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please explain
Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2003 9:55 pm
by mmaille
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?
Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2003 1:32 am
by Roger
"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?).
Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2003 1:48 pm
by Rania
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
).
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)
Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2003 1:49 pm
by Rania
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
).
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)
"Becoming European"
Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2003 4:41 am
by Norm Ryder
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
Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2003 5:17 am
by sita
"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
