-ing forms

Andrew Patterson · Post by **Andrew Patterson** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 1:39 pm

A collegue recently told me that there was a difference between a gerund and a verbal noun but couldn't remember what that difference is. Is he right? I know there is a difference between a gerund and the present participle, but I thought that "verbal noun" was more or less a synonym or definition of gerund.

lolwhites · Post by **lolwhites** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 2:01 pm

I thought that "verbal noun" was more or less a synonym or definition of gerund.

So did I. Could your colleague give any examples of what he meant?

Andrew Patterson · Post by **Andrew Patterson** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 3:18 pm

Lolwhites wrote:

So did I. Could your colleague give any examples of what he meant?

Actually, I mean sb from another forum. The statement arrises from a discussion on complementation. I described the expression "continue dealings" as a plural gerund and received the reply that it was actually a verbal noun. I'm hoping he'll get back to me on that. I actually did a bit of digging round on the internet and found this:

ieas.arts.unideb.hu/faculty/materials/np8.doc

which seems interesting and seems to indicate that the correct term is "deverbal noun"

Most searches for "deverbal noun" just give the definition: a noun derived from a verb. [Not exactly a useful definition, which certainly does not explain the difference between a deverbal noun and gerund. Intuitively, I think I can work out the difference, but I'd like to know what the received wisdom is too.

This source:
http://encyclopedia.laborlawtalk.com/Verbal_noun
seems to indicalte that "verbal noun" is the generic term and that "gerund" is just one type of verbal noun

Tara B · Post by **Tara B** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 6:43 pm

What about this?

Gerund
Walking is fun.
I like reading.

Verbal noun(?)
He has an interesting walk.
That book was a good read.