Korean Job Discussion Forums

Smee · Joined: 24 Dec 2004 Location: Jeollanam-do

Hi,
I have a question about the "opening" in opening ceremony. What's the part of speech? Gerund or participle are the two options I was given. It seems like an adjective, but I don't know if that's because of convoluted structure or what. Anyway, thanks in advance.

Seon-bee · Joined: 24 Jan 2003 Location: ROK

I vote for compound noun.

Operating system is another example.

Tobias · Joined: 02 Jun 2008

"Opening" is a present participle being used as an adjective of TYPE.

Other examples:

falling won
whining teachers
flaming posters
complaining students
freezing weather

HapKi · Joined: 10 Dec 2004 Location: TALL BUILDING-SEOUL

I, too, vote for compound noun.

Grand opening (adjective, noun)
Opening day (noun, noun)
Opening time (noun, noun)

Thiuda · Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2008 5:29 am Post subject:

withnail · Joined: 13 Oct 2008 Location: Seoul, South Korea.

Don't mean to be funny, but actually the point is a little moot as when a new hagwon opens in Korea, they often put up a big sign saying:

"Grand Open"

In my first hagwon, I couldn't persuade them that this was wrong because it had become the "norm" and had entered the business world forever!!!

Tobias · Joined: 02 Jun 2008

I've seen many a "Grand Opens".

I've also been to the 'Garten Bier' hofs. It's a big keg of beer having a garden inside it.

TOMODACHI-KID · Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 4:52 am Post subject: Re: It is

fustiancorduroy · Joined: 12 Jan 2007

That ain't no compound noun. As others have said, it's a present participle adjective. Compound noun consist of two nouns, and "opening" ain't no noun.

TOMODACHI-KID · Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 6:40 am Post subject:

...That's right, COWBOY, you tell em'--just as I did...

It's all good folks! Wink

Galoshes and peanuts.

withnail · Joined: 13 Oct 2008 Location: Seoul, South Korea.

yawn! please end this thread erudites!!

greedy_bones · Joined: 01 Jul 2007 Location: not quite sure anymore

I'd have to go with compound noun on this one. You can remove ceremony and it would still act in the same way. "I attended the opening." "I attended the opening ceremony."

It would only be a participle if there was another object which made sense. For example, "I saw the dancing duck." The duck is dancing, so dancing is used as a participle. The ceremony isn't opening, so opening isn't really being used to modify ceremony.

daskalos · Joined: 19 May 2006 Location: The Road to Ithaca

Just thought I'd beat this dead horse until it was a little more dead.

Linguists who need to talk about gerunds and participles as "verbals" can spin on this shit all day long, and more power to them. Bravo, bravo, bravo.

But if you are an EFL teacher, trying to get someone to understand why an -ing word seems to be modifying a noun, the easiest course of action is to tell your student that in this case, "opening" is a present participle, otherwise known as an adjective, describing what kind of ceremony we're talking about, because we have many kinds of ceremonies. Opening ceremonies. Closing ceremonies. Commencement ceremonies. Wedding ceremonies. Initiation ceremonies. Beautiful ceremonies.

Some of these examples are indeed compound nouns, but for all except the most seriously advanced students, the difference between a present participle and a noun or an adjective - all of which can modify a noun - is not worth teaching.

On the level that anyone teaching English in Korea must decide, there is no point in making a distinction between whether, in this case, "opening" is a gerund or a participle.

Stop it.

greedy_bones · Joined: 01 Jul 2007 Location: not quite sure anymore