Ministry of Higher Education
And
Scientific
Research
University of Baghdad
College of Education ibun_Rushed
For Human Sciences
Department of English
“Loss Of Innocence In Lord Of The Flies”
Submitted By
Noor
Supervised by
Assist. Prof. Baidaa Abbas Alzubaidy (Ph.D.)
2022
i
ABSTRACT
The objectives of this study are to know if the students are able to
identify gerund and present participle in a sentence and to know the
students way in determining gerund and present participle in a sentence.
The problem in this study is gerund, verbal ending -ing and serves
as a noun. Gerund differs from grammar construction in English because
it is able to convert a verb into a noun by adding -ing at the end of the
verb. At the same time, there is also a continuous tense form that adds ing at the end of the verb. For students who start learning English will be
confused with the form -ing that can be a noun and also a verb in the
same sentence.
This study is divided into three sections section one gives will
focus on definitions of gerund and its types. Section two tackles gerund
versus present participle. Section three concentrates on functions of
gerund and present participle. The conclusion sums up the finding of this
study.
2
‫بسم هللا الرحمن الرحيم‬
‫"يرفع هللا الذين آمنوا منكم والذين أوتوا العلم درجات وهللا بما تعلمون خبير"‬
‫(المجادلة ‪)11:‬‬
‫‪3‬‬
Introduction
The suffix –ing can be found in a variety of grammatical qualities,
including the Present participle, noun, adjective, prepositions, and to
indicate the meaning of an action. The gerund form, on the other hand, is
the most well-known. This suffix has multiple functions, and it can make
learning the English structure difficult for both native speakers and those
studying English as a second language. ( Santos,2016:3)
Linguists have long been interested in non-finite verb phrases and their
roles in English. Recent research into non-finite verb phrases in English
has revealed that the already significant variations are becoming
increasingly more pronounced, highlighting the need of comparative
studies focusing on contemporary language. Malá (2013, 2015)
has
discovered that the use of non-finite clauses is on the rising. (Mala,2015 :
107-117)
Finite and non-finite forms of the English verb are the most common.
When English language learners (ELLs) study English, knowing how to
use them effectively is extremely crucial. On the basis of his reading
skills and review of various English grammar books, reference books,
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magazines, newspapers, books, and English dictionaries, the writer
attempted to summarize and describe the various uses of participles and
gerunds, two of the three non-finite forms
the infinitive, participles
(which have two forms, the present participle and the past participle), and
gerunds, in order for English language learners to better understand how
to use them. A sharp distinction between present participles and gerunds
is disliked by some modern grammarians.( Gu, 1962:1)
They are both known as the –ing form, –ing participle, or –ing clause, but
the author prefers to keep to standard English grammar because it is more
advantageous to individuals studying English who do not speak English
as their first language. A gerund is a verb that also serves as a noun. As a
result, we can say "I don't mind him/John smoking here" or "I don't mind
his/smoking John's here," where smoking is a gerund (a noun) instead of
a present participle. "I always see him/John going there," we can say,
with going being a present participle rather than a gerund. However, we
can't say "*I always notice his/going John's there," because going is not
really a gerund in this sentence. The proper use of participles and gerunds
is a matter of taste, and no set of rules can explain it. As a result, the
researcher used a range of examples, both quoted and offered, to explain
the use of participles and gerunds so that students may better grasp how
to use them.( Gu, 1962:1)
The present participle is just a verb's base form with the suffix –ing
added. A present participle that occurs without an auxiliary is not a verb,
but it implies a continuing action when combined with some form of the
auxiliary to be (be, am, is, are, was, were). Not every verb ending in –ing
is a present participle. Because the form also ends in –ing, it might be a
gerund. The present participle, on the other hand, can be used as an
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adjective, verb, or adverb, whereas the gerund can only be used as a noun
(Smith,1972:136-138).
Section one
1.1 Definition of Gerund
Farbman (1985:94) discusses that "Gerunds are also easily identified by
their form: basic verb + ing," according to the definition (working,
cheering, smoothing). They simply serve as nouns and can occur in the
same places as nouns do: in the subject position and as the direct object.
They can also be used as prepositional objects and appositives" .
Understanding and Using English Grammar, by Azar (1993:150)
describes that "A gerund is the –ing ending of a verb (e.g., speaking,
playing, comprehending.
As stated by Murcia (1983:20) "A gerund is a verbal ending in –ing that
functions as a noun,". A gerund can be employed as a subject, direct
object, subjective complement, and appositive, much like any other
single-word noun." According to the seventh edition of the Oxford
English Dictionary paperback, “In English, a gerund is a verb form that
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serves as a noun and ends in –ing."
Thomson and Martinet's book A
Practical English Grammar is a good example of this (1986:228) they
discussed , "The gerund has the same form as the present participle :
running, speaking, working, and so on," he claimed. It can be employed
as a sentence's subject, as a verb's complement, after prepositions, after
specific verbs, and in noun compounds."
A gerund is a verb that is preceded by the suffix -ing. This definition is
overly broad, because the identical structure can occur in six different
word classes: To begin, the present participle 'verb to be + ing' can be
used to show continuous aspect. It does not have to occur in the present;
it might also occur in the past. For example, I am currently on the road.
Second, by attaching –ing to a verb, several concrete Nouns (N) can be
created. Singing, reading, and learning, for example. Swimming and
diving, for example, are examples of third-person actions. Fourth, as
adjectives, such as "amazing" and "difficult." Fifth, as a preposition, for
example, concerning. Sixth, as a Gerund, for example, Theo is travlling ,
and Tom enjoys singing. (Alexiadou,2013:65)
Huddleston and Pullum (2002: 81) they say “A gerund is defined as "a
term produced from a verb base that serves as or similar to a noun."
According to Nordguist " A gerund is a verb that finishes in -ing and has
the same meaning as a noun. gerundival or gerunddial is an adjective.
Traditional grammar uses the term gerund, but many modern linguists
preferring to use the -ing form instead." (Nordguist, 2020)
1.2 Kinds of Gerund
Wishon and Burks (1980:268) discussed that , there are two types of
gerunds: simple gerunds and gerund phrases.
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A- The Simple Gerund
The gerund is the -ing form of a verb that has been used as a noun. It's
worth mentioning that the gerund and the present participle have the same
form. In the sentence, however, it has a different role. It's always a noun
and can be used in any position. Example : Swimming is a good exercise.
I am so tired of jogging. Jenny keeps fighting with her sibling. My
favorite sport, running, takes a great deal of an effort (Wood,1981:302)
B- The Gerund Phrase
While a gerund is used as a noun, it also has some verb-like qualities. It
may have adjective modifiers (typically before it), but it may also have
adverbial modifiers (usually after it) (usually after it). If a gerund is
preceded by a noun or pronoun, it must be in the possessive form. As an
example, his acting is really professional. Running for miles is one of my
favorite sports, but it requires a lot of effort. His acting and running for
miles are gerund phrases, but his acting is a gerund of the statement "his
acting is so professional." (Wood, 1981:302)
A gerund phrase is one that starts with a gerund and contains objects or
modifiers. It serves as a noun.
Jogging for thirty minutes every day helps you lose weight.
Here, jogging for thirty minutes is the gerund phrase and functions as the
subject of the sentence.
C- Functions of Gerund
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Xu (1979:94) says that "A gerund always functions or works like a
noun,". As a result, it can be encountered in the same locations as nouns:
as subject, direct object, prepositional object, and appositive.
A sentence's topic must all be a noun. A human, a name of a place or
thing, or a gerund are examples of nouns that can be used as subjects.
Instances:
1. Driving needs full attention.
2. Gambling cannot make someone rich.
3. Dancing is one of my hobbies.
Section Two
2.1 Gerund versus present participle
The following are the arguments given by authors who do not distinguish
between the gerund and the present participle: Both forms correspond to
the same inflectional category; the structures in which they are used, as
well as their functions, are identical from a syntactic viewpoint
(Huddleston & Pullum 2002: 1220-1223); The English gerund does not
correspond to the Latin gerund, on which English grammar is based (most
notably, the modal/non-modal difference is not reflected). Why should
such a functional difference be applied to -ing forms when it is not
applied to the infinitive (Quirk 1985: 1290) Drawing on the Prague
School tradition, we prioritized function over other criteria in our
approach, identifying the semantic and morphological possibilities of -ing
forms from the viewpoint of their function at a higher level of linguistic
description (clause – sentence).
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Huddleston and Pullum (2002: 1220) believe that the traditional gerunds
and participles "belong to a single inflectional group." To reflect the fact
that it covers the ground of both gerunds and present participles in other
dialects, we call this form the gerund-participle." While this solution can
help to demonstrate the complexity of -ing forms by illustrating the
gradient of functions from fairly nominal to fully verbal, it also obscures
the functional correspondence between the present and past participle,
which is much tighter than the functional correspondence between gerund
and participle. Because both participle forms are regularly employed as
Czech transgressives, but because transgressives are no longer effectively
used in Czech, mistakes are frequently made when these structures
(typically nonfinite clauses) are interpreted.
A gerund and a present participle are both derived from a verb and end in
–ing. Each, nevertheless, serves a distinct purpose. A gerund functions
similarly to a noun, whereas a present participle functions similarly to a
verb or adjective. Notice the following example :
Snowboarding
Snowboarding is a verb that can be used as a gerund or a present
participle. When snowboarding is used as a gerund, it functions similarly
to a noun. It can be a subject, object, prepositional object, or subject
complement.
Snowboarding is a winter sport. (snowboarding = subject)
I love snowboarding. (snowboarding = object )
I am excited by snowboarding.
[snowboarding = object of a
preposition]
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One popular sport is snowboarding.
(snowboarding = subject
complement)
When snowboarding is a present participle, it is part of a continuous verb
tense (Pires, 2002:59).
2.2 Functions of gerunds and present participles
When we use a gerund as the object of a preposition, we're using a
preposition like 'in,' 'before,' or 'after,' followed by a verb ending in -ing.
Here's an illustration: 'Mariela expressed gratitude to her teacher for
helping her.' The gerund is 'helping,' the preposition is 'for,' and Mariela
thanked her teacher for assisting, therefore helping is the preposition's
object. In English, the gerund takes the form of the present participle with
the suffix -ing.
It is the most common form of the verb used as a noun, and it can be the
subject of a sentence (examples 1–7), the object of a phrase (examples 8–
9), or follow prepositions (10 to 13) (Carter et al , 2006:984)
Gerund phrases include the following:
1.
Seeing is believing.
2.
Reading that book was very interesting.
3.
Drinking is essential
4.
Drinking too much pop can make you fat.
5.
Taking the bus was rather a good idea.
6.
Swimming regularly is very good exercise.
7.
Taking too many aspirins is dangerous.
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8.
I really like sailing .
9.
This article really needs completely rewriting.
10. He drove two hundred miles without ever stopping.
11. I look forward to seeing you again next week.
12. I'm thinking of painting my house.
13. I started by carefully turning off the electricity
14. Do you mind shutting the window, please ?
15. Will you consider taking the job?
16. I've really enjoyed meeting you.
The gerund, as shown in the examples above, is a verb that is employed
as if it were a noun, but not in the same way. To put it another way, it
maintains its speech features. It cannot be qualified by an adjective since
it is not used as a noun; on the opposite, it retains some of the key
characteristics of a verb, such as the ability to accept a direct object
(examples 2, 4, 7, 11 - 16) and/or be qualified by an adverb (examples 9
& 13). Gerunds are commonly used in consecutive verb formations, such
as in I adore dancing or examples 8 and 9 above, where two verbs
directly follow each other. It's important to know the difference between
verbs that accept a gerund as a follow-on verb and those that need the
follow-on verb to be in the infinitive. admit, consider, hate, deny, enjoy,
finish, involve, miss, mind, suggest are all common verbs that require the
following word to be stated as a gerund (Carter et al , 2006:984 ).
Because they are verbs ending in -ing, present participles resemble
gerunds. However, gerunds are employed as nouns, whereas present
participles are used as adjectives to modify nouns or pronouns. To further
12
comprehend this, consider some examples of present participles. 'The
wailing baby needed to eat.' The baby is described by the word 'wailing,'
which is a verb ending in -ing. We may recognize 'wailing' as a present
participle because it is also in the present tense. We could say something
like, 'They scolded him for weeping,' if we wanted to use the term
'wailing' as a gerund instead. Because it follows the preposition 'for' and
is treated as a noun by explaining why he is being scolded, 'wailing'
would be a gerund employed as an object of a preposition in this context.
Let's look at a situation where two present participles are used. 'She
scolded the barking dog, frowning.' 'Frowning' and 'barking' are two
verbs that end in -ing in this sentence. Both of these words are used to
describe nouns. The woman is described as frowning, while the dog is
described as barking. As a result, the present participles 'frowning' and
'barking' are present participles. (Zhang, 1984:49).
Section : Three
3.1 Adjectival Function (Present Participle)
Because the present participle is a non-finite structure, it cannot indicate
the grammatical tense of the phrase in which it is used. The -ing
morpheme is added to the verbal basis to accomplish the adjectival
function, resulting in this composition. Furthermore, the present participle
is required for the construction of all progressive tenses and might be
active or passive in nature. The attributive and predicate roles of the
present participle as an adjective are distinct. The -ing form, like the
attributive function, changes a noun in a noun phrase (NP) structure. As a
result, this function is performed at the phrase level rather than the clause
level.
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Notice:
A. the inspiring teacher .
B. The teacher who is inspiring.
In the above example, the word inspirational modifies the noun teacher in
(a), allowing the NP to be reinterpreted as in ( b). It is important to note
that paraphrasing the NP in the order 'Be + V-ing' within the NP does not
show progressive aspect. The use of the verb in the predicate position, as
in "the teacher is inspiring," demonstrates this case. But this isn't always
the case (De Smet,2011: 473-508).
Furthermore, utilizing the present participle as a modifier refers to some
characteristic aspect of a word that is closely characterized by it, making
it an attributive participle. A dependant relative phrase can be used to
replace the attributive participle, but this is rarely done because the
shorter form is preferable. It is normally used before the modified verb,
but it can also be found in the postposition. In the past form, the
attributive participle cannot appear:
A. the sleeping child .
B. The child who is sleeping.
The word sleeping appears in an attributive position in example (a),
which is paraphrased in example (b) ( b). In contrast to the previous
example, the sequence 'Be + V-ing in the sleeping child clearly
demonstrates the progressive element, indicating that the process of
sleeping is in progress. This can be seen by employing the same verb in
the predicate position: "the child is sleeping," where sleeping is primarily
employed as a verb, not an adjectival. As a result, when employed
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pronominally, the verb sleeping has adjectival function; otherwise, it has
verbal function (i.e. when it is paraphrased) (De Smet,2011: 473-508).
Apart from the progressive case, several participles appear to be
reanalyzed syntactically and established as real adjectives. The usage of
modifiers such as adverbs such as extremely, completely, more, and most
(followed by than), not as... as, and so on distinguishes this instance.
Other people can show up in between the verbs and adjectives. It is
grammatically possible to state: The very inspiring teacher, the most
inspiring teacher, and the most inspiring teacher are the three most
inspiring teachers. However, saying "the very sleeping child, the most
sleeping child, and the more sleeping child" is incorrect. As a result, this
grammatical distinction may provide a fair basis for considering that
some -ing forms with distributions similar to adjectives are more
adjectival than others. (Ibid).
3.2 Nominal Function (Gerund)
Gerund is the broad term for nominal usage. There are two types of
gerunds: verbal gerunds and nominal gerunds. The distinction between
the two lies in the quantity of verbal force they carry: the verbal gerund
processes more verbal features than the nominal one. Gerund is produced
from a verb by morphological process, hence it is frequently used as a
verbal noun. As a result, it does not refer to a gerund that is derived from
a verb. Actually, it refers to a verb derived from a noun, however a
gerund, which has more verbal properties, would be a better definition.
Furthermore, because both fundamentally signify a noun, the word
nominal gerund implies a double naming of the same entity. As a result,
nominal gerunds have fewer verbal characteristics than verbal gerunds,
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yet they are still more verbal than ordinary nouns (De Smet,2011: 473508).
Gerund, like present participles, is a non-finite construction formed by
adding the suffix -ing to the infinitive form of a verb, making it difficult
for nonnative speakers to recognize gerund or present participle inside a
phrase. Despite the fact that they are both employed to convey activity or
a state of being, their purpose inside the phrase is different. The
difference between the gerund and the present participle is that the gerund
is a verb with significant value, i.e. a verb form with a noun-like role in
the sentence, possessing both verb and noun properties. The present
participle, on the other hand, is treated as an adjectival verb. Prepositions,
possessive articles, and possessive noun phrases can all be followed by
the former, but not the latter. Gerunds can be used to make plural or
genitive forms (mainly before sake). Furthermore, gerunds, like nouns,
can take adjectives and, like verbs, can take adverbs, as seen in the
instances below:. his comings and goings Reading for the purpose of
reading For younger people, brisk walking is recommended. Walking
slowly is advised for the elderly (Jespersen, 1993:261 )
For Lees (1960:44) , the gerund occurs as a result of the subject. It's
used instead of an infinitive because, unlike an infinitive, it indicates
universal validity. In this example, the gerund might be substituted with a
dependent clause containing the word 'that.' It can also function as a
component of a verbal or adjectival phrase. An agent of action is either
expressed or not expressed in this instance. When the action agent is not
expressed in the sentence, the Saxon genitive or object is frequently
substituted. When dealing with plural or inanimate subjects, however, the
use of the Saxon genitive is not permitted.
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Conclusion
There have been a variety of examples cited or given in this study 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. traditional definition of gerunds as a noun form
of the verb, is not wrong. However, many constructions could be made
out of it, leading to different interpretations and points of view.
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The writer suggests that the students must be understood about gerunds
and also the function of gerunds very well. For English students
especially the beginners, it is important to be able in making sentences by
understanding the usage of gerund first.
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