please explain

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mmaille
Posts: 11
Joined: Thu Jan 16, 2003 7:17 pm

please explain

Post by mmaille » Tue Apr 01, 2003 9:55 pm

Becoming Europeans is a bit like marrying into a family....why are the words becoming and marrying ING words...what part of speech are they? :?

Roger
Posts: 274
Joined: Thu Jan 16, 2003 1:58 am

Post by Roger » Wed Apr 02, 2003 1:32 am

"Becoming" and "marrying" are gerunds. Gerunds have a variety of functions. In your case, they are part of an equation, that is they are part of a subject clause ("becoming Europeans" (I question the 's'!) and connected to "marrying...' through a linking verb ('is').
You can paraphrase it this way:
"To become European, one has to do what people do that marry..." (you see how clumsy this is, don't you?).

Rania
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Location: Germany

Post by Rania » Thu Apr 03, 2003 1:48 pm

The above explanation is grammatically correct and perfect if your students have a great general grasp of grammar (whew, try to say that one quickly :D ).

Most of my students, unfortunately, would be even more confused by it than it would help them ... so in this case I have often explained about the gerund form and said, to simplify, that the -ing verb in this sentence functions a bit like a noun, like
"SMOKING is bad for you" (i.e. the act of smoking a cigarette)

Rania
Posts: 59
Joined: Wed Feb 05, 2003 10:36 am
Location: Germany

Post by Rania » Thu Apr 03, 2003 1:49 pm

The above explanation is grammatically correct and perfect if your students have a great general grasp of grammar (whew, try to say that one quickly :D ).

Most of my students, unfortunately, would be even more confused by it than it would help them ... so in this case I have often explained about the gerund form and said, to simplify, that the -ing verb in this sentence functions a bit like a noun, like
"SMOKING is bad for you" (i.e. the act of smoking a cigarette)

Norm Ryder
Posts: 118
Joined: Wed Jan 29, 2003 9:10 pm
Location: Canberra, Australia

"Becoming European"

Post by Norm Ryder » Fri Apr 04, 2003 4:41 am

Rania and Roger

Exactly :!: and -- you've probably already thought of it -- that's why some grammarians call gerunds " verbal nouns". The whole noun phrase operates in the sentence like a noun, and in some cases (such as this) one component can also operate as a verb on an object within the phrase.

As you say, Roger, it's like (vB) almost equals (vC).
If this were a math board we would probably have the "almost equals" symbol to make it more vivid.


And just think about this:""Fishing is envigorating! Is 'fishing' a noun or a verb? Is 'envigorating' an adjective or a verb? I'd say a bit of both; which is one reason why modern grammarians consider the old Latin grammar categories insufficient to describe the way English syntax works.

Cheers.

Norm

sita
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Post by sita » Fri Apr 04, 2003 5:17 am

"A language wasn't designed to be used in classrooms but in a real life"

This was posted on my site by a teacher!

It is true and I agree with you concerning the gerund....

Siân :twisted:

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