absolute construction is a noun or
noun phrase, the being can be omitted except for the logical subject of a pronoun or there + be
construction, as in
The meeting over, everyone went home happily.
(The meeting over is a verbless clause.)
32 people have been killed in the riot, many of them (being) children.
There being nobody in the classroom, he turned off all the lights. (no omission)
It being known that he was a fluent speaker of English, many people came to learn
spoken English from him. (no omission)
16 Dangling participles
Generally speaking, a participle (present or past) should have a notional/logical subject or agent.
The notional subject should be the subject of the principal statement (main clause). We can say,
“While dancing, he hurt his leg.” In this sentence the logical subject of “dancing” is he in the
main clause. But in “* While dancing, his leg got hurt’, the logical subject of dancing seems to
be his leg. Actually, his leg is not the subject/agent of dancing. Therefore, that sentence is
incorrect, so are these sentences: *Looking back, the building was on fire. *Having fought two
days, a strong wind swept down. *Painted white, we like the house better, etc. An adverbial
participle phrase with an unexpressed agent (or notional subject, as it is also called) other than
the sentence subject itself is said to be dangling. In the above sentence, the present participle
dancing (in while dancing, his leg got hurt) is called a dangling/unrelated participle, because it
modifies the wrong subject in the main clause. This mismatch occurs because the logical subject
of that participle is missing. Some grammarians also called it “wnattached participles.” Dangling
constructions are faulty grammatically and should be avoided except those which have already
been sanctioned by usage although we see the use of dangling particles in newspapers, scientific
English literature, etc. The following sentences are also inacceptable:
*Tf found guilty, the lawsuit could cost the company US $12 billion.
*Walking down the cliff, his smile went brighter.
*Reading the evening newspaper, a dog started barking.
*Having eaten in nearby restaurants, this is a great place to let your food settle with a bottle
of reasonably priced drink.
--- http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2011/09/participles-how-not-to-dangle/
*Crossing the street, a bus knocked him down.
(Agent of crossing is not the subject of bus.)
*Raining heavily, we could hardly get out.
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(Agent of raining is not the subject of we.)
*Wanting to see you, will you please come tomorrow?
(Agent of wanting is not the subject you.) (Huang, 1979)
Let’s consider the following again:
* Standing on the top of the mountain, the whole city could be seen.
From the above sentence, the question is “Who was standing on the top of the mountain?” It
seems as if the whole city were standing on the top of the mountain. The logical subject is not the
whole city, but it can be we, you, they, he, she, or anyone. However, in scientific English
literature, dangling participles are sometimes seen to be used. But try to avoid using them in
formal English, spoken or written, in order for people not to misunderstand the information. The
remedy would be either (1) to use a subject which can govern both the main verb and the
participle, or (2) to use an adverbial clause instead of a participle phrase. We can choose three
faulty examples from the given sentences above to correct them in this light as follows:
1) By using a subject common to the main verb and the participle:
Standing on the top of the mountain, we could see the whole city.
Crossing the street, he was knocked down by a bus.
Wanting to see you, I should ask you to come tomorrow.
It raining heavily, we could hardly get out.
2) By converting the participial phrase back into the adverbial clause:
Because/As/While/When we were standing on the top of the mountain, we could see
the whole city.
As/While/When he was crossing the street, a bus knocked him down.
As/Because I want to see you, will you please come tomorrow?
As/Because it was raining heavily, we could hardly get out.
By way of comment, it should be pointed out that the adverbial clause is the most exact and
natural and that the adverbial participial phrase is the most formal, but may be ambiguous in
reference, for, as we have seen, it may refer to time, cause, condition, or accompaniment, etc.
Some of the dangling participles (present or past) are used so much that they look as if they are
prepositions or conjunctions (see 13). Therefore, they are not regarded as present participles
anymore, as in
Considering the bad weather, our sports meet was a huge success.
(Considering is a preposition, and it means in view of.)
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Police are anxious to hear any information concerning his whereabouts.
(Concerning is a preposition and means about.)
There are thirteen left, not counting the spoilt ones.
Following the lecture, we were able to ask questions. (Following means after.)
Given the circumstances, you ‘ve coped well. (Given means considering.)
Granting/Granted that he didn’t know, he should have written to inquire about it.
Granting his honesty, he may be mistaken in his enthusiasm.
I will go, provided/providing you send a car.
No action has been taken regarding your complaint. (Regarding means about.)
Seeing it is your birthday, you may stay up an hour later tonight.
Talking about the football match, who won?
There is no danger of misunderstanding without the subject of the particles as seen from these
sentences above. “The participial phrase really modifies the general intent of the whole sentence,
and not the subject of the main clause only” (L.X.H., 1982, p.249). The subjects of such
participles do not need to be the same when we use them. They are used to modify the main
statement as a whole. F.T. Wood (1981, p.135) considered them as “... idiomatic. They modify
or depend upon no other word in the sentence.” Also see 13 Used as independent element and
42 Dangling gerunds. We often use the following participles in such cases:
admitting (that), assuming (that), barring, considering (that), concerning, excepting,
failing, granting (that), owning to, pending, presuming (that), providing (that),
regarding, respecting, saving, seeing (that), supposing (that), touching, given (that),
granted (that), provided (that), etc.
Some grammarians think that if an impersonal pronoun, it, is used, referring to weather in the
main clause, a dangling participle can be accepted, as in
It was raining hard coming back.
It was cold getting up this morning.
When there is no misunderstanding from the context, dangling participles are often seen to be
used, as mentioned earlier, especially, in scientific English - the literature of science and
technology, and in newspapers. Frequently, a dangling participle, is meant to apply indefinitely
to anyone or everyone, as in “Facing north, there is a large mountain on the right” and “Looking
at the subject dispassionately, what evidence is there?” (Bergen Evans et al., 1957). Except for
some idiomatic expressions, e.g. following (= after), considering (= in view of), regarding (=
about), efc., try not to use dangling participles or gerunds when the content of a sentence is
misunderstood, especially for those whose native language is not English avoid using dangling
participles when they are writing or speaking English. A dangling participle, however, is not
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limited to the participle; it can occur with the gerund and the infinitive, too, e.g. “J succeeded
him as captain upon dying.” Dying would mean my dying. Say his dying instead of dying.
“Production has increased by leaps and bounds since overthrowing the government.” Say
“Production has increased by leaps and bounds since the overthrow of the government.” “To
climb the rock face, certain precautions are set out below.” Say “To climb the rock face, we have
set out certain precautions below’, etc.
17 Transitive present participles vs. transitive past participles
As mentioned earlier, the present participle expresses active voice, while the past participle
expresses passive voice, so to speak. Both have nothing to do with tense at all. Thus:
His sudden resignation is quite surprising.
I am quite surprised.
The explanation is very confusing.
The audience are very much confused.
He is very much loved by her.
The proof is quite convincing.
Now he is convinced.
Your friend is interesting.
Dr. Kang is interested in science.
A participle used predicatively is virtually an adjective so that it may be modified by the adverb
very, or very much, especially when a past participle is used as adjective, as seen above. The
expression, however, does simulate the progressive tense in the case of the present participle, and
the passive voice in the case of the past participle. But the present participle construction differs
from the progressive tense in that it does not, as the latter would, require an expressed object. For
example:
The news of her death was shocking. (predicative)
The news of her death was shocking the whole community.
(predicative, progressive; the whole community is the object of “shocking”’.)
The news of her death shocked all of us.
(simple past tense; all of us is the object of “shocked”’.)
When the main verbs are state verbs, they are used in progressive tense. The predicative
participle can occur in appear, seem, etc., besides be, as in
The question appears puzzling.
His argument seems interesting.
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We don’t say “His argument is seeming interesting” because seem here is a state
verb.)
The difference between the predicative past participle and the finite passive voice is that the
former expresses a state of the subject, and the latter an action. This difference leads to
difference in time reference, that is, different tenses are used for the same event, e.g.
The window glass is broken.
(Predicative, emphasizing present state of the glass; hence present tense)
The window glass was broken by a boy. (passive)
(Finite verb, showing the time of breaking; hence a tense with past reference.)
18 Go or come + present participles
This combination may show three meanings:
1) Some temporary activity usually connected with sports, past times or something, as in
go begging, go boating, go climbing, go dancing, go drinking, go fishing, go hiking,
go hunting, go riding, go skiing, go shooting, go shopping, go cycling, go sailing, go
swimming, go walking, etc.
More examples:
Come swimming with us tomorrow.
Come dancing with us. (R.A. Close, 1975)
She came running. (G. Leech et al., 1974)
Let’s go swimming.
We also have such phrases as the following:
go sight-seeing, go collecting bird’s eggs, etc.
2) A more or less permanent occupation, as in
go farming, go teaching, go nursing, go soldering, go bricklaying, etc.
It is to be noted that not all occupations are capable of such a construction. For instance, we
don’t yet say that a person goes printing, goes publishing, goes building, etc. The advice seems
to be not to use any that has not been accepted in usage.
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3) Disapproval or deprecation of an activity, as in
You shouldn’t go boasting about your abilities.
If you go eating this spoilt food, you will surely be in for food poisoning.
19 Participles used in echo exclamation or other occasion in
expression of surprise, resent, hate, etc.
Just like an infinitive, participles can be used in echo exclamation, as in
A: I’m going to Las Vegas.
B: Going to Las Vegas! What for?
A: Have you completed your project due next Monday?
B: Completed my project! I just started!
A: I’m going to invite Jean to the party.
B: To invite Jean! No way! (infinitive)
20 Compound words
20.1 Present Participles
We can make compound words by using a present participle, a noun, an adjective or an adverb.
1) Noun + present participle
We can use a noun followed by a present participle to form a compound word. In such a case, the
relationship between the noun and the participle is that of verb and object. The participle
deriving from the verb is usually a transitive verb. We say: She has reached the child-bearing
age and she has borne several children (SVO). We have saved a lot of labor for this project
(SVOA). They are labor-saving machines. i.e. save (V) labor (O) — labor-saving; coin-
collecting — collect (V) coins (QO), etc. If the object is a countable noun (e.g. coins, stamps) in a
plural form, a singular noun should be used when a compound word is made, so we don’t say
*coins-collecting or stamps-collecting. Compare: Coin-collecting is an interesting hobby.
Collecting coins is my hobby.
More examples:
book-keeping, book-reviewing, brainwashing, breathtaking, coin-collecting,
dressmaking, an English-speaking lady, epoch-making progress, fact-finding,
faultfinding, fur-bearing animals, fish-producing lakes, a gas-exporting country, heart-
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breaking news, housekeeping, letter-writing, life-giving, a man-eating animal, oath-
taking, peace-loving people, a road-widening plan, record-breaking, self-justifying,
sightseeing (= see sights), a steel making factory, story-telling, etc.
But this is not always the same, sometimes we can have the present participle driving from an
intransitive verb and the noun is used adverbially (VA), as in
churchgoing (= go to church), daydreaming (= dreams during the day), fist-fighting
handwriting (= write by hand), horse riding (= ride on a horse), law-abiding citizens (=
citizens who abide by law), lip-sucking, mouth-watering food, ocean-going ships (=
ships go across oceans), rope-dancing ( = dance on a rope), shadow-boxing (= box
against a shadow), sleepwalking (= walk in one’s sleep), sun-bathing (bathe in the sun),
town-dwelling people (= people who dwell in a town), etc.
2) Adverb + present participle
We can use an adverb and a participle to form a compound adjective. The relationship between
the participle and the adverb is that of adverbial.
For example:
ever-increasing, ever-lasting, ever-widening, far-reaching, hardworking, a never-
ending war, long-pending, long-playing, ongoing, outgoing presents, outstanding, well-
meaning, etc.
3) Adjective + present participle
an easy-going lady, good-tasting food, a good-looking girl, high-sounding, etc.
20.2 Past Participles
1) noun + past participles
We can make compound words by using a past participle and a noun. In such cases, the
compound words (formed by a noun and past participle) are adjectives. They are often hyphened
between the noun and the past participle or they have no hyphen or written as one word. They
often have adverbial relationship, e.g. heartfelt, means feeling it in the heart.
blood-splattered, battle-tested, custom-built, frost-bitten, handmade, handwritten,
heartfelt, home brewed, homemade, poverty-stricken, rain-soaked (=soaked by/with
rain), self-contained, self-taught, state-owned (= owned by the state), sun-burnt,
suntanned, thunder-struck, town-bred, weather-beaten, war ravaged, etc.
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2) Adverb + past participles
In such a case, the relationship between the adverb and the participle are adverbial. They are
used as adjectives. They are hyphened between them or have no hyphen or sometimes written as
one word, as in
a dearly paid mistake, full-fledged, a full-grown boy, far-fetched, hard-boiled, a hard-
boiled egg, ill-gotten, ill-mannered, out-spoken, outstretched, ready-made, rough-hewn,
upraised, well-arranged, well-informed, well-known, well-behaved, well-meant, well-
spoken, wide-opened, widespread, etc.
It is to be noted that rough, wide and ready in the compounds above are adverbs rather than
adjectives. When ready is used this way, it is usually followed by past participles, i.e. ready
cooked, ready mixed, etc. Besides, some compound words are made up of an adverb and a past
participle, in which the adverb is usually with reference to time or manner, etc., as in
a badly-built house, a well-built house, a well-behaved boy, far-fetched reasons,
half-baked ideas, half-finished houses, her newly-born daughter, the far-and-wide
discussed new product, newly-invented devices, highly-developed countries, the many-
times repeated warning, a tightly fastened down mouse, some hitherto unpublished
letters, well-nourished and well brought-up children, well-educated teachers, etc.
3) Adjective + past participles
American-born (= born in America), western-educated (= educated in the West),
new-born, new-laid, true-born, etc.
Some of the adjectives derive from their nouns, 1.e. American comes from America.
4) Adjective + past participle deriving from a noun
Besides, we can use adjective plus a noun with —ed for its suffix, which looks like a participle, as
in
a curly-haired girl (=a girl with curly hair), a fat-fingered baby (= a baby with fat
fingers), good-tempered, long-legged, the long-nosed man, noble-minded, white-haired,
a white-jacketed workman (= a workman with a white jacket), etc.
In such a case the noun hair becomes haired, and leg, legged, etc. Haired and legged, for
example, look like past participles. Not all such phrases can be replaced by a compound.
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5) Past participles + adverb/preposition
We can use a verbal phrase in which the particle is an adverb or preposition. When they are past
participles, they can be used as adjective usually with a hyphen in it, as in
made-up stories (= stories that have been made up), stepped-up provocation, a rolled up
map, a built-in program, a long-drawn-out struggle, a much talked-about affair,
undreamed-of success, unheard-of wonders, unpaid-for goods, ete.
21 The Gerunds
The parts of the verb ending in —ing form are the present participle and the gerund. The gerund
(verbal noun) is a form of a verb functioning as a noun, which describes an action or experience.
For example, “building” is a gerund (a verbal noun) in “The building of the bridge was slow
work” and “smoking” in “Smoking does no good to health,” etc. Since a gerund is a noun, it can
be used as subjects, direct objects or objects of prepositions, predicative (nominative),
apposition, etc.
21.1 Forms of the gerunds
Active Passive
Indefinite writing being written
Perfect having written having been written
Perfect Progressive having been writing having been being written (possible)
Not *being being written
Like the finite verb, the gerund can be put into the passive voice, if the meaning so required.
21.2 Active gerunds
When the logical subject of the gerund is also the subject of the sentence, an active voice is used,
as in
Dr. Kang doesn’t like going swimming in cold weather.
(The logical subject of going is also the subject of the sentence, Dr. Kang.)
Mr. Roser enjoyed taking care of his students.
(The logical subject of taking care of is also the subject of the sentence, Mr. Roser.)
No one likes getting up early at weekend.
He denied having stolen his girlfriend’s iPhone.
She regrets not having completed the work on time.
= She regrets that she hasn’t completed the work on time.
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I hate your hanging around here. (But the logical subject of hanging is you not I.)
I recall his having dinner with me the day when I met him.
(But the logical subject of having is he not I.)
21.3 Passive gerunds
When the subject of the sentence is also the logical object of the gerund, a passive voice is used,
as in
He is quite annoyed at being ordered about like that.
(The logical object of order is also the logical subject of the sentence, He.)
Beibei dislikes being regarded as a nobody.
(The logical object of regarded is also the logical subject of the sentence, Beibei.)
= Beibei dislikes people regarding her as a nobody.
The fierce lady dislikes being interrupted in her conversation.
No one enjoyed being disturbed in the middle of the night.
We couldn’t help being impressed by their wonderful achievements.
He doesn’t like being ordered about in that way.
He likes joking and being joked, and he also doesn’t mind being made fun of.
She recalls having been beaten many times by her stepfather.
= She recalls that she had been beaten/was beaten many times by her stepfather.
I don’t remember having ever been scolded by my former boss.
=I don’t remember that I had ever been scolded/was scolded by my former boss.
She'd run the risk of being arrested if she continued doing something dirty.
The new teaching method has the advantage of having been tried a few times
by experienced teachers.
Sandy left the meeting without being noticed/seen
All Sandy wanted was her daughter being given the job.
(The logical object of “give” is her daughter.)
What upset me most was Kayla’s being told not to join them.
(The logical object of “tell” is Kayla.)
What upset the child was his not being allowed to visit his mother in the hospital.
(The logical object of “allow” is the child.)
I congratulated Sandy on being elected chairwoman of the technology club.
I couldn’t understand John’s being expelled because of his bad behavior.
(The logical object of “expel” is John.)
Afraid of being caught, she sneaked out of the room.
(Passive is used because the logical object of the verb, catch, is also the subject of the
main clause, she.)
I object to being kept waiting for so long.
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(Passive is used because the logical object of the verb, keep, is also the subject of the
sentence, J.)
I look forward to being invited again.
Cf. I look forward to people inviting me again
They were proud of their products being praised highly by the buying public.
(The logical object of “praise” is their products.)
Some customers complain of having been treated very rudely. (Perfect gerund form)
From the sentences described above, the understood object of the non-finite verb (the passive
gerund) is also the subject of the sentence or the logical objects of the verbs that are in passive
forms.
22 Tense in a gerund or gerundial phrase
We usually use a simple tense in a gerund or gerundial phrase. However, we use a perfect tense
to emphasize something happening prior to that in the main verb of the subject or the action that
happens earlier than that in the main verb of the sentence, as in
The thought that he couldn't get rid of was his having made the mistake himself.
Having done the hard work is an experience I will never forget.
(inversion: The experience I will never forget is having done the hard work.)
Having been wounded before proved to be too much.
Imagine having travelled round the world.
I regret having told her so much.
I regret not having completed the work on time.
= I regret that I didn’t complete the work on time.
She must admit to having gone a long way to realize what she did in the past.
He admitted to having been sexually abused by his stepfather.
She recalls having been beaten many times by her stepmother.
= She recalls that she had been beaten many times by her stepmother.
I don’t remember having ever been scolded by my former boss.
=I don’t remember that I had ever been scolded by my former boss.
The students must be proud of having found a way to solve the problem.
Thank you ever so much for having done too much to me!
= Thank you ever so much for doing too much to me!
23 Use of the gerund and the gerundial phrase
Contemporary grammarians would prefer to use -ing forms for both present participle and
gerund in the English language. However, the writer prefers using the gerund form rather than
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the -ing form although they are the same in form. This might be good for those whose native
language is not English to understand the difference, and it might be easier for them to write or
speak English when they know the rules or usage. Let us consider the following:
1) I saw him/John entering the house. (SVOC)
2) *I saw his/John’s entering the house.
In Sentences 1) and 2), entering is present participle rather than a gerund, so Sentence 2) is
incorrect because his or John’s (a possessive form) cannot be used as the logical subject of the
participle entering, but him/John can be the logical subject of entering because entering is a
participle. Let us look at the following:
3) Would you mind me/him/John opening the door?
4) Would you mind my/his/John’s opening the door?
5) Do you mind me/my smoking here?
In Sentences 3) and 4), opening is a gerund rather than a participle. In Sentence 3), me, him, or
John (pronouns in the objective case and John with no apostrophe) is used as the agent (the
logical subject) of opening; in Sentence 4), my or his (a possessive pronoun) or John’s (a noun
with an apostrophe), is also used as the agent (the logical subject) of opening. This is the
marked difference between the use of the -ing form and the gerundial form because the -ing
form (= a present participle) does not take a possessive as shown in 2) above while the gerund
can take either objective case as shown in Sentences 3) or a possessive as shown in 4) above. If a
possessive, such as my, his or John’s, is used instead of the objective case (me, him or John),
the gerund, opening, is, of course, a full gerund, as shown in 4) above. The gerund with an
agent, the logical subject, (either a noun or pronoun in the objective case), opening, as shown in
3) above, is called a half gerund. See 43 The half gerund vs. full gerund.
As mentioned earlier, because the logical subject of the gerund and the gerund is a complete
gerundial phrase, we cannot use the subject of the gerund to convert it into a passive, i.e. *J. am
not minded smoking here as compared with “Do you mind me smoking here?” but there is no
problem we can say, “J saw him leaving the house and He was seen leaving the house, because
leaving here is a present participle rather than a gerund in the sentence.
23.1 Used as subject
Like a noun or noun phrase, the gerund or gerundial phrase can be used as subject, as in
Breathing under water is difficult.
Having a telephone can be nuisance.
Smoking does no good to health.
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Swimming is beneficial to health.
Studying English is hard.
Standing here all day makes me very tired.
Writing the book has taken up nearly all her spare time.
Not having one has its disadvantage.
Not/Never having an iPhone can save a kid a great deal of trouble. (with negation)
Not smoking a pack of cigarettes a day helps you to avoid lung cancer.
(Not smoking a pack of cigarettes a day is used as subject.)
Having done such hard work is an experience I will never forget.
(Having done such hard work ... is a perfect tense, which is the same as That I have done
such hard work is an experience I will never forget.)
Having been wounded before (= That you had been wounded before) proved to be too
much.
(Having been wounded before is a perfect tense with passive voice.)
Having been trying (= That you have been trying) is no excuse.
(perfect progressive tense)
Jean’s staying up so late (=That Jean stays up so late) worries her mother.
(Jean’s is the logical subject of the gerund phrase staying up. See 43)
His saying he was sorry (=That he said he was sorry) was appreciated.
His having danced the tango skillfully surprised me.
Does our saying that mean anything to her?
Me knowing her name surprised her.
Being ridiculed in this way is beyond endurance.
(being ridiculed with passive voice, used as subject)
Being invited to come here is a great honor. (with passive voice, used as subject)
Being elected chairman of the club is a blessing. (with passive voice)
Being cast in a movie is the best fun in the world, she thought.
23.2 The difference between the use of a gerund and an infinite used as subject
Generally speaking, there is slight or no difference between the use of a gerund and an infinitive
when they are used as subjects, as in
Seeing is believing.
To see is to believe.
Swimming in the cold weather does no good for some people.
To swim in the cold weather like today does no good for you. (specific reference)
Lying is wrong. (generic reference to anyone who lies)
Some grammarians think that the use of gerunds as subject indicates generic or abstract or
habitual meaning while the infinitive indicates a specific situation, or a new act, and not habitual.
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Besides, the gerundial use indicates descriptive force while the use of an infinitive indicates a
general statement. In spoken English gerundial forms used as subject are more than the infinitive
use, especially in interrogative questions or at the beginning of a sentence. Sometimes, in such a
case, there is no practical difference. Also see 26 The difference between the gerund and the
infinitive used as object/predicative.
23.3 Anticipatory it
For the gerund, the introductory or anticipatory it (empty subject) is used with an adjective or a
noun or a noun phrase. The it represents the following gerund or gerundial phrase, as in
It’s great fun playing/to play with that game.
It’s no good arguing with her.
It is no good your speaking so fast.
It doesn’t seem much/good/use going on. (Hornby, 1977)
It wouldn’t be any good my talking to her.
It’s so nice sitting here with you
It’s no use crying over spilt milk. (idiom)
It’s no use asking him about the matter.
It’s no use him wiring back. (Bergen Evans et al., 1957)
It’s not the slightest use your losing temper with me
It’s no use your pretending that you didn’t know the rules.
It wouldn’t be much use trying to reinstall the program.
It?s worthwhile/worth (while) learning Spanish.
It’s not worth while losing your temper.
It might be worth taking/to take the guided tour.
(Cf. The guided tour is worth taking.)
It was hard getting on the crowded bus in the rush hour.
It was odd his coming to beg from me again.
It’s wonderful lying on the beach all day. (Hornby, 1977)
It was a difficult business getting everything ready in time. (Hornby, 1977)
It was quite an experience going swimming/to go swimming in a big deep lake.
It is an awful job repairing the damaged computer.
It is a nuisance being/to be without AC in the hot summer.
It felt good walking in the forest in the morning at weekend.
It seems such a pity, all the furniture being spoiled by the damp.
It is vilely unjust, the minority people in that country being treated like that.
A comma is sometimes inserted between the subject complement and the gerundial phrase when
the logical subject of the gerundial phrase is long or longer than the subject complement as we
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see the last two sentences above. After experience, fun, nuisance, use, and worth, an infinitive
can also be used, especially when for + a noun or a noun phrase construction is used, as in
It’s great fun (for us) to work with you today.
It wouldn’t be any good for me to talk to her.
It wasn’t much use for me to pretend (that) I didn’t know the rules. (Hornby, 1977)
23.4 There + be + no + gerund
In the construction, there + be + no + gerund, it is tantamount to the meaning of it is impossible
to do or doing. In such a case, there is used as an introductory subject or empty subject, in which
the following gerund does not take logical subject and the gerund cannot be replaced with an
infinitive, as in
There is no denying the fact.
= It is impossible denying/to deny the fact.
There is no getting along with that fierce lady.
There is no joking with her.
*There is no your joking with her. (no logical subject before the gerund in such a
construction)
*There is no to joke with her. (no infinitive used after no)
There is no making progress in negotiating with China in the trade war.
Occasionally, not any, never any replaced with no in this construction, as in
There isn’t any getting away from it.
There’s never any predicting what they will do next.
There won’t be any problem/difficulty parking.
Sometimes, there + be is omitted in such a construction, especially in advertisement or public
notices. In such a context, an object is not used, as in,
No smoking!
Cf. Smoking not allowed.
No trespassing!
No parking!
Cf. Don’t park your car here! Parking prohibited between 7 am and 5 pm.
They look like imperative sentences. However, the gerund form - there + being — can be used as
a subject or a prepositional object, as in
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There being an index to that book is a great advantage. (used as subject)
There being no index to that book is a disadvantage. (used as subject)
= There not being an index to that book is a disadvantage.
Tam surprised at there being no index/not an index to that book.
(used as prepositional object)
Were you disappointed at there not having been more applause?
(used as prepositional object with perfect gerund)
24 Used as direct object
24.1 A gerund or a gerundial phrase used as object in SVO construction
Since a gerund has a function of a noun, it can be used as an object just like other nouns, as in
The girl admitted being careless.
He admitted having seen Beibei.
Sandy loves sneaking up on her husband to frighten him.
We must practice speaking English every day.
I enjoy swimming in summer. (not followed by a perfect gerund, *having swum)
She recalls having been beaten many times by her stepfather.
=She recalls that she had been beaten many times by her stepfather.
I don’t recall ever saying (=having said) such a thing.
I regret not seeing (= not having seen) her.
I don’t remember having ever been scolded by my former boss.
=I don’t remember that I had ever been scolded by my former boss.
I remember mailing (=having mailed) the letter.
She resented being looked at. (passive)
(The logical object of “look at” is also the subject of the sentence, she.)
In “remember or recall something, etc.”, the gerund shows the action happening before that in
the main clause. We can use either a simple gerund form or a perfect gerund form without
changing the meaning. But when we use a perfect gerund form, we just emphasize that action
prior to that of remember or recall something. The following verbs and verbal phrases are
usually followed by a gerund used as direct objects:
Acknowledge (allowed to be followed by a perfect gerund form), admit/admit to (allowed to be
followed by a perfect gerund form), advise (the to-infinitive is also used in SVOC), advocate,
don’t allow (the to-infinitive is also used in SVOC), anticipate, appreciate, attend, authorize,
avoid, do not bear, begin, begrudge, bear (usually used in the question or negative with can),
bother (either the to-infinitive or a gerund used when it is in negative sentence or question),
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can’t endure, can’t/couldn’t help (followed by either a simple gerund form or perfect gerund
form), (can’t) stand, confess/confess to (allowed to be followed by a perfect form), consider,
contemplate (either a possessive or objective case for the logical subject of the gerund can be
used), continue, defend, defer, delay, deny (usually followed by a perfect gerund form), deplore,
deprecate, describe, deserve (followed by a gerund with passive meaning), detest (rarely using
the to-infinitive), discontinue, dislike (either a simple gerund form or a perfect gerund form and
either a possessive or objective case for the logical subject of the gerund), doubt, dread (the to-
infinitive used mainly with think or imagine), encourage, endure, enjoy (no perfect gerund
form), entail, envisage, escape, excuse, evade, face (used in the question or negative with can),
facilitate, fancy (= want), favor, finish (no perfect gerund form), forbid, forget (followed by
either a simple gerund form or a perfect gerund form), forgive, grudge, hate (better to use an
objective case or a noun without apostrophe if a gerund needs a logical subject) , have (=
experience), imagine (can be followed by either a simple gerund form or a perfect gerund form),
include, intend, involve, justify, keep from, keep (on), like (better to use an objective case or a
noun without apostrophe if a gerund needs a logical subject), love, mean, mention, mind (used
in negation or question), miss, necessitate, need, omit, pardon, permit (the to-infinitive also used
in SVOC), postpone, prefer, practice (AmE), practise (BrE), prevent, propose, put off, quit,
recall, recollect (can be followed by either a simple gerund form or a perfect gerund form),
recommend (the to-infinitive also used in SVOC), regret (followed by either a simple gerund
form or a perfect gerund form), remember (can be followed by either a simple gerund form or a
perfect gerund form), renounce, require, report, resent (followed by either a simple gerund form
or a perfect gerund form), resist, resume, risk, save, can’t see (= can’t imagine) somebody doing
something, shun, cannot stand (= stand meaning bear or endure), start (an objective case for the
logical subject of the gerund), stop, try, suggest, tolerate, understand, want, warrant, and other
phrasal verbs such as feel like, give up (smoking), go on (working), leave off (raining), put off,
and set about (doing something), etc.
For example:
Sandy doesn’t advocate you/your going there tomorrow.
I don’t advocate starting the project tomorrow.
They don’t allow sunbathing here.
Cf. They don’t allow people to sunbathe here.
My aunt doesn’t allow smoking here.
Cf. My aunt doesn’t allow people to smoke here.
Dr. Kang appreciated being invited to dinner last night.
(with passive voice; the logical object of invited is the subject of the sentence, Dr.
Kang.)
Try to avoid making such a silly mistake next time.
I can’t bear seeing/to see her husband treated badly.
Don’t bother washing up/to wash up.
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Have you considered finding a job abroad?
I can’t contemplate John/John’s coming tomorrow. (F. R. Palmer, 1978)
She denied having been there.
I deplore them/their doing that.
I always dreaded being kissed by my aunts.
He deserves criticizing for being late.
= He deserves to be criticized for being late.
But: He deserves to win. She deserves to lose money. (Both are active in meaning.)
Sandy can’t endure being disturbed in her work.
Excuse my interrupting you.
I cannot understand his behaving in such an irresponsible manner.
Imagine never having been abroad.
I can’t imagine him knowing all that. (F.R. Palmer, 1978, p.203)
He kept talking.
Sandy mentioned having been to Las Vegas.
Do you mind standing here for a while?
She doesn’t mind you/your saying that.
He misses going to the theater.
I miss them coming to see me every week. (F. R. Palmer, 1978)
Your hair needs/wants cutting. (active in use, but passive in meaning)
He quit smoking and drinking five years ago.
I remember (my) saying that.
I can’t see him ever owning a house! (F.R. Palmer, 1978, p.193)
(= I can’t imagine him ever owning a house!)
Not *I can’t see him ever own a house.
I can’t stand sitting around doing nothing.
Marlowe can’t stand working in an office.
How can you stand Beibei coming home late all the time?
When advise, recommend, don’t allow, or permit, etc., have a logical subject of the non-finite
verb in SVOC, a fo-infinitive is used, e.g.
I advised visiting Las Vegas.
Cf. I advised them to visit Las Vegas.
I don’t allow going there so early.
Cf. I don’t allow all of you to go there so early.
24.2 The logical subject of the gerund
Generally speaking, the logical subject of a gerund is usually the subject of the sentence when
the gerund is used as an object in SVO, but this is not always the case. It depending on the
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context, the logical subject of a gerund can be anyone (see 27) when what the subject of the
sentence has uttered denotes a general statement or opinion or suggestion or an idea, etc.
Compare:
I enjoy living here.
(The logical subject of the gerund, living, is the subject of the sentence, J.)
Sandy doesn’t advise doing that.
(The logical subject of the gerund, doing, is not Sandy but we, you, they, or even
anyone. Sandy suggests not doing that.)
I don’t recommend starting the project immediately.
(The logical subject of the gerund, starting, is not I but we or you or anyone.)
I hate lying. (general statement; the logical subject of lying can be anyone.)
I didn’t like complaining.
(I complained or someone complained, but I didn’t enjoy it or I didn’t like the
idea.)
I don’t like to put off today’s work till tomorrow. (usually myself)
I don’t like putting off today’s work till tomorrow. (either myself or somebody else)
25 The gerund used as part of complex object
Can you call this serving the people?
(Serving the people is a gerundial noun phrase. It is SVOC.)
I can’t contemplate Sandy/Sandy’s coming tomorrow.
Fancy him knowing that.
We kept them talking. (SVOC)
Cf. We kept talking. (SVO)
They were kept talking.
He left them standing in the street.
They were left standing in the street.
Would you mind her using the computer in your room?
I miss them coming to see me every week.
Cf. I miss visiting Las Vegas,
He prevented them (from) leaving.
They were prevented from leaving
He started them talking.
Cf. He started talking.
They were started talking.
Verbs of this type (F.R. Palmer, 1978, p. 207) are: chance, consider, contemplate, countenance,
detest, discuss, enjoy, (don’t) fancy (only in the imperative), justify, don’t mind, miss, regret,
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(don’t) relish, resent, risk, welcome, etc. The possessive is possible with these verbs, but
objective case is preferable as seen from the examples above. However, the following verbs are
commonly found with the possessive as well as objective case. Verbs of this type are: advocate,
anticipate, deplore, deprecate, etc., as in
I don’t advocate you going there tomorrow.
I don’t advocate your going there tomorrow.
I deplore them doing that.
I deplore their doing that. (Their is better than them here.)
In spoken English we usually use a noun or pronoun with object case (me, him, etc.) or
possessive pronouns (my, his, etc.) as a logical subject, but some of the verbs, e.g. deny, deplore,
deprecate, postpone, defer, etc., usually have possessive cases as logical subject of the gerund
(i.e. possessive is better than objective case in use), as in
They deferred Roser’s going home on furlong until next week.
Reid doesn’t deny his breaking the agreement.
I had to postpone my paying the rent due to coronavirus outbreaks.
25.1 Anticipatory it representing a gerundial structure in complex objects
We use it to present the real object in such a construction, as in
We found it very useless trying to persuade him to go with us.
Don’t you think it wise our climbing the mountain without a guide?
(The real object is a gerundial structure, our climbing the mountain without a guide; its
complement is wise. The it is used as an anticipating object to represent our climbing the
mountain without a guide. Our is a possessive pronoun used as a formal logical subject of
the gerund, climbing.)
She finds it rather dull living here.
We thought it no good telling him about that.
(It is an anticipatory object, representing the real object - telling him about that.
No good is used as the complement.)
I don’t think it worthwhile taking such trouble.
26 The difference between the gerund and the infinitive used as
object/predicative
It is hard to tell the difference between the use of a gerund and an infinitive when they are used
either predicative (subject complement) or an object. As mentioned early, some grammarians
point out that the gerund is used to refer to the action in general or general statement, abstract or
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generic reference, whereas the infinitive is used to refer to the particular occasion, a specific
reference, or a new act, or a single action that may or may not happen. When we describe
something for general statement, we usually use a gerund, especially after verbs indicate likes
and preferences and their opposites, but the infinitive to is used especially when the verb is used
with would or should /‘d in statements or questions or negation about specific occasions
(Hornby, 1977, p.42), as in
Would you like to go with me now? (particular occasion)
I like the children going to the beach. (general statement)
Cf. I like the children to go to the beach today. (specific)
I like swimming, but I wouldn’t like to swim in cold weather.
I like getting up early, so I should like to get up early tomorrow.
*T'd like getting up early.
I don’t like her being rude to me.
I liked his seeing a doctor. (R. Quirk et al., 1972, p. 837)
= | liked him to see a doctor.
Cf. I like him to see a doctor. | like to see a doctor.
I don’t like smoking, but Id like to smoke at your tomorrow’s birthday party.
Women like being admired. (To be admired is also acceptable.)
Men don’t like being criticized. (To be criticized is also acceptable.)
I prefer swimming in warm water; I should prefer not to go swimming in cold water.
My job is teaching math. (generic reference)
Don’t lie to me! I hate lying. (Lying here is generic reference.)
My job is to teach them math tomorrow. (specific reference; one single action)
Casey’s job this morning/today is to help you. (specific reference)
Her hobby is collecting stamps. (general statement)
(Cf. *Her hobby is to collect stamps.)
Sandy’s favorite winter sport is skating. (preference — general statement)
(Cf. *Sandy’s favorite winter sport is to skate.)
It’s nice to be young. (idea)
It’s nice being young. (fact), (Leech, 1978, p.107)
In the sentence, J liked his seeing a doctor, the possessive pronoun, his, is used, but
F. R. Palmer, 1978 (p.206) stated that “... the possessive form is most unlikely.” He put an
asterisk on the following sentence, *J like his going to the theatre, which means is unacceptable,
but R. Quirk et al. (1972, p. 837) gave the example of the sentence J liked his seeing a doctor is
acceptable, where his is used (see 43). It seems that the verb like does not take a possessive when
it is used in affirmative sentences, but it is found that it takes possessive in negative sentence, as
in
I don’t like Sandy/Sandy’s coming.
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We don’t like them/their coming late.
I don’t like you/your being out so late. (Alexander et al., 1977, p.178)
I don’t like people/them interfering in my affairs.
I like the children going to the park.
Cf. I like the children/them fo go to the park.
There is no problem for the verb dislike, as in
I dislike his/him doing that. (F.R. Palmer, 1978, p.179)
I dislike Brown’s painting his daughter. (a full gerund) - R. Quirk et al., 1972)
I dislike Brown painting his daughter. (a half gerund)
As mentioned earlier, when wouldn’t or shouldn’t or would or should is used, the use of the to-
infinitive is preferred to that of the gerund for statements or questions about particular occasions
(also see above). Here would like means wish or want, as in
I like swimming.
I don’t like swimming.
Id like to go swimming this afternoon. (a particular occasion)
I shouldn’t like to swim in that cold lake. (Hornby, 1977)
Would you like to go for a walk with me this evening?
I wouldn’t like staying/to stay indoors for four weeks.
(I wouldn’t like that experience.)
I prefer swimming in warm water; I should prefer not to go swimming in cold water.
27 Some verbs be followed by either an infinitive or a gerund
Some verbs may be followed by either the to-infinitive or a gerund, sometimes it depending on
the meaning to be expressed. These verbs are attempt, (can’t) bear, begin, bother (either the to-
infinitive or a gerund form used when it is in a negative sentence or question), cease, continue,
delay (usually followed by a gerund), dread (the infinitive used mainly with think or imagine),
forget, hate, intend, learn, like, love, mean, need, neglect, omit, plan, prefer, propose, regret,
remember, start, stop, try, undertake, want, etc. Sometimes there is no practical difference in the
use of either gerund or infinitive as the object. That being said, the gerund is of a more general
characteristic than the use of the infinitive. Again, examine the following:
I don’t like reading novels. (statement in general)
I don’t like to read this novel. (on a certain occasion)
She likes swimming. (general, habitual action, denoting her likeness)
She doesn’t like to swim this afternoon; it is too cold for her. (specific occasion)
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I didn’t like to complain. (= I didn’t complain, because it wasn’t a good idea.)
I didn’t like complaining.
(I complained or someone complained, but I didn’t enjoy it or I didn’t like the
idea.)
I like to be invited.
I like being invited.
I'd like to swim today.
I'd like to be invited.
*Id like being invited. (Because “d is used.)
*T’'d like seeing you. (Because “d is used.)
But: I would like swimming in cold weather.
I hate doing the tedious work.
I'd hate to go there now.
I plan visiting Las Vegas next week.
I plan to visit Las Vegas next week.
Either a to-infinitive or a gerund form is used when bother is used in a negative sentence or
question, as in
Don’t bother to wash up.
Don’t bother washing up.
Verbs used like above are begin, bother, can’t bear, ease, commence, continue, hate, intend,
like, love, plan, prefer, propose, start, etc. Interestingly enough, K. Schibsye (1979) mentioned
that when the verbs begin or start is followed by a gerund, it expresses intentional action and the
infinitive non-intentional action. When a perfect tense is used in the main verb, the infinitive is
preferred, i.e. /t has already started to rain rather than ?/t has already started raining. When
start is not followed by a noun or a pronoun or noun phrase, either a fo-infinitive or a gerund is
used, but only a gerund is used when followed by a noun or a pronoun or noun phrase, as in
Jean started talking (and carried on for an hour).
Jean started to talk (but was interrupted).
Will you start to read/reading ?
Beibei started them talking.
Cf. They were started talking. (passive allowed)
However, verbs in reference to hate or like are usually used with a gerund to express a habitual
or personal interest in general, but as mentioned earlier, the to-infinitive is used when would or
should is used with them. When we compare something, we’d better use a gerund rather than an
infinitive, as in
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I like riding better than walking.
The action of the infinitive often refers to the subject of the sentence, whereas that of the gerund
is not necessarily associated with the agent expressed by the subject of the sentence, but may
also refer to some other agent, e.g.
I don’t like to put off today’s work till tomorrow. (usually myself)
I don’t like putting off today’s work till tomorrow. (either myself or somebody else)
Note that can’t bear, begin, cease, prefer, etc., can have either the infinitive or the gerund as
object without the change of meaning, as in
When the president came, the people began cheering/to cheer.
We intend attending/to attend the conference next week.
They began/preferred watching/to watch television.
They ceased watching television.
They couldn’t bear/ceased watching /to watch television.
She can’t bear seeing/to see animals treated cruelly. (Hornby, 1977)
I dread to think/imagine what might happen to you all alone in the city infested with
coronavirus.
I always dreaded going there alone.
I hate leaving/to leave early.
But only the gerund is used with the verb, cease, to indicate the end of something: Cease firing.
The factory ceased making bicycles.
When have is used, the gerund may be used (R. A. Close, 1975) after prefer, as in
I prefer having my own computer.
I prefer to have my own computer.
However, only the infinitive is normal in the following cases after would is used in reference to a
new act in the future or completed act (R.A. Close, 1975). Verbs of this type are hate, like, love,
prefer, etc., as in
A: Would you like/prefer to dance?
B: I would love/hate to (dance).
Sometimes when wouldn’t is used, either a gerund or infinitive can be used, as in
I wouldn’t like swimming in cold water. (I wouldn’t like that experience.)
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When a verb can be followed by either an infinitive or a gerund, the infinitive ¢o is usually used
rather than a gerund if the infinitive is a state verb, as in
We began to see what she meant. (*We began seeing what she meant.)
We began to believe her story. (*We began believing her story.)
She begins to see/understand what I have just told to her.
(*She begins seeing/understanding what I have just told to her.)
I began to know what she meant.
*I began knowing what she meant.
In the above sentences, believing, knowing, seeing (= understand), and understanding cannot be
used because they are state verbs. Sometimes in order to avoid repetition, the infinitive (which is
not a state verb) is used when the main verb can be followed by either the infinite or the gerund,
as in
We are beginning to leave at ten.
*We are beginning leaving at ten.
We are starting to leave at ten.
*We are starting leaving at ten.
He’s beginning to learn English.
*He’s beginning learning English.
She started them talking.
Cf. They were started talking. (Passivization allowed in this case)
*They were begun talking. (F.R. Palmer, 1978, p.204)
(No passivization in this case)
We say, “We are beginning/starting to leave” and He’s beginning/starting to learn English,
because the main verb is in progressive tense. More examples:
It’s beginning to rain. (*It’s beginning raining.)
I’m starting to work.
They are proposing to start at nine.
Cf. They propose starting at nine.
Verbs of this type are begin, continue, and start.
When the verb has to be followed only by a gerund, the gerund has to be used, as in
We are considering visiting Las Vegas.
*We are considering to visit Las Vegas.
(Consider is followed by a gerund as object.)
Sandy is considering changing her job.
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Like and continue both are followed by either a gerund or an infinitive, but when the prefix dis
is added to them, dislike and discontinue are followed only by a gerund (Hornby, 1977), as in
That horse dislikes wearing blinkers.
*That horse dislikes to wear blinkers.
I dislike his/him doing that. (F.R. Palmer, 1978)
I dislike Brown’s painting his daughter. (a full gerund) (R. Quirk et al., 1972, p.133)
I dislike Brown painting his daughter. (a half gerund)
Sandy dislikes his/him having done that.
I don’t mind being criticized by you, but I dislike/hate being criticized by strangers.
However, when should is used with the verb followed by NP, the infinitive can be used, e.g. “J
should dislike the children to gamble.” The children is NP. The verbs of this type include dislike,
loathe, (couldn’t) stand. When these verbs are followed by an infinitive, they also have a
conditional meaning (F.R. Palmer, 1978, p.207). For example, J couldn’t stand to wait for three
hours.
There is no practical difference when the gerund or the infinitive is used as object for the
following verbs: attempt, intend, plan, propose, etc., but the infinitive may be more common, as
in
Don’t attempt making/to make a test without being supervised!
I can’t bear getting/to get my hands dirty.
She can’t bear to be laughed at/being laughed at.
I will continue to help/helping you.
Sandy didn’t intend selling/to sell her car.
He intended to double the advertising budget.
They love to play/playing football.
Marlowe planned to visit/visiting Las Vegas.
It won’t stand being handled roughly.
I can’t stand travelling in the rush-hour. (Hornby, 1977)
(Stand here means bear or endure.)
Will you start to read/reading ?
Generally speaking, we can use the gerund form to refer to an action in progress in general or to
a progress and the infinitive to a new or completed act. Again, consider the following used after
an adjective:
I am interested in/keen on collecting stamps. (general)
I am/would be interested to hear your news. (a new act)
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28 Used as predicative/subject complement
A gerund used as predicative is also called subject complement. A gerund or gerundial phrase is
used to indicate the purpose or content of the subject of the sentence, in which the main verb is
usually be, as in
My favorite sport is swimming.
Seeing is believing.
The scientific approach to a subject is grasping the essence of it.
Marlowe’s hobby is growing vegetables in his green house.
My goal is passing the AP test.
The only thing to worry about is being afraid of them.
Sandy’s plan was not starting the project early.
One of the troubles is his using too much money for the project.
What upset me most was Marlowe’s having a surgery the next day.
What she looked forward to most was visiting her husband in Iraq.
What she suffers from is not being able to sleep.
What I’m doing is teaching him a lesson. (R. Quirk et al., 1972, p.954)
What he likes best is playing a slot machine in Red Rock Casino.
The sport Marlowe likes most is climbing mountains or canoeing down a mountain
stream at weekend.
What I don’t like is her coming to bother me.
What upset me most was Kayla’s being told not to join them.
What upset the child most was his not being allowed to visit his mother in the
hospital.
It is to be noted that either subjective case or objective case is used as logical subject of the
gerund. In spoken English the objective case is used more than the subjective case, as in
What I really don’t understand is you changing your mind about breaking
off your engagement.
All I know is your boyfriend having an affair with another pretty girl.
29 Verbs taking a fo-infinitive or gerund with different meaning
Verbs of this type are dread, forget, go on, cannot help, leave off, mean, regret, remember,
stop, try, etc. We must pay attention to individual verbs in their usage. A good dictionary can
help you to distinguish their difference, as in
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1) dread
With dread, an infinitive is used when followed by such verbs as think or imagine. When a
gerund is used, the reference is to something that causes fear, e.g.
I dread to think what might happen to you when you are alone.
I dread seeing that fierce lady.
2) forget
With forget, the infinitive is used when it has the meaning fail to remember or neglect to do
something, e.g.
Tam afraid he will forget to preview his new lesson.
You forgot to sign the paper. (You forgot you had to and didn’t do it.)
I forgot to buy you the flowers for your birthday. (1 didn’t buy you the flowers.)
With the gerund it means lose the memory of the past, e.g.
I will never forget visiting Las Vegas for the first time.
(Visiting Las Vegas happens first, and I will not forget the visit.)
But we usually do not say */ forgot doing it; instead, we use a that-clause or a preposition, as in
I forgot that I had done it. (Meaning: I was unable to remember I did it.)
I forgot about doing it.
But when a present tense (forgetr) is used, it is acceptable, as in
I forget mailing (= having mailed) the letter.
= I forget (that) I mailed the letter.
The sentence means J mailed the letter but I have forgotten about the letter I mailed. It is to be
noted that when the negation is used with forget (never forget = remember), we can use a gerund
or perfect infinitive preceded by an object; otherwise, we cannot use that way, as in
I shall never forget my girlfriend coming to see me.
I'll never forget John/John’s/him/his imitating the teacher.
I shall never forget my father to have been kind. (F.R. Palmer, 1978, p.202)
*] forget my father to have been kind.
(Not acceptable because no negation is used of forget.)
I forget coming to see you.
I forget my father coming to see me.
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There is no problem when we use remember in the following sentences, as in
I remember coming to see her.
I remember my girlfriend coming to visit me.
I remember my girlfriend to have been kind
3) go on
He went on talking.
He went on to talk.
“Go on talking” means “continuing to talk” while “to talk” in “Go on to talk” expresses
purpose, which may mean “He stopped doing something else in order to talk, especially after
stopping or changing to a different topic.”
4) can’t help
I couldn’t help laughing when I heard the funny joke. (1 had to laugh ....)
I couldn’t help to finish it. (I was unable to finish it.)
5) leave off
They left off playing basketball.
(They stopped playing basketball, playing basketball being the object of left off.)
They left off to play basketball. (They left and went to play basketball. The infinitive
is used to express purpose rather than its object.)
6) mean
When the verb mean is followed by the infinitive, it expresses purpose or intention; when a
gerund is used, it expresses result or a sign of, e.g.
I’m sorry. \ didn’t mean to hurt you. (purpose)
I'll have to drive my girlfriend to the airport at three tomorrow morning. That means
getting up early. (result)
Missing the airplane means waiting for an hour (= You will have to wait.)
I meant (= intended) to tell you about it.
Your getting coronavirus will mean (your) staying indoors for 14 days.
(It requires that self-quarantine.)
The bus strike will mean walking to work.
(Because of the strike, everyone has to walk.)
7) regret
With regret, when an infinitive is used, the reference is to something that happens at the same
time or to the present time, especially when bad news is given, e.g.
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I regret to tell you that you have failed the test.
= I regret that you have failed the test.
I regret to say that I cannot go with you.
(Regret and say happen at the same time.)
When a gerund is used, the reference is to something that precedes regret or to express regret
about the past, e.g.
I regret telling/having told you that bad news.
(Telling/having told you that bad news precedes the action of regret. That is, the
action of telling happens before that of regret. Now I regret (that) I told you the bad
news. I shouldn’t have told you that bad news, but I did.)
I regret to have told you that bad news. (perfect infinitive form used)
= I regret telling/having told you the bad news.
I regret wasting/ having wasted so much money in Red Rock Casino last week.
8) remember
With remember, the infinitive is used for future action and means not to forget (also see
forget above), e.g.
Please remember to bring you with an umbrella. It is going to rain this afternoon.
The gerund is used for a past event and means call to mind. That is to say, the action shown in a
gerund happens prior to that in remember, e.g.
I remember meeting (=having met) her somewhere before.
= I] remember that I met her somewhere before.
I remember my father coming to visit me. (= never forget)
I remember (= shall never forget) my father to have been kind. (F. R. Palmer, 1978.)
I remember posting/having posted the letter.
= I remember (that) I posted the letter. (R.A. Close, 1975)
That is to say, we use a gerund to talk about memories of the past. Meeting her happens first and
remember the matter second in the first sentence above. “J remember to have met her somewhere
before” is the same as “J remember meeting her somewhere before.” Examples used with passive
voice:
I remember being beaten (= | remember I was beaten/was being beaten).
I remember having been beaten. (= I remember I had been beaten).
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9) stop
Stop talking.
Stop to talk.
From the above example, stop is followed by a gerund and means “ending the action of talking.”
In other words, it is rude to say “Shut up.” When stop is followed by an infinitive, it expresses
purpose, in which case, stop is used as an intransitive verb, that is, “Stop (something) in order to
do something else.” Another example: On the way home I met a friend of mine; I stopped to
talk to her.
10) try
With try, the infinitive has the meaning of make an attempt, e.g.
You must try to be more diligent in your school.
In spoken English we can use try and do something rather than try to do something, 1.e. try and
work hard, which is the same as try to work hard. When try is used in the past tense, we do not
use the and-construction; therefore, we do not say “*J tried and worked hard.” Instead, we say “I
tried to work hard.” With the gerund it means experiment with in order to learn or see what will
happen, e.g.
He tried putting on new shoes before he wanted to buy it.
“T can’t unlock the door.” “Try turning the key the other way.”
(R.A. Close 1975, p.84)
When you are not sure how to use a verb correctly, the best way is to look up the word in a
dictionary
30 Some verbs mean passive when followed by gerunds
When some of the verbs are followed by a gerund, it does not mean active in meaning, but
passive in meaning. Verbs of this type are: won’t bear or wouldn’t bear, deserve, need, require,
stand (=bear), want,) or a preposition like worth, etc. They are followed by the gerund, active in
use but passive in meaning only when the subject of a sentence is also the logical object of the
gerund, e.g.
The machine needs/requires repairing.
= The machine needs/requires to be repaired.
(The logical object of the gerund, repairing, is the subject of the sentence, the
machine.)
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The car needs painting.
The boy needs washing. (passive in meaning, the logical object of “wash” is the boy.)
Cf. The boy needs to wash.
(Active in meaning, the logical subject of wash is the boy; wash is an intransitive verb
here.)
It won’t bear thinking of (= to be thought about). (Hornby, 1977)
What she said wouldn’t bear repeating. (= ... was too bad to be repeated.)
His language won't bear repeating (= was too bad to be repeated).
His words do not bear repeating.
= His words do not bear to be repeated.
They deserve shooting (= deserve to be shot) for that.
That naughty little boy deserves spanking/to be spanked.
These products cannot stand using.
The computer is worth reimaging.
The book is worth reading. (passive)
Cf. It is worth reading that book. (active)
These things are not worth buying. (Alexander et al., 1977, p.96)
They ’re not worth looking at.
This iphone needs/wants/requires repairing.
= This iphone needs, or less preferably, wants, but rarely, requires to be repaired.
The shoes want mending. (= The shoes need to be mended.)
My hair needs/wants cutting. (= It needs to be cut. I need/want to have a haircut.)
The man wants watching. (passive in meaning)
(The object of watch is the subject, the man.)
Cf. The man wants to watch.
(active in meaning; the logical subject of to watch is also the subject of the sentence, the
man.)
Your hair needs/wants washing. = Your hair needs to be washed.
The issue needs looking into. (A phrasal verb, v + preposition, is used. The logical object
of “looking into” is the subject of the sentence, the issue.)
These children need looking after. (A phrasal verb, v + preposition, is used.)
When the subject of a sentence is also the logical subject of the gerund or infinitive in won ’t bear
or can’t bear, their meaning is active, as in
She can’t bear seeing/to see animals treated cruelly.
There is no practical difference when the gerund or passive infinitive is used after need, require,
want, etc., as shown above, but a gerund is better than a passive infinitive for the sake of brevity.
We also do not use a passive gerund form in the sentences above, e.g. *Your hair needs being
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31 A gerund used after some adjectives or nouns
We can have a gerund used after some of the adjectives or nouns, as in
It is better driving slowly now.
You would be better coming with us. (R.A. Close, 1978, p.82)
Roser was busy correcting (= in correcting) his students’ calculus papers.
The children were busy building sandcastles.
It’s difficult not smoking for a whole day.
It’s very dull going for a walk alone. (a general statement.)
It was easy getting the equipment loaded.
(Cf. Getting the equipment loaded was easy.)
It won't be easy choosing the right one.
It is expensive running this car.
She is foolish contacting him again. (It is foolish of her contacting him again.)
He was foolish doing/to do that. (Alexander et al., 1977)
He is foolish meeting her again.
=It is foolish of him meeting her again. (R.A Close, 1975, p.83)
He is happy meeting her again.
(The gerund usually implies that the action has been performed by the speaker or the
subject of the sentence, he, or others.)
Nice/Happy seeing you again. (The experience of seeing you made me feel
nice/happy.)
It was quite an experience going swimming in the river in the remote area.
It’s great fun riding a bike down from the hill.
It wouldn’t be any good trying to catch the train.
It is an idea that’s worth considering.
It’s a nuisance being without water in the building.
It’s a pleasure being here. (Alexander et al., 1977)
It’s no use crying over the spilt milk.
It is worth reading that book. (=The book is worth reading.)
In “J don’t want to go for a walk alone. I would be much nicer to go for a walk with you’, the
infinitive used here generally implies that action is a new or future one.
32 Used as object of prepositions
A gerund is normally used as an object after a preposition, e.g., at, in, of, on, upon, etc., or in
the construction of verb + preposition, an adjective + preposition, and a noun + preposition.
Here are some examples:
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I’m surprised at his/Casey’s/him/Casey making that mistake.
Please let me know before leaving the office.
Despite your reminding me, I forgot about the matter.
I’m interested in watching movies at weekend.
My wife is good at cooking.
Instead of going to Las Vegas, the couple visited New York.
It’s just a matter of filling in a form.
On/Upon entering (=At the moment when you enter) the town, you will be greeted
by the Mayor.
On returning home (=As soon as I returned home), I found her waiting for me in
the house.
Sandy has no objection to starting the project early. (Here to is a preposition.)
We have got/become/grown quite used to cooking. (Here to is a preposition.)
She passed by without seeing me.
Without my interfering with their sleep, I was allowed to sit watching TV in the
living room.
Dr. Kang left the meeting without being noticed/seen. (passive voice)
Passengers boarding any train without having previously paid the fair are liable to
be prosecuted. (perfect gerund)
It is to be noted that on or upon in the above sentence is optional. When on is not used,
entering is a present participle to express time, so we can have “Entering the town, you will be
greeted by the Mayor.”’ When on is followed by a passive, on is less likely to be optional, e.g.
On being taken to the scene of the crime, he broke down and confessed everything (Alexander
et al., 1977, p.174).
32.1 Verb + preposition + gerund
She admitted to stealing (= having stolen) his boyfriend's money.
I admit to being a fool.
She must admit to having gone a long way to realize what she did in the past.
He admitted to having been sexually abused by his stepfather.
Iam afraid of visiting that terrific place.
She is against cancelling the visit to Las Vegas.
Mrs. Roser is good at teaching science in West Career&Technical Academy.
Tam not interested in telling what happened last night.
A vacation is nicer than sitting in office all day long. (Than is a preposition.)
I’m tired of being treated like an idiot!
He boasted of never having had a serious illness. (Hornby, 1977, p.32)
Jean complained of being underpaid.
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Everything depends on their having the courage of their convictions.
I feel like being treated like an idiot in the workplace.
She doesn’t feel like going there again.
Forget me for interrupting/having interrupted you. (perfect gerund used)
I object to being criticized so stupidly. (To is a preposition.)
John objects to his being punished.
He succeeded in repairing his iPhone X
Thank you for helping me. (Helping is used as the object of the preposition, for.)
Sandy is thinking of visiting Las Vegas.
Thank you ever so much for having done too much to me!
The people voted for joining the organization.
The following are normally used with a gerund after a verb + preposition:
admit to, (dis)agree with, aim at, apologize for, (dis )approve of, believe in, benefit from,
care for, complain about, confess to, count on, depend on, feel like, get on with, insist
on, object to, pay for, put up with, rely on, resort to, succeed in, talk about, thank ...
for, think about, think of, vote for, worry about, etc.
As is known to all, the infinitive sign to is used between two or more verbs to indicate a non-
finite form, but the to is also a preposition. For example, J do not object to getting up early
tomorrow, where fo is used as a preposition rather than the infinitive sign, to. Therefore, a gerund
is used when it is followed by a verb. We usually have the following verbs and adjectives, where
to is the preposition:
admit to (followed by either a simple gerund or perfect gerund), confess to, face up to,
look forward to, object to, prefer ... to..., resort to, take to, etc; the adjectives are:
accustomed to, close to, opposed to, resigned to, be/become/get/grow used to, etc. and
the prepositional phrases such as in addition to, etc., due to, owing to, etc.
More examples:
He admitted to stealing/having stolen her girlfriend’s iPhone.
I object to being kept waiting. (passive gerund)
She objects to having to wait in the bus.
Tam looking forward to hearing from you soon.
She has got/become/grown quite used to cooking since her husband’s death.
It is to be noted that the verb prefer ... to ... is followed by a gerund or a noun. When the first
object is a gerund, the second one must be a gerund, too, even if it can be followed by an
infinitive. Let us consider the following:
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Sandy preferred riding to walking. (Both are gerunds.)
? Sandy preferred to ride to to walk.
This sentence with a questions mark is very awkward, and we never say it like that. Instead, we
can use rather than, as in
Sandy preferred to ride rather than to walk.)
Cf. I prefer tea to coffee.
The best way to know how to use them correctly is check the use of a verb from a dictionary to
make sure whether the fo is a preposition or the infinitive sign, to. Compare: We agreed to go
there (we were of the same opinion) and we agreed to going there (we accepted the suggestion).
32.2 Adjective/past participle + preposition + gerund
As mentioned earlier, adjective/past participle + preposition can be followed by a gerund if the
meaning requires, as in
She’s ashamed of losing (= having lost) her temper.
Tam surprised at his/John’s/him/John making that mistake.
Tam always nervous of speaking in public.
The students must be proud of having found a way to solve the problem.
32.3 The past participles + prepositions
In the English language, there are many participles followed by different prepositions. After the
preposition, a gerund or NP can be used as object. We list some of them as follows:
1) Followed by about
aggrieved, annoyed, concerned, distressed, excited, pleased, puzzled, shocked, worried, etc.
Jean was puzzled about solving the problem.
Cf. Jean was puzzled about the problem.
I was shocked about her being arrested.
Cf. I was shocked about her arrest.
2) Followed by at
Abashed, affected, afflicted, aggrieved, amazed, amused, annoyed, appalled,
astonished, concerned, delighted, disappointed, disgusted, dismayed, displeased,
dissatisfied, exasperated, excited, infuriated, irritated, offended, overjoyed, pleased,
shocked, surprised, vexed, etc., as in
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He was alarmed at being told that Tom died of coronavirus.
Cf. He was alarmed at his former girlfriend’s death.
She felt abashed at hearing what she did wrong.
Cf. She felt abashed at what she did wrong.
As mentioned before, different verbs have different meaning in usage when followed by different
prepositions, adverbs, a gerund or an infinitive. The best way to know how to use them correctly
is look up the word in a good English dictionary. Again, “She shouted to me”, in which fo is
used, and the shouter is communicating with me, ie that I am the recipient of the message, while
“She shouted at me’, in which at is used, “suggests that I am being treated merely as a target (eg
of abuse) ... At here usually suggests hostility” (R. Quirk et al., 1972, p.322). Another example:
He threw the brick at me. Roughly, that means he tried to or intended to hit me or to kill me with
brick. Verbs of this kind regarding utterance are bellow, growl, mutter, roar, and shout, etc.
3) Followed by against
arrayed, irritated, prejudiced, prepared, prepossessed, etc.
Be prepared against waging war on China.
Cf. We are prepared against war.
4) Followed by for
celebrated, concerned, destined, disqualified, disinterested, noted, prepared, pressed,
qualified, etc.
Sandy is well qualified for taking the job.
Cf. Sandy is qualified for the job.
5) Followed by in
absorbed, attired, celebrated, clothed, concerned, confirmed, disappointed, delighted,
dressed, embarrassed, engaged, entangled, experienced, immersed, interested, justified,
lost, mistaken, steeped, veiled, versed, etc.
I am interested in reading when I have free time.
Cf. Iam interested in science.
The boy was/felt embarrassed in showing his middle finger at the party.
Cf. The boy was/felt embarrassed in his bad behavior at the party.
6) Followed by of
accused , ashamed, convinced, convicted, defeated, deprived, disappointed, formed,
frightened, made, possessed, seized, terrified, tired, etc.
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She was accused of stealing a school computer.
Cf. She was accused of murder.
7) Followed by on/upon
based, bent, set, founded, etc.
Dr. Kang is bent on studying Spanish.
Cf. Dr. Kang is/seems bent on success at all costs.
8) Followed by to
abandoned, accustomed, acquainted, addicted, adapted, allied, apprenticed,
(be/become/get/grow) used, committed, dedicated, destined, devoted, doomed, engaged,
entitled, exposed, inclined, indebted, known, lost, opposed, related, suited, unknown,
wedded, etc.
Sandy is very much opposed to your going there alone.
Cf. Sandy is very much opposed fo your plan.
Tam used to living in Las Vegas despite the scorching hot weather in summer.
Cf. Iam used to the hot weather here.
Also see “shout at” in 2) above.
9) Followed by with
agitated, annoyed, bored, concerned, covered, delighted, disappointed, discontinued,
disgusted, displeased, dissatisfied, elated, endowed, equipped, exasperated, excited,
exhausted, horrified, imbued, infatuated, infected, infested, inflamed, intoxicated,
irritated, obsessed, occupied, overcome, overwhelmed, pleased, pressed, satisfied,
soaked, studded, stunned, surmounted, surrounded, tormented, tortured, etc.
For example:
Roser was annoyed with you saying that.
Cf. Roser was annoyed with what you said.
We can use either a preposition + gerund or a fo-infinitive after some verbs and adjectives
described above with a little difference in meaning. They are: aim at doing/to do, amazed at
doing/to do, angry at doing/to do, annoyed at doing/to do, content with doing/to do, grateful
for doing/to do, pay for doing/to do, ready for doing/to do, satisfied with doing/to do, thank ..
about/for/to,, thankful for doing/to do, surprised at doing/to do, vote for doing/to do, etc.
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There are many adjectives followed by different prepositions. In such a case a gerund or NP is
used as object if the meaning requires. We list some of these adjectives as follows:
afraid of, amazed at, angry about/at, annoyed about/at, anxious about, ashamed of,
aware of, bad at, bored with, capable of, content with, dependent on, different from/to,
excited about/at, famous for, fed up with, fond of, good at, grateful for, guilty of, happy
about/with, interested in, keen on, nervous of, pleased about/with, ready for,
responsible for, sorry about/for, successful in, wrong with, etc.
For example:
My wife is good at cooking.
Cf. My wife is good at math.
She was sorry for having said that.
Cf. She was sorry for what she had said.
32.4 Nouns + prepositions
There are a lot of nouns followed by a preposition, where a gerund is used if the meaning
requires, as in
I have no objection to starting the project early.
It’s just a matter of filling in a form.
Gerunds or NP are normally used after a noun + preposition:
advantage on/in, aim offin, amazement at, anger about/at, annoyance about/at, anxiety
about, apology for, awareness of, belief in, boredom with, danger offin, difficulty (in),
effect of, excitement about/at, to the expense of, gratitude for, idea of, insistence of,
interest in, job of, matter of, objection to, pleasure of/in, point of/in, possibility of,
problem offin, prospect of, purpose of/in, question about/of, reason for, satisfaction
with, success in, surprise at, task of, work of, worry about, etc.
32.5 Logical subject of the gerund
A gerund used after a preposition can also have its logical subject, either possessive or objective
case. In spoken English, especially when you emphasize the logical subject of the gerund,
objective case is often used (see 43 The half gerund vs. full gerund), as in
Sandy insisted on me helping her.
We were just talking about Casey losing his job.
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I don’t like the idea of us/our not helping them at all.
32. 6 As used as a preposition
Besides what is described above, we have some verbs (accept, describe, quote, regard, think of,
etc.,) followed by an object complement introduced by the preposition, as, followed by a gerund,
as in
They quoted him as saying these words.
I thought of that boy as struggling with math in my class.
33 Some verbs or adjectives expressing different meaning when
different prepositions or the to-infinitive used
Sometimes a verb can be followed by either the to-infinitive or different prepositions, but they
have different meaning when a gerund is followed. A few examples are listed below:
Agree with / to
Agree with means thinking that something is right, but agree to do something means making a
decision, as in
I don’t agree with you going there alone.
We agreed to have the meeting after the issue.
Afraid of/to
Afraid of is used to express fear that might happen, but afraid to do something expresses
unwillingness to do something, as in
Beibei is afraid of going to bed in the dark.
I didn’t tell her because I was afraid of upsetting her.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
He tiptoed across the room, being afraid to wake her up.
Anxious about/to
Anxious about means worried about, but anxious to do something means wanting to, as in
Heishman was anxious about making a mistake again.
Beibei is anxious to get the job she likes most.
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Ashamed of/to
Ashamed of expresses shame about something, but ashamed to do something expresses
unwillingness caused by shame or by being laughed at, as in
I was ashamed of having lied to my mother.
you ought to be ashamed of yourself — treating your girlfriend like that!
I feel rather ashamed of having told you such a lie.
That kind of behavior makes me ashamed to be British. (R. Quirk, 2004)
She was ashamed to ask such a simple question.
Certain of/to, sure of/to
Sandy is certain/sure of passing her exam. (Sandy herself is certain.)
Sandy is certain/sure to pass her exam. (The speaker is certain.)
They are certain/sure to come to the party. (The speaker is certain.)
Happy about/to, pleased about/to
Happy about and pleased about expresses pleasure, but happy to do and pleased to do is often
used to express polite statements or a particular positive occasion, as in
Sandy is happy/pleased about winning $1,000 from a slot machine in Red Rock
Casino today.
I am happy/pleased to meet you.
Interested in/to, keen on/to
Interested in/to and keen on/to usually mean a general interest, but keen to do /interested to do
means a wish or desire to do a particular thing. Generally speaking, the infinitive used also
expresses a new act and the gerund used expresses the idea of doing something or activity in
general or a process, as in
Mr. Marlowe is keen on climbing mountains. (his desire or habitual interest)
Mr. Marlowe is keen to climb that big mountain tomorrow if weather permits.(specific)
I am/would be very interested to hear your news. (a new act)
I am interested in/keen on collecting coins.(That is my hobby or desire.)
Sandy is interested in reading science books. (general statement)
Sandy is interested to read the very book I gave to her yesterday. (a particular thing)
Keen on/to (see interest in/to above)
Pleased about/to (see happy about/to)
Remind ... of/to (See Tell ... about/to)
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Sorry about/for, sorry to
Sorry about/for express an apology for an earlier action, but sorry to with a to-infinitive
expresses an apology for or unhappiness about - a present or immediate action/behavior, as in
I’m sorry for causing all that trouble yesterday. (an apology for an earlier action)
=I’m sorry to have caused all that trouble yesterday.
= I’m sorry (that) I caused all that trouble yesterday.
Iam sorry for waking you up early this morning.
=I am sorry to have waked you up early this morning.
=I am sorry (that) I woke you up early this morning.
Sorry to bother you, but can I talk to you now? (an apology for an immediate action)
I am sorry to hear your bad news. (an apology for a present action)
Sure of/to (see certain of/to above)
Tell...about/to, remind ... of/to
Tell...about/remind ... of is used to report statements and thoughts, but the fo-infinitive use
reports an order or reminder, as in
I told you about visiting Las Vegas.
What you said reminds me of getting early tomorrow.
I told you not to go there by yourself.
Please remind me to get up early.
Thank ... for/to do...
Thank you for being (= having been) so kind to me. (gratitude for past action)
Thank you for helping me just now. (gratitude for past action)
Thank you to leave me alone! (impolite request for action now)
I'll thank you to leave me alone. (impolite request for future action)
Think about/of ... think to do...
She’s thinking about changing her job.
They re thinking of moving to Canada.
I did think of resigning, but I decided not to.
I never think about/of dating her. (The idea never occurs to me, expressing
“intention.”’)
I couldn’t think of letting you have the blame.
I couldn’t think of letting her take the blame.
She would never think of marrying so old.
I never thought to invite her. (1 didn’t think of it, so I didn’t invite her.)
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Note that think of is used with could, would, should, and not or never, it means “have the idea of
something”, as seen above.
Used to, be/become/get/grow used to
l used to live in Las Vegas for 10 years.
(past habitual action in the past. I no longer live there now.)
Life here is much easier than it used to be.
You used to smoke a pipe, didn’t you?
TI usedn’t to like her. (formal)
T usen’t to like her. (usen’t, BrE — old fashioned)
=I didn’t use to like her. (informal)
= [ used not to like her. (BrE, old fashioned)
Used you to go there?
= Did you use to go there? (informal)
Tam used to living in New York.
(It no longer seems surprising, difficult, strange, uncomfortable, etc., for me to live in
New York. Here used is an adjective, and fo is a preposition rather than the infinitive
sign, to.)
I am quite used to working hard.
She had got used to living in such a poor area.
34 Infinitive used after some prepositions rather a gerund
Generally speaking, a gerund should be used after a preposition when required, but this is not
always the case; the following prepositions about, except, but, than, etc., are usually followed by
the infinitive in particular situations, rather than a gerund form, even if they are prepositions (Gu,
1984). Thus:
He was about to die (= near death). (Not *about dying)
They desired nothing except to succeed. (Not *except succeeding)
They desired nothing but to succeed. (Not *but succeeding)
The bare infinitive (the infinitive without to) may occasionally be used after the prepositions but,
except, than, rather than, etc., rather than a gerund, as in
The child did nothing except weep.
Cf. He seldom comes except to look at my pictures.
She will do anything for you except lend your money.
Cf. It had no effect except to make him angry.
She did nothing except complain the whole time she was here.
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What could I do then except watch them carry you away?
She can do everything except cook.
They could do nothing but wait for the doctor to arrive.
She can do anything but sing.
He did nothing but laugh.
She did nothing but sleep.
They couldn’t do anything but just sit there and hope.
He did nothing else than laugh/weep.
John did nothing else than cry.
From the above examples, we see a bare infinitive used after the prepositions except, but and
than, because in the main clause contains the verb do or did. Without the use of do or did, we
usually keep the infinitive sign, to, as in “He seldom comes except to look at my pictures.” “It
had no effect except to make him angry.” “He desired nothing but to succeed’’, etc. Moreover,
when else is used, we do not use but or except, we use than instead (Gu, 1984), as in
He did nothing else than laugh.
= He did nothing but laugh.
He did nothing else than weep.
= He did nothing except weep.
Besides what has been described above, the omission of the infinitive sign to also happens after
the prepositions save, besides, etc., when the verb do or did form appears, as in
I hardly remember what I did besides read.
That afternoon I had nothing to do besides answer letters.
What has he done besides read the paper?
What had she done for her father save leave him at the first opportunity ?
35 Used as apposition
A gerund is a form of a verb functioning as a noun; it can be also used as apposition, as in
That’s my pride, teaching you something!
That’s a pity, having to leave so early.
That’s a mistake, asking him to come!
She is absorbed in her hobby, collecting stamps and coins.
His habit, using iPhone in bed for long hours at night, remains unchanged.
Sandy likes her new work — teaching biology in the school.
Dr. Kang was absorbed in her hobby, collecting classic cars
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That’s a shame, teaching you something!
That’s a pity, having to leave right now.
Sailing a boat, his chief hobby, cost him most of his salary.
= His chief hobby, sailing a boat, cost him most of his salary.
Playing football, his only interest in his life, has brought him many friends.
= His only interest in his life, playing football, has brought him many friends.
It helped them to make friends quickly, his being the only doctor in the village.
That’s a mistake, letting him go without paying to us.
His one claim to fame, being secretary of the local tennis club, is the recurrent theme
of his conversation. (R. Quirk et al., 1972, p.741)
It seems such a pity, all the furniture being spoiled by the damp.
It is vilely unjust, the minority people in that country being treated like that.
With a gerund or gerundial phrase, of is used to indicate restrictive apposition with such general
noun phrases as the fact, the idea, the view, etc., as in
The thought of playing against them arouses all my aggressive instincts.
Sandy didn’t accept the idea of working while she was studying.
Another way of putting it is ...
36 Gerund used after the omission of some prepositions
In spoken English, especially in American English, a preposition is sometimes omitted before the
gerund. Some examples are:
Sandy is busy (in) helping her students with their final exam work.
Do you have any difficulty (in) fixing the machine?
My girlfriend kept (on) encouraging me to study Spanish.
She won't be long (in) making up her mind.
I couldn’t stop them (from) coming here.
Marlowe lost no time (in) coming to help us.
When she was through (with) talking, she got up and left.
She found no trouble (in) talking to him.
He prevented me (from) going.
There is nothing to prevent her (from) visiting her ex-husband.
What’s the use/good (of) talking like that?
She always spent/wasted a lot time (in) doing her homework.
37 No practical difference in meanings between an infinitive and a
gerund after a preposition
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There is no practical difference, sometimes, in meanings between an infinitive and a gerund used
after a preposition in some nouns: attempt, chance, honor, opportunity, pleasure, way, etc., in
some adjectives: content, determined, fortunate, etc., and in some verbs: agree (on), aim (at),
decide (on), etc. Some examples are:
There is no chance of visiting Las Vegas again.
There is no chance to visit Las Vegas again.
We hope to have an opportunity of seeing you again.
We hope to have an opportunity to see you again.
This is the best way of doing it.
This is the best way to do it.
They were quite content with staying where they were.
They were quite content to stay where they were.
They are fortunate for having such a beautiful baby.
They are fortunate to have such a beautiful baby.
They are determined on maintaining peace.
They are determined to maintain peace. (R.A. Close, 1975)
They agreed on sharing the secret.
They agreed to share the secret.
Sandy decided on buying another car.
Sandy decided to buy another car.
38 Gerund used as an adjective vs. present participle used as an
adjective
A gerund can be used as adjective to modify a noun or noun phrase. The difference between the
present participle used as an adjective and the gerund as an adjective shows that a gerund denotes
the purpose or use for which the thing denoted by the noun is intended. A present participle used
as an adjective is the logical (notional) predicate of the noun it modifies. They can extend it into
an attributive clause. Examine the following:
Participle: boiling water = water that is boiling
Gerund: boiling point = the point at which water boils
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Participle: a drinking horse = a horse that is drinking
Gerund: drinking water = water for drinking
Participle: growing children = children who are still growing
Gerund: growing pain = pain felt during the stage of growing
Participle: living people = people who are living
Gerund: living room = room where one lives when not sleeping
Participle: running water = water that runs, or tap water
Participle: a running stream =a stream that runs/is running
Gerund: running shoes = shoes used or intended for running
Participle: a sleeping child = a child that/who is sleeping
Gerund: a sleeping car = a car used for sleeping
Gerund: studying time = time for studying
Gerund: a swimming pool = pool used for swimming
Participle: a walking man = a man who is/was/walks/walked
Gerund: a walking stick = a stick used to help walk
Gerund: a working method = a method of working
Participle: working people = people who work
etc.
More examples for gerunds:
a bathing costume = a costume used for or intended for bathing (in)
working clothes = clothes used for or intended for working (in)
a swimming poor = a pool used for swimming
writing paper = paper used for or intended for writing (on), etc.
We have: cooking salt (salt for cooking), boarding-house, boarding school, carving knife,
dining-hall, diving board, dressing table, drinking cup, fishing rod, freezing point, frying pan,
laughing stock, listening materials, living room, meeting places, operating table, reading
material, smoking room, spending money, teaching aid, touring car, typing paper, sleeping
pill, waiting room, walking stick, washing machine, writing desk, etc.
Some more examples for present participles:
a burning apartment, the coming months, a dying man, a smiling face, etc.
Further points of distinction between the gerund and the participle are:
1) The participle, which is partly an adjective, can be expanded into an attributive clause as
shown above, i.e.
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a ‘dying 'man, which means a man who is/was dying, a ‘swimming ‘boy = a boy who
is/was swimming, etc.
2) In the gerund construction, only the gerund is stressed in speech while a participial and
noun are both stressed, i.e. the ‘sleeping car, etc.
Besides a gerund used as adjective (attributive) mentioned above, we use a noun followed by a
gerund to form a compound word, which can be also used adjectively. In such cases, the
compound word (usually with a hyphen or without a hyphen) has a function of verb (V) and
object (O), i.e., an oil-producing country, where we can say country (S) produces (V) oil (O).
They are oil-producing countries. Story-telling means someone tells stories. Her story-telling
skills are poor. Hence, we have: drinking-water, drinking water, town-planning, letter-writing,
word-building, tiger-hunting, road building, etc.
As time goes by, some of such compound words have no hyphen or they are even written
together, as in
breathtaking, daydreaming, hair-splitting, handwriting, painstaking, photocopying,
self-seeking, self-sacrificing television advertising, thought-provoking, time-
consuming, window shopping, etc.
R. A. Close (1975) pointed out that “When -ing is used as an adjective, it usually refers to a
characteristic feature of the thing referred to by the noun and not to any specific act.” Besides
what is mentioned above, the compound word made of a gerund has also a function of a linking
verb and its complement (SVC). They are used adjectively. She is good-looking, for example.
She (S) looks (V) good (C), in which the verb look is a linking verb and the adjective good is
used as complement or predicative. That apple smells bad. That is a bad-smelling apple. It
sounds odd. That is an odd-sounding matter, etc. In addition, a compound word is made up of a
verbal form and a particle, which is usually an adverb or adjective or a noun (see 20). For
example, adverbs: far-reading, fast-spreading, going-over, hardworking, never-ending, setting
up, well-being, searing-in, uprising, etc., adjectives: easy-going, fine-looking, etc., and nouns:
breath-taking, epoch-making, good-looking, ocean-going, self-defeating, theatre-going, etc.
39 The gerundial complex
A gerund may be modified by a noun or pronoun in the possessive (genitive) case or objective
case. In such a case the relationship between the noun (or pronoun) and the gerund is that of
logical subject or logical object if the gerund is used in passive, e.g.
He insisted on my brother’s going with him.
We congratulated him on his being enrolled into Yale University.
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Does our singing in the room above disturb you?
= Does it disturb you that we sing in the room above?
Also see 43 The half gerund vs. full gerund
40 Present participles vs. gerund as premodifier
The present participle stands in relation to the noun it qualifies as a verb does in relation to its
subject (see 38). In other words, its agent is the very noun it qualifies, e.g. a sleeping baby (=a
baby is/was sleeping), in which sleeping is a participle. On the other hand, the agent of a gerund
is not the thing it qualifies but some gerund entity, e.g. boiling point (= the point at which water
boils), in which boiling is a gerund.
41 Gerund vs. infinitive
We are now going to study the non-finites by comparing one with another in the same
grammatical functions.
41.1 When they are use as subject
As mentioned earlier, the gerund shows generality or permanency; the infinitive shows rather
spontaneity or temporariness. The former (gerund) refers to constant or repeated actions; the
latter (the infinitive), mostly to a single occasion or a short period. For example:
Swimming is beneficial to health. (general statement)
To swim in such cold weather did require of him a great deal of courage.
(a short period at most, if not a single occasion)
For the infinitive, the introductory it (empty subject) is usually preferred in such a case. Thus:
It did require of him a great deal of courage to swim in such cold weather.
For the gerund, the introductory it is used much less often, but the following seem quite
idiomatic.
It’s no use crying over spilt milk.
It’s no good arguing with him.
It would be no good trying to catch the bus now.
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41.2 When they are used a predicative
What is true of the subject is also true of the predicative. Thus:
Our greatest happiness is helping the people whole-heartedly. (a permanent thing)
What was difficult was to persuade such a self-confident person as John.
(a specific affair)
42 Dangling gerunds
Besides dangling participles, it can occur with the gerund and the infinitive as well. In *On
opening the cupboard, a skeleton fell out, it seems that the skeleton opens the cupboard.
Roughly speaking, the agent (or the logical subject) of the gerund should be expressed if it is
different from the subject of the sentence, but omitted if it is the same. We can say, “Upon/On
opening the cupboard, I found a skeleton falling on me.” To omit it where it is necessary is
inadvertence; to insert it where it is unnecessary will be redundancy. The following examples
show indiscriminate omission leading to a dangling construction:
I succeeded him as captain upon dying.
(Dying would mean my dying. Say his dying instead of dying.)
Production has increased by leaps and bounds since overthrowing the government.
(Obviously, the agent of overthrowing is not production, say, the overthrowing of
the government, so as to make the gerund a full noun, which will then have no
specific agent reference.)
Such a bad practice is bound to take deep root by conniving at it.
(Say either by our conniving at it or if connived at.)
Like the dangling participles, some kind of dangling in the case of the gerund has been accepted
by usage, too. This will be the case where the subject of the sentence is inanimate and the main
verb passive, and no ambiguity, therefore, can be involved by the omission of the personal but
indefinite agent of an active gerund (Huang, 1981), e.g. “The top of the mountain can be reached
by scaling a cliff with a long rope ladder. “The cliff must be scaled so as to reach the top of the
J
mountain. ’
43 The half gerund vs. full gerund
We have touched upon the half gerund. It is called by that name to distinguish it from the full
gerund. The half gerund is the gerund preceded by an agent noun or a pronoun with the
objective case for pronouns (i.e. me. him, etc.) or common case for other noun phrases (i.e. John,
my sister, etc.). The full gerund is the gerund preceded by an agent noun or a pronoun with the
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genitive case (i.e. my, his, John’s, friend’s, etc.), and the genitive case is used in formal style,
especially when it is a personal pronoun or a name in formal English. When the logical subject of
a gerund is different from the subject of the main sentence, we can have “the option of using
either the objective form (me, you, him) or the possessive (my, your, his) is only open if the
subject of the two verbs are different 7 don’t mind; you say that). If the two subjects are the
same, then only the possessive is used, e.g. I remember (my) saying that. (You) stop (your)
laughing” R.A. Close (1975, p.200). R.T. Wood (1981, p.136) said, “For personal pronouns,
always use the possessive form: I object to his being punished (not him). There is not much
likelihood of their coming now (not them).” However, we use the objective case a lot regardless
of whether the personal pronouns are the same or not the same as the subject of the main clause,
especially in spoken and informal English if it is a pronoun. Let’s consider the following:
Does this justify you/your taking legal action?
Can you imagine him/his doing that?
Would you mind me/my opening the door?
I don’t mind you/your smoking here.
The rain prevented my friend’s coming on time.
I agree with you about its being a mistake. (Hornby, 1977, p.32)
That prevented the fire (*fire’s) spreading to the neighboring structure.
(Possessive is not used for inanimate things.)
I'll never forget the door (*door’s) opening just as George began.
(Possessive is not used for inanimate things.)
I'll never forget that (*that’s) happening just as George began. (R.A. Close, 1975, p.80)
(Possessive is not used for that, a pronoun.)
Do you remember him/his telling us about it?
I love this place and I want to stop it/its being turned into a tourist trap.
(Hornby, 1977, p.70)
Tam surprised at his/John’s/him/John making that mistake
I can’t understand him/his leaving so early?
Despite your reminding me, I forgot about it. Iam “Swiss Cheese.’
I’m fed up with Sam’s laughing at my accent.
It wouldn’t be any good my talking to her.
It’s no use your pretending that you didn’t know the rules.
I
Sam’s laughing at my accent is getting on my nerves.
Jean’s grumbling annoyed her husband, but her mother’s coming to stay with them
was the last straw.
Your coming in late made her angry.
Him recognizing his fault is a good thing. (Him is very informal or less colloquial)
His recognizing his fault is a good thing. (formal)
You/Your failing into the river was the climax of the whole trip.
(Alexander et al., 1977)
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The very thought of my meeting with her yesterday made me uncomfortable.
The thought that he couldn’t get rid of was his having made the mistake himself.
One of the troubles is his/him using too much money for the project.
What upset me most was Marlowe’s/Marlowe having a surgery the next day.
We were discussing the possibility of the house (*house’s) being converted into
apartment. (Possessive is not used for inanimate things.)
He did not like the idea of his daughter/daughter’s going out to work.
(In speech it might be better to say daughter rather than daughter’s, because
daughter’s might be confused with the plural daughters.)
I disapprove of students ’/students using iPhones in the classrooms.
(It would be better to omit the apostrophe because there is no difference between
students and students’, boys and boys’, etc., in speech.)
I don’t like Sandy/Sandy’s coming.
We don’t like them/their coming late.
I don’t like you/your being out so late. (Alexander et al., 1977, p.178)
It seems that the verb like does take a possessive (see 26) when it is used in affirmative sentence
(as seen above), but the verb like takes either possessive or objective case in negative sentences
as shown above. It is also in formal style, as a general rule, that we use a possessive after a
preposition followed by a gerund, e.g. We can’t agree to your/you taking part in our work.
Sandy was frightened of it/its building a nest in the chimney. When the gerund is being as part of
the subject at the beginning of the sentence, the objective case should be avoided, e.g. Him being
a doctor helped them to make friends with the neighbors quickly (substandard English for the use
of him). Alexander et al. (1977) regarded the above sentence (Him being ...) unacceptable.
Instead, we say, “His being a doctor helped them to make friends with the neighbors quickly.”
We should try to avoid using an objective case (i.e. him being) for the logical subject of the
linking verb be used in subject position. From the example above “His being a doctor helped
them to make friends with the neighbors quickly,” we use a subjective case instead. We can also
say “(The act) that he is a doctor helped them to make friends with the neighbors quickly.” It is
acceptable when him being ... is used in very informal speech” (R. Quirk et al., 1972, p.741).
43.1 An animate noun vs. an inanimate noun
An animate noun, e.g. friend, is usually used in the possessive while an inanimate noun or
abstract noun phrase, e.g. fire, a door, work, enthusiasm, etc., is not used in the possessive
because they are impersonal noun (as seen from some examples above). As to a pronoun, it may
be used either in the possessive or in the objective case. In the example above, Would you mind
me/my opening the door? when my is used in formal style, opening is a full gerund, being
object to the predicate verb mind. When me is used in informal style, opening is in a half
gerund in me opening the door, being the complex object to the predicate verb, mind. In such a
case, the object is neither me nor opening the door, but the combination of them is a complex
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object, in which the relation of the object to the half gerund is just like that of a subject to a
predicate verb. This serves to distinguish the half gerund from the present participial
postmodifier. As mentioned earlier, we can say I saw him/Sandy leaving, but not *I saw
his/Sandy’s leaving. Leaving here is a present participle used as complement, whereas in J don’t
mind you smoking here and I don’t mind Sandy smoking here, smoking is a half gerund, and in J
don’t mind your smoking here and I don’t mind Sandy’s smoking here, smoking is a full gerund.
We regard you smoking or your smoking as a combination for the object of mind; while him
leaving in I saw him leaving is not a combination for the object because leaving in such a case is
used as complement, so it is incorrect to say */ saw his leaving.
As mentioned before, in spoken English we usually use either objective case (boy, me, him, etc.)
or possessive (boy’s, my, his, etc.) for a noun or pronoun, but some of the verbs, e.g. deny,
postpone, defer, etc., usually have possessive cases as logical subject of the gerund, as in
Sandy doesn’t deny your breaking the agreement.
They deferred Roser’s/his going home on furlong until next week.
In a word, “the possessive is more formal, and it is less usual in everyday speech. ...and we are
more likely to use possessive at the beginning of a sentence” (Eastwood, 2002). If there are two
agents, both pronouns, or both nouns, or one a pronoun and the other a noun, or a long noun
phrase that contains postmodification (especially postmodified by of-phrase), or indefinite
pronouns and demonstrative pronouns, to the gerund, the possessive is out of place, especially in
spoken English. More examples of the half gerund are given below:
She can’t bear her husband making fun of her.
He can’t bear his wife making fun of him.
(When emphasis is on his wife, genitive or possessive is not used.)
They depend on the oil being supplied without interruption. (an inanimate noun)
Do you favor boys and girls of sixteen being given the right to vote?
(Boys and girls of sixteen is a long phrase, and also postmodified by the of-phrase, of
sixteen)
Can you imagine these fat men climbing Mt Kenya? (Hornby 1977)
(These fat men is considered a long noun phrase. Not *these fat men’s)
He laughed at you and me speaking broken English. (You and me are both pronouns)
Do you mind my brothers and sisters coming with us? (Hornby, 1977)
(Brothers and sisters is a long phrase.)
Do you remember Mary and her mother coming to see us last month?
(Mary and her mother is considered both agents or a long noun phrase.)
Did you ever hear of a man of good sense refusing such an offer?
(A man of good sense is considered a longer noun phrase and postmodified by of good
sense.)
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Her brother and sister both being sick makes hard work for the rest of the family.
(Her brother and sister both is a long NP.)
Fancy Marlowe being able to improve the technique of operation in his
greenhouse.
Is there any hope of John going back to USA?
(When emphasis is on John, genitive or possessive is not used.)
He objected to member of the same school (not *school’s) winning the prize.
(containing a long noun phrase with postmodification, of the same school)
I object to that being said about me. (Never use that’s.)
I object to anyone(‘s) smoking in here. (Alexander et al., 1977, p.179)
I can’t understand anyone treating children cruelly.
(because of anyone, an indefinite pronoun)
There’s not the least likelihood of anything having happened to them.
(Evans et al., 1957)
The crisis has arisen as a result of recent uncontrolled inflation having outweighed
the benefits of devaluation.
(Not *inflation’s... because inflation is an abstract noun and recent uncontrolled
inflation is a long noun phrase as well).
These radicals contemplate people of all classes being reduced to the same social
level (Hornby 1977). (because of the postmodifed NP, of all classes)
In the event of the weather being bad, the vessel’s departure has to be put off.
One of the troubles is him using too money for the project.
What upset me most was Marlowe having a surgery the next day.
It’s strange him/shis leaving like that.
I’m surprised at it being eight o’clock/it being late.
(Here it means time; we only use an object case when it means time and never use
its, but it’s OK when it means weather, ie...any possibility of its raining.)
It’s not worth (while) you/your coming all that way just to see me.
Do you mind its being cold?
Beibei was frightened of it/its building a nest near the AC in his greenhouse.
(Here it means a bird.)
Do you think there is any possibility of its raining? (F.T. Wood 1981, p.136)
(but not it because of weather).
As mentioned previously, we do not use possessive or apostrophe for demonstrative pronouns,
e.g., “There is no likelihood of that happening (not *that’s, which is impossible).” When singular
nouns are used in spoken English, it would be better not to use possessive to avoid
misunderstanding (as mentioned earlier). For example, “She did not like the idea of her
daughter’s going out late at night.” “She did not like the idea of her daughter going out late at
night.” The first sentence is preferred in writing, but the second in speech. When we say
daughter’s in the first sentence, it would sound like the plural form of daughters since there is
Id 66
106
no difference in pronunciation between daughter’s and daughters, and people thought that she
had more daughters. When we have plural nouns, we use an apostrophe in formal writing or do
not use it, because there is no difference in speech. For example, “J object to my boys/boys’
staying up late at night.” “There is no possibility of airplanes (instead of airplanes’) colliding in
the air in rural areas.” “Do you object to political action committees (instead of committees’)
underwriting candidates’ campaigns?” (Bernice Randall, 1988).
As mentioned earlier (see 43), when the gerund needs a logical subject and is used as a subject at
the beginning of the sentence, a possessive case (especially when it is a pronoun) is usually used
rather than objective case (which may be found in substandard English or in spoken English), as
in
Kevin’s/His finding fault with people got him into serious trouble.
Mr. Roden’s staying up so late (= That Mr. Roden stays up so late) worries his wife.
His wife’s being sick (= That her wife was sick) made him upset.
Emily(‘s) running away from home was the last straw.
The children’s/The children wanting that surprised me.
Him finding fault with people got him into serious trouble.
(substandard English)
Him recognizing his faults is a good thing. (less colloquially), (Leech, 1978)
You going out without permission made your parents upset.
They/Their being my friends makes me happy.
Me knowing her age surprised her. (substandard English)
Him recognizing his fault is a good thing. (substandard English)
It’s strange him leaving like that.
The half gerund is suitable for a complex object which must literally be an object. It would be
better not to be used as a complex subject, so to speak. We usually do not say or write:
Mr. Marlowe being able to improve the technique of operation in his greenhouse is
quite surprising.
Instead, we should use a that-clause as follows:
That Mr. Marlowe should have been able to improve the technique of operation in
his greenhouse is quite surprising.
Or, better still, the introductory it (empty subject) may be used, as in
It is quite surprising that Mr. Marlowe should have been able to improve the
technique of operation in his greenhouse.
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But the full gerund with a possessive will, of course, be all right. Thus:
Mr. Marlowe’s being able to improve the technique of operation in his greenhouse is
quite surprising.
As is known to all, the logical subject (a noun or pronoun) of the gerund (if it appears) is part of
the whole gerundial phrase rather than the object of the main verb. For example, we can say “J
can’t contemplate John/John’s coming tomorrow’, in which John is not the object of the verb,
contemplate, but is the logical subject of the gerund, coming. Therefore, we cannot convert John
into the subject of the main clause in passive. Because of that reason, we do not say “*John
cannot be contemplated coming tomorrow.” Neither do we say, “* You are not minded smoking
here,” as compared with “J do not mind you/your smoking here.” “I found her sleeping when I
stepped in, where sleeping is a participle, used as object complement, so there is no problem to
convert it into passive voice — she was found sleeping when I stepped in.
43.2 With or without + a noun or noun phrase
It is to be noted that the half gerund occurs in the complex object after a preposition as well as a
after a verb. And the preposition with or without + a noun or noun phrase can often introduce a
complex object. If the non-finite is or contains being, the being is often omissible in both
construction. Since with or without is a preposition, the -ing form used in the pattern is still
regarded as a gerund, but some people regard the -ing form as a participle. The logical subject of
the gerund in this construction is usually an objective case (nominal case), especially when the
logical subject of the gerund, not the action, is stressed or when the logical subject of the gerund
is a plural noun, e.g. “Weeks or months may pass without Vinnie [instead of Vinnie’s] feeling
any need to add to her hoard of unpurchased objects” (Bernice Randall, 1988).
For example:
With so many people (being) absent, it seems the meeting should be postponed.
With reinforcement (being) cut off, the enemy had to flee.
With production increasing every year, the people’s life has become better and
better.
With prices going up so fast, we cannot afford to buy a car.
It was a large room, with bookshelves covering most the wall.
It was a grey leaden evening, with an east wind blowing on our backs.
With him taking charge of the work, we are all sure of its success.
With him being sick, the wife had a great deal to do.
She hoped that she could slip back without anybody noticing.
With the tree growing tall, we get more shade. (R. Quirk et al., 1972)
A car roared past with smoke pouring from the exhaust.
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We could hardly work with him fussing us all the time.
The war was over without a shot being fired.
Our house consumes a lot of electricity from AC in summer without the tall trees
growing around it.
(Because there are no tall trees growing around the house, we use a lot of electricity ....)
It is to be noted that the above sentences, when the preposition with is omitted (14.2), will belong
to an absolute construction of the participle, and being and increasing, etc., are no longer a
gerund, e.g.
So many people (being) absent, it seems the meeting should be postponed.
Reinforcement (being) cut off, the enemy had to flee.
Production increasing every year, the people’s life has become better and better.
Not a shot being fired, the war was over.
The construction, with/without + noun + gerund, can be used as a postmodifier, as in
I have a room with a window overlooking the mountain.
(With a window overlooking the mountain is used to postmodify a room.)
Can you see the house over there with its chimney smoking?
(With its chimney smoking is used to postmodify the house.)
We can also use a past participle in the construction with/without + noun + past participle to
express accompaniment, time, condition, or cause, etc., as in
With the tree grown tall, we get much shade. (cause)
They sat in the room with the curtain drawn. (accompaniment)
43.3 What with
Sometimes we use “what with” followed by a gerund or a noun or noun phrase used for
introducing the causes of something (usually several things), especially something bad, as in
What with working too hard and (what with) taking too little care of himself, he
became quite sick.
= He became quite sick because he worked too hard and took too little care of
himself.
What with all this work and so little sleep at nights, I don’t think I can go on much
longer.
= Because of all this work and so little sleep at nights, I don’t think I can go ....
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44 A gerund used after the, this, that, some, etc.
44.1 Introduction
A gerund is used after these words: the, this, that, some, no, a lot of, a little, a bit, and much,
etc. When the definite article the is followed by a gerund, it is usually referred to as specific
rather than general, as in
Sandy likes her new job, but the driving makes her tired. (specific)
Cf. Driving makes her tired. (= all driving, driving in general)
This constant tweeting makes everyone unhappy.
I'd like to find time for some shopping before Christmas.
To persuade him took some doing. (Take here means need.) (Hornby, 1977)
No smoking in the casino! (Smoking is prohibited, or smoking is not allowed.)
She’s got a bit of shopping to do.
He used to do some surfing in Seattle.
Ms. Roden does a lot of cooking at weekend.
Mr. Marlowe doesn’t do much fishing these days.
Dr. Kang has got a lot of tidying up to do.
44.2 The gerund/noun + of + noun construction
In formal English, we usually use the gerund/noun + of + noun construction, i.e. the stretching
of the rope; The playing of ball games is prohibited. In such a case, the relation between the
gerund and the noun after of is that of verb and object (VO), i.e. play (V) ball games (O), where
the verb is usually a transitive verb or a phrasal verb, and the preposition of cannot be omitted.
For examples:
An important part of our work is the keeping (V) of records (O).
= An important part of our work is keeping records.
*An important part of our work is the keeping records.
The studying of English is no easy job.
= Studying (V) English (O) is not an easy job.
* The studying English is not an easy job
The ringing of the bell startled everyone during the exam.
* The ringing the bell startled everyone during the exam.
The keeping of records is very important.
Cf. Keeping records is very important.
The building of our country requires our concerted efforts.
The rebuilding of our country requires our concerted efforts.
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The sowing of the field was finished.
The making of cars is an industry.
*The making cars is an industry.
The reading of the next chapter had been begun. (Schibsbye 1979)
Moreover, the wearing of safety belts is thought to be a sign of fear.
The state prohibits the parking of the cars in specified areas posted.
Designing a new factory took us a lot of time, but the designing of a new factory was
splendid.
How much time shall we allow for the drawing up of the plan? (Draw up is a phrasal
verb)
Cf. Drawing up the plan will take time.
The following sentences copied from the letter sent on December 17, 2019 by Donald J. Trump,
the President of the United States of America, to Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of
Representatives are as follows:
1) If you truly cared about freedom and liberty for our Nation, then you would be
devoting your vast investigative resources to exposing the full truth concerning the
FBI's horrifying abuses of power before, during, and after the 2016 election —
including the use of spies against my campaign, the submission of false evidence to a
FISA court, and the concealment of exculpatory evidence in order to frame the
innocent.
2) They will not soon forgive your perversion of justice and abuse of power.
In Sentence 1), he used the ... abuse of power, the use of spies, the submission of false
evidence, and the concealment of exculpatory evidence. He used all their nouns preceded by the
definite article, the, in abuse, use, submission, and concealment rather than use their gerunds —
abusing, using, submitting, and concealing. In Sentence 2), he used your perversion of justice
and abuse of power rather than perverting and abusing. (Also see below “...other definitive
words such as, a, this, that, etc. or a possessive/genitive can be used before the gerund.”’)
In the letter President Trump omitted the definite article, the, in many places in his letter, as in
strong protection of the Second Amendment
cancellation of the unfair and costly Paris Climate Accord
recognition of Israel’s capital
destruction of American energy
elimination of the Second Amendment
obstruction of both common sense and common good
111
It was also found that the definite article, the, is not used before a noun. For example:
Mr. Trump also complained the federal administrators are trying to block or show down
approval of coronavirus vaccine for political reasons.
--The Wall Street Journal (10/2/2020): Inside Trump’s Last Public Event Before
Disclosing He Has Coronavirus
The is not used before the noun, approval, in the above sentence.
It is to be noted that in such a construction — the + gerund/noun + of + noun, the gerund can be
modified by an adjective, but never an adverb. And only the direct object of the verb can be used
to the gerund after the preposition of when the indirect object requires the preposition fo, e.g. The
giving of candy to children is popular in this area. *The giving of children candy is popular in
this area. We also do not have a direct object in this construction — “*the designing a new green
house.” Let us consider the following:
The sudden ringing of the bell startled everyone during the exam.
*The suddenly ringing of the bell startled everyone during the exam.
*The sudden ringing the bell startled everyone during the exam.
Suddenly ringing the bell startled everyone during the exam.
The diligent studying of English is no easy job.
*The diligently studying of English is no easy job.
Diligently studying English is no easy job.
Cf. Studying English diligently is not an easy job.
The swift handling of coronavirus was amazing in our State.
*The swiftly handling of coronavirus was amazing in our state.
There is a rule against the noisy cleaning of the streets at mid-night.
Cf. There is a rule against noisily cleaning the street at mid-night.
I am for the studying of English that begins as early as possible for those kids.
The little boy spent a lot of time for the stretching of the rope.
From the examples shown above, we know that when the + gerund + of + a noun is used, the
gerund can be modified by an adjective rather than an adverb when of is retained, e.g. The swift
handling of coronavirus was amazing in our state. *The swiftly handling of coronavirus was
amazing in our state. However, we can use an adverb to modify the gerund phrase without using
the definite article the and the preposition of, e.g. Diligently studying English is not an easy job.
Or we simply use a gerund phrase as a subject, e.g. Studying English is not an easy job, but not
*the studying English is not an easy job. We can occasionally use the construction, the +
gerund + of + a noun, as the object of a preposition, but prefer to use a gerund phrase as a
prepositional object, e.g. there is a rule against the noisy cleaning of the streets at mid-night,
and it would be better to say, there is a rule against (noisily) cleaning the streets at mid-night.
112
When a gerund is a transitive verb and has its own noun, we often use the noun in this
construction better than the gerund (also see the examples from Donald Trump’s letter
mentioned in this section). Again, let us consider the following:
the management of small businesses
= the managing of small businesses or managing small businesses, but the management
of small businesses is better than the managing of small businesses.
the education of young children
= the educating of young children or educating young children, but the NP the education
of young children is better than NP the educating of young children.
the construction of the tower
= the constructing of the tower or constructing tower or building the tower
the publication of the book = publishing the book
the discussion of politics = discussing politics
His refusal of your offer to help is hard to understand.
= His refusing your offer to help is hard to understand.
Many new techniques have been adopted in the production of steel.
= Many new techniques have been adopted in producing steel.
He gave orders for the setting free of the prisoners. (Hornby, 1977)
Cf. He gave orders for the prisoners to be set free.
The captain gave orders for the firing of a salute.
Cf. The captain ordered his men to fire a salute.
In such a case, the noun is usually an abstract noun. As seen above (i.e. the publication of the
book, etc.), the noun is normally used rather than its gerund.
In this construction, the + gerund/noun + of + a noun, the definite article the is often used, but
besides the, other definitive words such as, a, this, that, etc. or a possessive/genitive can be used
before the gerund. R. Quirk et al. (1972, p.134) referred to such forms as VERBAL NOUNS.
More examples:
Brown’s deft painting of his daughter is a delight to watch (R. Quirk et al., 1972, p.133).
(possessive is used)
(ie It is a delight to watch while John deftly paints his daughter.)
Cf. Brown’s deftly painting his daughter is a delight to watch.
(No of is used when the adverb is used.)
Brown deftly painting his daughter is a delight to watch.
(Here painting is a present participle; ie Brown who is deftly painting his daughter ....)
a questioning of our basic principles (The indefinite article, a, is used)
His skillful dancing of the tango surprised me. (The possessive pronoun, his, is used)
this useless arguing of the matter (The pronoun, this, is used.)
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their polishing of the furniture (= They polish the furniture. The possessive pronoun,
their, is used.)
The Trump administration has faced sharp criticism for its handling of the
coronavirus outbreak, which has crippled the U.S.
--https://www.yahoo.com/news/barack-obama-takes-veiled-swipe-182400753.html
In the above sentence, the possessive its is used in its handling of the coronavirus ....
UK government officials say there'll be "reckoning" for China over its handling of
the coronavirus.
--https://www.yahoo.com/news/boris-johnsons-government-reportedly-furious-
075257081 .html
In the above sentence, the possessive its is used in its handling of the coronavirus.
On Thursday, Huawei launched its P40 smartphone — one of the first flagship
devices the company has launched since Washington's introduction of sanctions
last May that barred US companies from selling to the Chinese group unless
specifically licensed to do so.
--https://www.yahoo.com/finance/m/cb6fa639-6dd3-37a4-bea0-
22204ac63028/huawei%E2%80%99s-p40-phone-contains. html
In the above sentence an apostrophe ‘s is used in Washington's introduction of sanctions ...
A tweet from Hillary Clinton mocking President Trump’s handling of the pandemic
is drawing severe backlash from conservatives, who accuse the former Secretary of
State of playing politics during a national health crisis.
--https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/hillary-clinton-tweet-pandemic-actions-
023546554.html
In the above sentence an apostrophe ‘s is used in Trump’s handling of the pandemic.
They will not soon forgive your perversion of justice and abuse of power.
-- From the letter sent on December 17, 2019 by Donald J. Trump, the President of the
United States of America, to Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of
Representatives
In the above sentence, President Trump used the possessive pronoun, your, in your perversion of
justice and abuse of power.
114
Your first claim, is “Abuse of Power,” a completely disingenuous, meritless, and baseless
invention of imagination.
In the above sentence, President Trump used an indefinite article, a, in a completely
disingenuous, meritless, and baseless invention of imagination.
44.3 Do the + gerund pattern
We often use do the + gerund for some kinds of work, especially housework, as in
T usually do the cleaning for the house at weekend while my wife does the cooking.
Don’t worry. Someone comes in to do the cleaning for you.
Have you done the ironing yet?
Kayla does the washing on Saturday.
Sometimes, the is omitted in such a pattern on some occasions, as in
I can’t do sewing. I always make a mess of it.
The kids next door always did trampolining after school.
We use go + present participle (i.e. go shopping, where shopping is not a gerund). We also use
do the shopping, where shopping is a gerund. Go shopping usually means leisure shopping, but
do the shopping means buying food or something (Eastwood, 2002).
45 Some gerunds totally becoming nouns
When some gerunds totally become nouns, they are no longer present participles, as in
a gallery of paintings, a common saying, his famous teachings, a good recording, etc.
More examples:
These paintings are very rare.
Ts your lab in that building ?
Have you heard the new recording of Mozart’s Requiem?
She often listens to some recordings of early Italian music.
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46 Conclusion
There have been a variety of examples cited or given in this article to describe the use of the
present and past participles, and gerunds. Language is a process of usage, which is always
developing and changing. Grammar is made for language and not language for grammar.
Therefore, the correct use of participles (present and past) and gerunds is a matter of usage and
cannot be explained by all rules. Grammar generalizes usage by deducing some rules, which are
meant not to prescribe, but to guide. The goal of this article is that it will serve as a guide for
English language learners and their teachers. Any comment or critique is welcome of the article.
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