THE SYNTACTIC FUNCTIONS OF GERUND CLAUSES

Definition A gerund is the “-ing” form of a verb when it functions grammatically as a noun in a
sentence. Gerunds are identical in appearance to present participles, but they are not used to form
tenses of the verb or provide adjectival information. Gerunds can either stand alone, or they can take a
noun (the object of the gerund) and/or modifier(s) to form a gerund phrase.

Functions in a sentence
Because they act like nouns, gerunds can be used as the subject of a sentence, the subject complement
of the linking verb be, the object of a preposition, or the object of a verb. They can also be used to form
compound nouns.

As the subject just like a normal noun, a gerund or gerund phrase can be the subject of a sentence. For
example: • “Swimming is an excellent form of exercise!” (Gerund only) • “Eating vegetables gives you a
lot of extra energy.” (Gerund + object) • “Studying too hastily will result in a poor grade.” (Gerund +
adverb(s)) • “Reading romantic literature proves to be an unpopular pastime among academics.”
(gerund + adjective + noun) • “Working from home allows me to spend more time with my family.”
(gerund + prepositional phrase) Adverbs modifying gerunds Notice that in our third example, the gerund
studying is being modified by an adverb, hastily (itself modified by too). Likewise, working in the last
example is modified by the adverbial prepositional phrase from home. This may seem contradictory,
since gerunds act like nouns, and adverbs can’t modify nouns. However, in this case, it is the gerund
phrase that is functioning as a noun, so the gerund itself can still be modified by an adverb in the same
way as a normal verb. 612 Present participial clauses It’s often easy to confuse present participles for
gerunds because they look identical and operate in very similar ways. For instance, the present
participles of verbs can be used to create dependent clauses that modify the rest of the sentence. For
example: • “Singing in the shower, I was oblivious to the doorbell ringing.” (I was singing.) • “Having
seen the movie before, I wouldn’t want to see it again.” Although they look quite similar, these clauses
function like an adjective, whereas the gerund phrases we looked at above act like nouns functioning as
the subjects of their sentences. As a subject complement Like predicative adjectives, gerunds can act as
subject complements after the linking verb be. In this case, the gerund acts as a kind of modifier that
gives more information about the sentence’s subject. For example: • “My main responsibility here is
operating the forklift.” (operating complements the noun responsibility) • “My favorite thing about
being in Japan is eating sushi.” (eating complements thing) • “The best thing in life is spending time with
loved ones.” Again, we have to be careful that we don’t mistake a gerund for the present participle of a
verb. This can be easy to do, because the present participle is paired with the verb be to form the
present continuous tense and the past continuous tense of verbs, as in: • “I am running five miles
tomorrow.” (present continuous tense) • “I heard you are operating the forklift at work now.” (present
continuous tense) • “I was singing in the shower when the doorbell rang.” (past continuous tense) •
“She was eating dinner when I called.” (past continuous tense) Remember
that a gerund or
gerund phrase functions as a noun—if the sentence still makes
grammatical sense after the word or phrase is replaced 613 by a normal
noun, then we are dealing with a gerund; if it does not make sense after
being replaced by a normal noun, then it is a present participle . As objects
of prepositions Gerunds are used as the objects of prepositions to describe an action that modifies
another action, thus creating adverbial prepositional phrases. These can occur at the beginning, middle,
or end of the sentence. For example: • “After sneezing, I always get the hiccups.” • “I’m going to
improve my health by running six miles every night.” • “She started going crazy from so much waiting.”
• “He’s not against marrying me, he just isn’t ready.” Of verbs Gerunds can also act as the direct object
of some verbs. Here a few examples: • “Do you mind watching my seat for me while I go to the
bathroom?” • “I really love hiking in the mountains.” • “I enjoy eating at restaurants, but Jenny prefers
cooking at home.” • “He remembered turning off the oven, but his husband thought he’d left it on.” •
“They couldn’t help feeling sorry for Bob.” (If you want to see more examples, go to the section Gerunds
as Objects of Verbs.) Of phrasal verbs Just like they do with normal verbs, gerunds can also function as
the object of phrasal verbs. For example: • “I am counting on getting tickets to that new movie.” •
“They’re looking forward to meeting you later.” 614 Forming compound nouns Gerunds can be paired
with regular nouns to become compound nouns, as in: • “His new running shoes were already covered
in mud.” • “I’m hoping she can give me a helping hand.” • “The working conditions are very poor here.”
These are distinct from gerund phrases, where the noun is functioning as the object of the gerund, as in
our previous example of “Eating vegetables is good for your health.” They should also not be confused
with present participles that are functioning as adjectives. Though they look quite similar, adjectival
present participles imply action on the part of the noun being modified. For example: • “She soothed
the crying baby.” (The baby is crying). • “The speeding car crashed into the tree.” (The car was
speeding.) As an object complement For certain factitive verbs, gerunds can also act as object
complements. Object complements function by renaming or reclassifying a direct object, or by stating
what the direct object has become or is doing. Gerunds can only function as object complements that
state what the direct object is or was doing. In the following examples, the verb or phrasal verb is
italicized, the direct object is underlined, and the gerund or gerund phrase (as object complement) is in
bold: • “We came across him lying in the yard.” • “My mother noticed the baby walking by himself.” • “I
can’t believe the bosses caught you napping.” Quiz (answers start on page 610) 1. In which of the
following ways is a gerund not able to function? a) As the subject of a sentence 615 b) As the object of a
verb c) As an adjective clause d) As a subject complement 2. Which of the following linking verbs can a
gerund follow as a subject complement? a) be b) become c) seem d) appear 3. In which of the following
sentences is the word talking a gerund? a) “I’ll be talking to your teacher after school.” b) “I really love
talking with my friends.” c) “The talking students were oblivious to the principal.” d) “Talking with her
parents, it seems like there might be some issues at home.” 4. When gerunds function as the objects of
prepositions, where can they occur in a sentence? a) At the beginning b) In the middle c) At the end d)
All of the above e) None of the above 5. Which of the following sentences does not use a gerund? a) “His
love of eating is going to lead to serious health problems.” b) “One of the best things about spring is
smelling all the flowers.” c) “They had been driving for hours before they found a hotel.” d) “We began
shouting at the top of our lungs for the bus to stop.”

Gerunds as Objects of Verbs Definition Gerunds very frequently function as the direct
objects of “true” verbs. 616 However, there are some verbs that are more likely to take gerunds as
objects than others. In this section, we’ll look at some common verbs that take gerunds as their direct
object to get a sense of how they’re used. Stative vs. Action Verbs.

Stative verbs that take gerunds Stative verbs, also known as verbs of feeling, are very likely to take
gerunds as their objects. Here are some examples of common stative verbs that take gerunds (keep in
mind that this is not an exhaustive list): Stative verb Example with a gerund as an object love “I love
going to the movies.” like “I like living by the ocean.” enjoy “Do you enjoy working in retail?” mind
“Would you mind watching my seat for me while I go to the bathroom?” feel like “I feel like staying
home tonight.” stand “She can’t stand being around him.” imagine “Imagine winning the lottery. It
would be great!”

Action verbs that take gerunds Certain action verbs (also called dynamic verbs) can also take a
gerund as their object if describing a secondary action. For instance: Action verb Example with a gerund
as an object admit (to) “He admitted (to) cheating on the exam.” avoid “He always tries to avoid doing
his homework.” 617 consider “He is considering moving to London.” delay “He delayed paying his phone
bill.” deny “He denied stealing the money.” insist on “He insisted on giving me a ride to the train
station.” keep/continue “Please, keep/continue telling me your story.” mention “She mentioned
meeting him for a coffee earlier.” practice “She practices speaking English whenever she gets the
chance.” recommend “I recommend going to the mountains in the summer.” resist “She resisted
sneaking out to the party down the road.” suggest “They suggested staying at a five-star hotel.” Again,
the above is not a complete list. There are many other dynamic verbs that will take a gerund as their
object.

Gerunds vs. Infinitives Gerunds and infinitives are both verb forms that can function as nouns, and,
as such, they are both often used as the objects of “main” verbs. In many cases, we can use either the
infinitive or the gerund in addition to “standard” nouns. Some verbs, however, can only be followed by
infinitives and not gerunds. In each example below, we can see how a gerund does not fit with the main
verb: ✔ Infinitive (Correct) ✖ Gerund (Incorrect) “They promised to be quiet in the car.” “They promised
being quiet in the car.” “I agreed to leave him alone.” “I agreed leaving him alone.” 618 “She asked to
see the landlord about the faulty stove.” “She asked seeing the landlord about the faulty stove.”
Likewise, some verbs are followed only by gerunds and not infinitives. In most cases, these are action
verbs. For example: ✔ Gerund (Correct) ✖ Infinitive (Incorrect) “I recall seeing an advertisement for that
somewhere.” “I recall to see an advertisement for that somewhere.” “I recommend reading Moby Dick
at some point in your life.” “I recommend to read Moby Dick at some point in your life.” “He’ll consider
hearing your side of the story later, if he has time.” “He’ll consider to hear your side of the story later, if
he has time.” Unfortunately, there is not a set of rules to determine which verbs can take which forms
as their objects. Verbs followed by both gerunds and infinitives For other verbs, we can use either the
infinitive or the gerund. Most of the time, there is no difference in meaning when we substitute the
infinitive for the gerund. This is especially true for stative verbs. For example, each of the following pairs
mean the same thing: Gerund Infinitive “I like hiking.” “I like to hike.” “I love swimming.” “I love to
swim.” “I prefer going out on the weekend.” “I prefer to go out on the weekend.” With some verbs, we
can use both the infinitive and the gerund, but the meaning of the sentence changes subtly as a result.
In this case, we have to use context to understand the meaning completely. For example: 619 Infinitive
Gerund “I remembered to close the window.” (I didn’t forget to do this) “No, I didn’t leave the window
open. I remember closing it.” (I recall doing this) “I forgot to read this book for school.” (I didn’t
remember to do this, so it didn’t happen) “I forget reading this book for school.” (I don’t recall this fact)
“I’ve been trying to call you all day, but the line has been busy.” (Attempt to do something) “Try calling
my cell phone next time.” (This is a possible solution to the problem) “I stopped drinking sugary drinks
because of my health.” (I don’t drink sugary drinks anymore) “I stopped to drink at the well.” (I
interrupted what I was doing to drink from the well) Quiz (answers start on page 610) 1. Which of the
following verbs will not take a gerund as its object? a) deny b) neglect c) recommend d) love 2. Which
kind of verb is more likely to take a gerund as its object? a) linking verb b) auxiliary verb c) stative verb d)
dynamic verb 3. Identify the gerund in the following sentence. “I am waiting to see if the doctor
recommends getting a transplant.” a) waiting b) to see c) recommends 620 d) getting 4. True or false: All
gerunds can be replaced by infinitives when they function as the objects of verbs. a) true b) false
(Complete English Grammar Rules_ Examples, Exceptions & Everything You Need to Master Proper
Grammar-CreateSpace (2016) page 611-621)

Chapter 7: Subordinate Clauses Clauses, as we have seen, can be coordinated with each
other, so that the sentence consists of a set of conjuncts. A clause can also serve other grammatical
functions inside another clause: A clause which serves a grammatical function (other than conjunct)
inside another clause is called a subordinate clause. Subordinate clauses have specific structural features
that distinguish them from main clauses and serve a range of grammatical functions (most of which we
have already discussed in considering the grammatical functions of noun phrases, adjective phrases,
adverb phrases and prepositional phrases). Structures A clause is a predicate and its subject (if it has
one) and any clausal modifiers and subordinating conjunctions which relate the clause to other clauses.
A main clause as we have noted before is always finite -- it always has a verb which is marked for tense
and agreement (where appropriate) and it can contain a modal auxiliary and its subject (if a pronoun)
will be in the subject case. Many subordinate clauses are finite clauses as well. 1. I said that I might go.
(that I might go is a finite clause acting as a direct object in a larger clause.) 2. When she leaves the
house, you should call me. (When she leaves the house is a finite clause acting as an adverbial in a larger
clause.) 3. Marvin likes the woman who is helping him with the project. (who is helping him with the
project is a finite clause that modifies the noun woman in the larger clause. Nonfinite Clauses Many
subordinate clauses, however, are nonfinite clauses. A nonfinite clause in English is distinguished by the
fact that the first verb in the VP does not mark tense or agreement; it cannot be a modal auxiliary, and
its subject (if there is one) is never in the subject case. There are four general types of nonfinite
subordinate clauses -- infinitives, participles, gerunds, and verbless clauses. (Non-finite constituents are
often traditionally treated as phrases, but in most modern analyses treat them as clauses.) • Infinitives
Infinitives are VPs whose first V must be unmarked. There are two kinds of infinitives: Full Infinitives: In
full infinitives, the first (obligatorily unmarked) verb of the VP is preceded by to, as in 4. For John to win
would be amazing. 5. I expect them to leave on time. 6. Mary is working hard to make money. 7. To
believe in magic requires a high level of gullibility. Full infinitives can appear with subjects as in (4) and
(5) or without as in (6) and (7). Bare Infinitives: In bare infinitives, the first (obligatorily unmarked) verb
of the VP is not preceded by to, as in 8. I made Sue leave. 9. The children are watching him dance. 10.
They won't let me help him. In almost all cases bare infinitives have subjects; the verb help can occur
with subjectless bare infinitives. In both kinds of infinitives, the subject (if there is one) is in the object
case, so a finite version of the subordinate clause in (9) would be He dances, but the infinitive form has
an object case subject him and the verb doesn't mark tense or agreement -- it is obligatorily unmarked.
It is perfectly possible to say 11. They want him to be able to look after himself. but 12. *They want him
to can look after himself is ungrammatical, because modal auxiliaries cannot appear in infinitive VPs.
Infinitives can appear in different aspects and voices, so 13. I expect to be working tomorrow.
(Progressive Active) 14. Marge wanted to have left already. (Perfect Active) 15. The teachers expected
us to have been working for the last hour. (Perfect Progressive) 16. I want to be honored by my peers for
my brilliant discoveries. (Simple Passive) 17. I want my peers to honor me for my brilliant discoveries.
(Simple Active) The subject of an infinitive is always in the object case if it appears all. Bare infinitives
always have subject; full infinitives sometimes have overt subjects and sometimes don't, depending on
the structure of the rest of the sentence. So 18. I want him to leave. (him is the subject of to leave) 19. I
want to leave. (no subject for to leave) 20. I made him leave. (him is the subject of leave) 21. *I made
leave. • Participles Participle clauses are clauses in which the first verb in the VP is a participle. As we
already know, participles are of two kinds: present or -ing participles and past or -en/ed participles.
Present participle and past participle are, in fact, the traditional names, but they are quite misleading
since neither participle provides any information about tense, so in The man covered with paint is
decorating the living room, covered with paint is a past participle clause, but it isn't set in the past; in
The general leading the rebel forces was George Washington, leading the rebel forces is a present
participle, but it isn't set in the present. -en/ed participles are sometimes also called passive participles
(presumably because the form is used in passive VPs, as well as in perfect VPs); this label is less
misleading since -en/ed participle clauses are always passive in sense, while -ing participles can be active
or passive. 22. The contestant knowing the most answers will win the game.. 23. The victim splattered
with blood stood helpless. 24. While being treated for his injuries by the intern, Charley talked to me
about his accident. -en participle clauses never show variation in aspect, but -ing clauses can be perfect
or perfect progressive, as well as simple. 25. Having sat here all day, Evelyn was completely bored. 26.
The performers were exhausted, having been singing for hours. As with other nonfinite clauses,
participles do not mark tense or agreement and cannot contain modal auxiliaries. Participles are always
used as modifiers or adverbials. • Gerunds Gerund clauses are clauses in which the first verb in the VP is
a gerund, an -ing form. The subject of a gerund may be omitted or may appear in either objective case
or possessive, but it can never be in the subject case. 27. I was surprised at them/their losing the race.
28. I was surprised at losing the race. Like infinitives and -ing participles, gerunds can appear in various
aspects and voices. 29. I was surprised at having lost the race. (Perfect) 30. They asked me about him/his
having been meeting with known felons. (Perfect Progressive) 31. Omar is pleased at being given the
"Student of the Year" award by his classmates. (Passive) 32. Having been attacked by bears at the zoo
convinced me not to visit there any more. (Perfect and Passive) • Verbless clauses Verbless clauses are,
as you might expect, clauses that appear to have no verbs. For example, in (33) - (36) the underlined
constituents act just like clauses, but have no verbs. 33. Though afraid of bears, Oliver was still willing to
go to Yosemite. 34. Those children, while nice enough, can't be trusted to do the right thing. 35.
Unhappy with the school, those parents threatened to withdraw their children. 36. Mary solved amazing
mathematical problems, while still a child. Notice that these clauses all act like have subject
complements and a missing verb be and a subject the same as the subject of the clause which contains
them. So (33) could also be expressed as 37. Though he was afraid of bears, Oliver was still willing to go
to Yosemite. These clauses are quite similar to adverbial participle clauses -- so the participle clause in
(38) bears a striking resemblance to the finite clause in (38). 38. While lying in wait for his victim, Jack
the Ripper played with his knife. 39. While he was lying in wait for his victim, Jack the Ripper played with
his knife. Digression on -ing Forms As you probably noticed, there are several different uses of verb + ing
forms in English. For example, -ing can be suffixed to a verb to make the first verb in the VP of a
participle clause as in the participle examples above and -ing can be suffixed to a verb to make the first
verb in the VP of a gerund clause as in the gerund examples above. As we discussed in talking about VPs,
verb + ing forms are used in progressives, as in a. I was drinking tea yesterday. b. They have been
helping me with my homework. -ing can be suffixed to a verb to make an adjective, as in c. Picasso
painted some amazing pictures. d. Nobody interesting would attend that boring party. -ing can be
suffixed to a verb to make a noun, as in e. The killing of the swans shocked us. f. The teacher was
pleased with their competent reworking of the problem. Progressive Verbs vs. Adjectives: It is possible
to confuse these superficially similar forms, but there are ways to distinguish them. Consider the
progressive form g. His diatribes were boring us. and the subject complement adjective form h. His
diatribes were boring. How can we tell the difference? One clear way is to notice that lexical verbs like
bore can take DOs, if the verb is transitive, but adjectives NEVER take objects. So since the (g) contains a
direct object us -- boring must be a progressive lexical verb. In (h) , boring does not have an object. Since
bore is a monotransitive verb, boring in (h) must be an adjective. Another argument that boring in (h)
arises from the fact that you can modify many adjectives with very, but no verbs. Notice that His
diatribes were very boring is fine, but *His diatribes were very boring us is ungrammatical. So once
again, boring in (g) is a lexical verb; boring in (h) is an adjective. In many cases there is no possibility of
confusing the two forms. For example, if the -ing form is serving as an attributive adjective after a
determiner, as in His boring diatribes were unending, boring here could not be a lexical verb, since no
lexical verb can appear in this role. Similarly, if the adjective undergoes further derivation that the verb
could not as in unending -- since there is no verb *unend, we know that unending must be an adjective.
Progressive Verbs vs. Gerunds: Again it would be possible to confuse a progressive verb with the first
verb of a gerund clause acting as a subject complement to a main verb be. Consider (i) and (j) below: i. In
a fit of madness, he was killing swans. j. The primary symptom of his madness was killing swans. In (i) we
have a progressive VP -- was killing, while in (j) we have a main verb was followed by a subject
complement gerund clause killing swans. How can we tell the difference? In (i), the subject is limited to
an agent or an instrument, because kill constrains its subjects that way. In (j), the subject is constrained
to being a abstract action or idea or event since the subject of a subject complement clause must be the
same as the subject complement and gerunds can only refer to actions, ideas, or events. Another way to
distinguish is that in (j), killing swans can be replaced by a NP his killing of swans or his slaughter of
swans as in The primary symptom of his madness was his killing/slaughter of swans, while in (i) it cannot
since *In a fit of madness, he was his killing/slaughter of swans is quite ungrammatical. Moreover, in (i)
we can just change the aspect and get a grammatical sentence with a slightly different aspectual sense,
In a fit of madness, he killed swans (simple aspect). However if we make the same change in (j) we get
something that means something quite different, The primary symptom of his madness killed swans. If
the gerund functioned as anything other than a subject complement, it could not be confused with a
progressive verb because it would not fall in the same place. Adjectives vs. Gerunds: NPs containing -ing
adjectives and gerund clauses can also be confused. Consider (k). On one reading, flying planes is a NP, a
head noun modified by flying. On the other reading, flying planes is a gerund clause which has a VP
flying and a DO planes. k. Flying planes can be dangerous. Notice that the ambiguity goes away if the
modal auxiliary is removed, leaving a verb which will show agreement. The first will be (l) and the
second (m). l. Flying planes are dangerous (the subject is a plural NP) m. Flying planes is dangerous (the
subject is a clause -- therefore third person singular). Consider also what happens if you add a
determiner -- it will precede an adjective phrase, so the sentence will be n. Those flying planes can be
dangerous but a determiner will immediately precede the noun (since the verb is not part of the NP), so
the sentence will be o. Flying those plans can be dangerous. Gerunds vs. Nouns: Most of the other -ing
forms are distinguishable because they mean different things. But consider something like p. Belle's
reading was wonderful. It is really not possible to distinguish whether this is a gerund clause with Belle
as its subject and reading as its VP or it is a noun reading with a possessive NP Belle's as its determiner.
Notice that it is possible under other conditions. For example, only nouns can be made plural, q. Belle's
readings were wonderful. How can we tell that readings here is a noun? Several ways. (1) Verbs can take
direct objects (and indirect objects and subject complements etc.), but nouns can only have PP
modifiers. So if we take Belle read the sonnets and make it a gerund, we get Belle('s) reading the
sonnets, but if we make it a noun, we get Belle's reading of the sonnets. Compare (r) and (s), q. Belle's
readings of the sonnets were wonderful. r. *Belle's readings the sonnets were wonderful. (r) is
ungrammatical because nouns cannot have direct objects and verbs cannot be marked as plural, so
readings can't be either a noun or the verb of a gerund clause. Similarly, nouns can be modified by
determiners, while gerunds only appear to be -- that is, if you try to put anything in the subject slot of a
gerund other than a possessive or object case NP, the structure produced is ungrammatical. If, on the
other hand, you put a determiner like the or demonstratives or other determiners, it is grammatical. So
compare (s) with (u) and (t) with (v). The ungrammaticality of (u) and (v) is because reading is forced to
be both a noun (and so modifiable by the) and a verb (and so able to take direct object). s. The reading
of the sonnets was wonderful. t. The readings of the sonnets were wonderful. u. *The reading the
sonnets was wonderful. v. *The readings the sonnets were wonderful. Moreover, VPs can be found in
perfect aspect and passive voice, but nouns can't contrast in aspect or voice, so (w) is grammatical
because Belle's having read the sonnets is a gerund, but (x) and (y) are ungrammatical because it
attempts to mark perfect aspect on the noun reading and (z) is grammatical because The sonnets being
read by Belle is a gerund clause, while (aa) is ungrammatical because The sonnets being read of by Belle
would be a noun showing voice. w. Belle's having read the sonnets was wonderful. x. *Belle's having
read of the sonnets was wonderful. y. *The having read of the sonnets was wonderful. z. The sonnets
being read by Belle was wonderful. aa. *The sonnets being read of by Belle was wonderful. Finally, if one
wants to modify reading as a noun, it is modified by an adjective phrase, as in bb. Belle's beautiful
reading of the sonnets was wonderful. not with a adverb phrase, as in cc. *Belle's reading of the sonnets
beautifully was wonderful. but if one wants to modify the verb reading, it must be modified by an
adverb phrase, as in dd. Belle's reading the sonnets beautifully was wonderful. not with an adjective
phrase, as in ee. *Belle's beautiful reading the sonnets was wonderful. In all these cases, we can see that
the distinctions between -ing forms that are gerunds and those that are nouns arises directly from the
differences between NPs and clauses, and between nouns and verbs. Gerunds vs. Participles: NPs in
which the head is modified by an -ing participle and gerund clauses can also be confused. Consider (af)
and (ag) below. ff. The bears attacking the innocent hiker were vicious. gg. The bears(') attacking the
innocent hiker was surprising. In (ab), the noun bears is modified by the participle clause attacking the
innocent hiker. If you replace the bears attacking the innocent hiker with a pronoun, it will be they --
clearly demonstrating that we have a plural NP. In (ac) the bears(') is functioning as the subject of the
predicate attacking the innocent hiker, giving a clause the bears(') attacking the innocent hiker as the
subject of was surprising. Notice that if you replace the bears' attacking the innocent hiker here with a
pronoun, you would replace it with it, as in It was surprising. This demonstrates that in this case the
bears' attacking the innocent hiker is not a NP with attacking the innocent hiker as a participial modifier,
instead it is a clause serving a nominal role and so can only be replaced with it. One distinction between
gerunds and participles that was hinted at above is that they clearly differ in function: Gerunds always
fill NP functions (subject, direct object, indirect object, object of a preposition, etc.), while participles are
always modifiers -- noun or pronoun modifiers or adverbials. Practice Identifying the Structure of
Subordinate Clauses Identify whether each of the underlined subordinate clauses below is finite or
nonfinite. Identify each nonfinite clause as an infinitive, a participle, a gerund or a verbless clause.
Identify each infinitive as bare or full. Identify each participle, as an -ing participle or an -en participle.
(Note: Not all the subordinate clauses have been underlined in the texts below.) The first time Jake saw
her, he was stunned by Miranda’s appearance. As she entered the room, she seemed to be bathed in
golden light. While standing with the sunlight all around her, she looked like an angel, with her white
dress, golden hair and innocent blue eyes. The president of the company led Miranda over to introduce
her to Jake. She smiled glowingly and held out her hand, but Jack acted as if he had never seen a gesture
like that before. Swept off his feet, he could not take his eyes off her, and he could not find a word to
say. After a few embarrassing seconds, he shook her hand, stammering out an almost incoherent
greeting. Miranda continued smiling at him in the courteous pretense that he had behaved perfectly
normally. This was not the first time her beauty had left a man standing speechless before her. She
asked him pleasantly what he did at the company. By that point he had pulled himself together and
could tell her he worked in communications. They looked at each other and the incongruity of his
answer and his behavior clearly struck each of them simultaneously and made them burst out laughing.
That was the beginning. Functions Most of these functions should look familiar – they’ve been discussed
in earlier chapters, filled by other structures. Predeterminers, determiners, adjective phrases and
prepositional phrases can all modify nouns or pronouns; noun phrases typically serve in nominal roles,
i.e., as subjects, direct objects, indirect objects, objects of prepositions, etc; adverb phrases,
prepositional phrases and noun phrases can all be adverbial; prepositional phrases can be adjective
complements. Comparative clauses are different in that the standard of comparison in a comparative
clause has historically been a clause only. • Noun-Modifying Clauses Nouns and pronouns can be
modified by a range of clauses: (1) relative clauses, (2) participle clauses, (3) infinitive clauses, (4) finite
noun clauses, and (5) infinitive noun clauses. Relative clauses: Traditionally, the term relative clause has
been used to refer to finite clauses which modify a head noun and which contain a relative pronoun 40.
The kid who stole that bike needs help. 41. The bike which he stole wasn't worth ten cents. or which
could contain a relative pronoun 42. The kid that stole that bike needs help. 43. The bike he stole wasn't
worth ten cents. Many traditional analyses would treat the that in (42) as a relative pronoun—but it is
clear on examining the distribution of that in relative clauses that it is not the same as who or which.
How does that differ from who or which? That cannot be the object of a preposition in the position
directly after the preposition: *The kid to that I talked was crazy. (Notice that, while the preceding
sentence is ungrammatical, the parallel sentence containing a true relative pronoun is fine: The kid to
whom I talked was crazy). Similarly it cannot be a possessor: *The kid that's bicycle was stolen was
angry. (Again the parallel sentence containing a true relative pronoun is fine: The kid whose bicycle was
stolen was angry). Instead of being a relative pronoun, that in relative clauses operates as it does in
other subordinate clauses—as a marker of subordination, a subordinating conjunction. It is also clear
that a simple relative clause cannot contain both a relative pronoun and a subordinating conjunction
since strings like *The kid that who stole the bike needs help and *The kid who that stole the bike needs
help are ungrammatical. If a relative clause contains a relative pronoun, then that relative pronoun is
interpreted as having a syntactic role in the relative clause: in (1) who is the subject of the relative clause
and in (2) which is the direct object of the relative clause. That, since it is not a pronoun, does not fill a
NP role in (3); instead there is a gap in the relative clause in the subject position and we interpret that
gap as though it was filled by the kid. It is also clear from (4) that under some conditions we can find
relative clauses which contain neither a relative pronoun nor an overt subordinator (that). These
conditions are relatively easy to specify. As in other relative clauses without relative pronouns there
must be a gap or apparently unfilled role in the relative clause. If the relative clause has neither a
relative pronoun nor a subordinator, the gap cannot be the subject of the relative clause: *That kid stole
that bike needs help or a possessor of another noun: *The kid('s) bike was stolen needs help. 44. The
woman whose friend you helped wants to talk to you. 45. *The woman whose you helped friend wants
to talk to you. 46. *The woman thats friend you helped wants to talk to you. 47. *The woman thats you
helped friend wants to talk to you. 48. *The woman's friend you helped wants to talk to you. (This is
grammatical in the reading that the woman's friend wants to talk to you, but not in the reading that the
woman wants to talk to you) 49. *The woman's you helped friend wants to talk to you. 50. *The woman
friend you helped wants to talk to you. (This is grammatical in the reading that the friend who is a
woman wants to talk to you, but not in the reading that the woman who has a friend whom you helped
wants to talk to you) 51. *The woman you helped friend wants to talk to you. There are, therefore, three
kinds of noun-modifying relative clauses: those with relative pronouns, those with that, and those with
neither. If the role of the gap in the relative clause would be that of possessor, there must be an overt
relative pronoun. If the role of the gap would be that of subject of the subordinate clause, then there
must be either a relative pronoun or the subordinator that. Elsewhere in restrictive relative clauses all
three kinds of relative clauses are possible. A Digression on Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Modification
Adjective phrases, prepositional phrases, and relative clauses among other noun modifiers can be either
restrictive or non-restrictive modifiers. Restrictive modifiers contain information which the speaker or
writer considers necessary for the hearer or reader to be able to pick out the referents of the noun
phrase which contains the modifier: a. I have one uncle in Massachusetts and one in California. My uncle
who lives in Massachusetts is a baker. In the example above, the information that the uncle in question
is the one living in Massachusetts is intended to help you pick out with uncle I am talking about.
Nonrestrictive modifiers occur in noun phrases which the speaker or writer thinks the hearer or reader
can determine a referent for without using the material in the relative clause. b. My mother, who lives in
California, is a lawyer. You don't need the information about where she lived to pick out which of my
many mothers I was talking about. It is possible for a nonrestrictive modifier in any NP in which the
information provided is not necessary to pick out the referent for that NP; that is not the same as saying
that the nonrestrictive modifier is unnecessary to the sentence or that it does not convey any
information. In fact, non-restrictive modifiers are more likely to provide new, rather than already
established information, than restrictive modifiers. Restrictive modifiers to help you pick out the
referent typically use already established information. Nonrestrictive modifiers can offer new
information, but not information needed to pick out the referent for the NP as a whole. It isn't necessary
for the NP to have a unique referent. Notice the difference between (c) and (d): c. Pintos which had a
dangerous design were recalled. d. Pintos, which had a dangerous design, were recalled. In (d) there is a
class of cars which includes some which were badly designed. (The relative clause restricts or limits the
referents of the NP to a subset of pintos. In (e) there is a class of cars, pwhich are badly designed(The
relative clause doesrestrict or limit the referents of the NPs, instead it merely tells you something more
about the set.) This semantic difference correlates with a structural difference and an orthographic
difference. Nonrestrictive relative clauses always require the presence of a relative pronoun, as shown in
f. The president, whom I talked to yesterday, decided not to take my advice. g. *The president, that I
talked to yesterday, decided not to take my advice. h. *The president, I talked to yesterday, decided not
to take my advice. while, as we have seen above, restrictive relative clauses can occur without relative
pronouns, as shown in 40.i. The student that I talked to yesterday decided not to take my advice. 41.j.
The student I talked to yesterday decided not to take my advice. In writing, the non-restrictive relative
clause is set off with commas (that is, there is a comma before and a comma after the relative clause),
while the restrictive relative clause is not. (This correlates with the typically intonation pattern found
with these clauses: nonrestrictive relative clauses are usually preceded by a pause and followed by one,
which restrictive relative clauses are not.) A traditional distinction between restrictive and nonrestrictive
modifiers has been to claim that the nonrestrictive modifiers are not necessary: however, as we have
seen, this way of discussing the distinction is misleading. Both restrictive and non-restrictive modifiers
are typically not needed in the sense that the sentence will be ungrammatical without them. Further,
many students interpret this as meaning that nonrestrictive relatives do not convey information. That
interpretation is clearly wrong: the nonrestrictive modifier typically carries as much information as the
restrictive modifier does or more; the information is just not pertinent to establishing the referent of the
NP in which it occurs. The relative clauses italicized in (k) -(n) below are all restrictive modifiers, while
those in (o) -(p) are nonrestrictive. 40.k. My brother wants anything (that) he can get. 41.l. The person
who left first missed important things. 42.m. I sold John a house which had no roof. 43.n. Harriet left the
book she had written on the table. 44.o. Yesterday I called my father, who lives in Los Angeles. 45.p.
Charley jumped out of his car, which had burst into flames. Participle Clauses: Another way to modify
nouns or pronouns is with participles. Participial noun modifiers never have overt subjects in the clause
with the participle. Notice that participial modifiers are typically interchangeable with relative clause. So
in (52) the -ing participle clause modifies the noun lock, while in (53) the (finite) relative clause serves
the same function and conveys the same meaning. 52. The lock hanging from the box was attacked with
a hammer. 53. The lock which was hanging from the box was attacked with a hammer. Similarly, in (54)
the -ed participle clause modifies Charley (nonrestrictively), while in (55) the (finite) relative clause
modifies Charley and provides the same information. 54. Charley, abandoned by his girlfriend, wept
constantly. 55. Charley, who was abandoned by his girlfriend, wept constantly. Each of these participial
noun modifiers can be changed into relative clauses by adding an appropriate relative pronoun and form
of be. It is however not quite that simple since if the verb of the participle clause is not one which could
be used in the progressive, it is not enough to add a relative pronoun and form of be, instead one has to
change the verb to a different form to avoid progressive aspect, as in 56. Anyone knowing about his
problems would forgive him. 57. *Anyone who was knowing about his problems would forgive him. 58.
Anyone who knew about his problems would forgive him. In general, however, one can check out
whether a form is a noun-modifying participle clause by seeing whether one can convert the participle
clause into a finite relative clause without changing the meaning. Infinitive Clauses: A somewhat less
frequent form used to modify nouns is an infinitive clause. 59. The food for the children to eat at the
party is here. 60. The chapter to read for Friday is nineteen. 61. I gave the students a new assignment to
have completed by the end of the week. 62. I gave the students a new assignment to be working on for
the next two weeks. 63. Harold built this house for them to live in. When an infinitival noun modifier has
an overt subject as in (59) and (63), it is always introduced by the subordinating conjunction for and the
subject of the infinitive (as with all overt subjects of infinitives) is in the object case if the subject is
pronominal. Notice that noun-modifying infinitive clauses differ from noun-modifying participle clauses
in several ways. Noun-modifying participle clauses do not refer to a time after the time of the main
clause. Noun-modifying participle clauses never contain overt subjects. The noun or pronoun modified
by a participle clause is interpreted as the semantic subject of the participle clause; the noun or pronoun
modified by an infinitive clause is never interpreted as the semantic subject of the infinitive clause. Noun
Complements--Finite and Infinitive: There is a class of noun-modifying clauses which look superficially
like relative clauses without relative pronouns. These clauses are sometimes called noun complements,
sometimes called noun clauses, and sometimes called appositive clauses. 64. My fear that a plane will
crash into my moving car is clearly silly. 65. Oscar can't accept the idea that he might lose the race. 66.
Many people agree with his contention that war is evil. 67. The fact that Henry is lazy amazes everyone.
68. We entertained a suspicion that Mink had cheated. These clauses are semantically and structurally
distinct from relative clauses: First, they cannot replace the subordinator with a relative pronoun: *My
fear which a plane will crash into my moving car is clearly silly and *Oscar can't accept the idea that he
might lose the race. Second, the clause after the that is a complete clause—it contains no gaps or
unfilled syntactic roles: A plane will crash into my moving car, He might lose the race. This contrasts with
relative clauses containing that : The kid that stole my bike is ... would give *Stole my bike. Third, the
head of NP modified by a noun clause must refer to an idea, claim or other proposition since the noun
clause is a proposition and the noun clause is the proposition referred to by the head; that is, that a
plane will crash into my moving car IS my fear, while that stole my bike is an attribute of the kid in the
NP, it is not itself the kid. There are infinitive clauses which fill the same role as finite noun clauses. They
modify nouns which name propositions by stating the proposition. 69. Her decision not to study resulted
in failure. 70. The adults found it hard to accept the children's claim to be in charge. 71. They were
astonished by my desire for you to win a million dollars. 72. The decision to drink heavily during classes
is rarely a good one. • Adverbial Clauses Clauses can serve essentially all the adverbial functions we have
already discussed: time, location, reason, purpose, conditions, concessions/contrasts, among others.
Finite clauses serving as adverbials are introduced by a subordinating conjunctions: when, while, before,
after, since, until, because, if, unless, even if, as if, so that, in order that, as, though, although, even
though, whereas, etc. 73. When the doctor came, we all felt great relief. 74. Jennifer cried because
someone stepped on her toes. 75. That guy in the corner, if Bill is right about him, might be very
dangerous. 76. Harvey might, if the light is right, take beautiful pictures. Adverbial clauses can typically
be put in the same places in the sentences as other adverbials -- so they can be initial as in (73), final as
in (74) or medial after the subject as in (75) or after the first auxiliary as in (76). Participle clauses serving
as adverbials can be in introduced by some of the subordinating conjunctions, when, while, if, even if,
unless, though, although, and even though as in (77-79) or they can be used without any subordinating
conjunctions at all as in (80-82). 77. If assisted by a nurse, a patient can come to the meeting room. 78.
Andreas made many friends in artistic circles, while living in France. 79. Harriet might, though confused
by the many misleading street signs, still come in first. 80. Watched by the FBI during many nefarious
acts, the archfiend was unaware of his vulnerability to arrest. 81. Oscar could, seeing Emily, hardly
believe his luck. 82. The kids have played Monopoly all day, amazing their parents with their
concentration. Adverbial infinitive clauses express purpose, as in (83-85). 83. O'Brien dieted for three
weeks to lose three pounds. 84. She is going to France in order to study art. 85. I bought a car to drive to
school. • Nominal Clauses Nominal clauses are clauses which serve in roles typically filled by noun
phrases: roles like subject, direct object, indirect object, objects of a preposition, subject complement or
object complement. Gerund Clauses: Gerund clauses only fill nominal roles and fill the widest range of
nominal roles. Gerund clauses like other nominal clauses can serve as subjects as in (86) and direct
objects as in (97) and subject complements as in (88). Unlike other nominal clauses they can serve as
objects of prepositions as in (89) and indirect objects as in (90). 86. a. Riding a roller coaster gives some
people a thrill. b. That man('s) winning the race surprised everyone. 87. a. Does your brother like writing
hack novels? b. You reported Harold('s) stealing the money from your desk. 88. a. Juliette's favorite
activity is winning blue ribbons. b. The most ridiculous performance was Bill's telling jokes about the
bishop to the priest. 89. a. Maria earns money by working at the school. b. I was horrified at Harold('s)
stealing the money from your desk. 90. a. Harriet gave buying that overpriced dress a lot of thought, but
decided against it. b. Harriet gave Miriam('s) flying a plane to France no credence. Gerund clauses can
serve as object complements (as in 91), but they almost always sound better flipped so that the gerund
clause serves as the direct object instead (as in 92). 91. a. The students considered the first task writing
an outline for their group project. b. I found the most heinous act Harold('s) stealing the money from
your desk. 92. a. The students considered writing an outline for their group project the first task. b. I
found Harold('s) stealing the money from your desk the most heinous act. That Clauses and Infinitive
Clauses: That-clauses and infinitive clauses are really only good as subjects (as in 93), direct objects (as in
94), and subject complements (as in 95). 93. a. That Oscar stole money from the bank shocked his
parents. b. For you to accuse me of unkindness is unjust. c. To write hack novels is a strange activity. 94.
a. Do you believe that Oscar stole money from the bank? b. They expected you to accuse me of
unkindness. c. I like to write hack novels. 95. a. The most shocking claim was that Oscar stole money
from the bank. b. The worst thing that could happen would be for you to accuse me of unkindness. c.
They thought the worst possible misbehavior was to write hack novels. Bare infinitives are really only
good as direct objects (as in (96). 96. a. I saw Oscar steal the money. b. Oscar had me steal the money.
Indirect Questions: Indirect questions are questions embedded in nominal roles in another clause. For
example (97) has an indirect question as a subject, (98) and (100) have indirect questions as direct
objects and (99) has an indirect question as a subject complement. 97. What you did is the question. 98.
I asked Suzette where Oswald had left the car. 99. The question is whether/if you know the answer. 100.
I wonder what to do. Indirect questions can be either finite (as in (97-99)) or infinitive (as in (100)). Finite
indirect questions differ from main clause/direct questions in two major ways: (1) in all questions an
operator is not required and (2) in yes-no questions a subordinating conjunction, whether or if is
required. The direct questions that parallel the indirect questions in (97) and (98) are What did you do?
and Where had Oswald left the car? In both direct questions, an operator is required to precede the
subject of the question; in the indirect questions, no operator can grammatically precede the subject, so
*What did you do is the question and *I asked Suzette where had Oswald left the car are
ungrammatical. Similarly in (99) no operator can precede the subject of the indirect question as it would
in the parallel direct question, Do you know the answer? Instead a subordinating conjunction, either
whether or if is required, so *The question is whether/if do you know the answer, *The question is do
you know the answer 1 , and *The question is you know the answer are ungrammatical. Indirect
questions also differ from direct questions filling the same role, because direct discourse in general
constitutes using the exact words of the person to whom the words are attributed, while in indirect
discourse the structure of the question is changed to fit the sentence in which it appears. Specifically,
pronouns and tense are changed to fit the current structure. So, using direct discourse forms, one might
say Bill asked me “What are you doing?” while using indirect discourse to convey the same information,
one would say Bill asked me what I was doing. The question serving as the direct object in the first
example is presented as Bill’s exact words: the clause is in the form of a direct question, with an
operator preceding its subject, a second person pronoun (because Bill was talking to me using a
question with me referred to as the subject) and the question itself is asking about the time of the
utterance, so it is in the present tense. In the second example, there is no operator before the subject,
the pronoun in the indirect question is “I” because its subject is the same as the speaker of the entire
sentence and the tense is past because the current sentence is talking about past time. Headless
Relative Clauses: These oddly named clauses are another kind of nominal clause -- unlike other nominal
clauses they are used to refer to entities, rather than propositions, questions or events. Unlike the noun-
modifying relative clauses discussed above, these clauses are not used to modify nouns. They are
sometimes called nominal relative clauses and sometimes called headless relative clauses. They serve as
complete noun phrases (therefore as in the first label) without any head noun in the noun phrase
(therefore headless as in the second label). Therefore, since that serve as 101.What you saw was not a
UFO. (subject of the main clause) 102.I will grab whoever creeps in the window after curfew. (direct
object of the main clause) 103.Charley gave what I told him serious thought. (indirect object of the main
clause) 104.Whichever book you choose from the list will meet our requirement. (subject of the main
clause) 105.Mary will come with whoever has a car. (object of a preposition in the main clause) 106.I will
call you what(ever) you want to be called. (object complement of the main clause) These clauses are all
interpreted as though they had a head. Who(m)ever is used for humans; whichever, what, whatever are
used for inanimates; whichever and whatever are used as (non- 1 Notice that a direct question can act
to fill these grammatical roles in some of these questions, as in I asked Suzette “Where has Oswald left
the car?” and The question is “Do you know the answer?”. In direct questions the speaker is directly
quoting the person to whom the question-asker. possessive) determiners. The only wh- word in the set
that can occur in these clause without - ever is what . In formal SAE the choice of whoever or whomever
is determined by the role of the pronoun in the headless or nominal relative clause: so 107.a. Whoever
saw the thieves should come forward. b. Whomever the thieves robbed should come forward. 108.a. I
will talk to whoever needs help. b. I will talk to whomever I can help. not 109.a. *I will talk to whomever
needs help. b. *I will talk to whomever I think needs help. Unlike ordinary relative pronouns, however,
the preposition in the subordinate clause which has the wh-word as its object cannot move to the front
of the clause with the pronoun: 110.a. *Susan will buy with whatever tools you designed that. b. Susan
will buy whatever tools you designed that with. • Adjective Complement Clauses Just like prepositional
phrases, that-clauses and infinitive clauses can serve as adjective complements. As with other adjective
complements, the adjective determiners whether it can have a complement and what kind of
complement it may be. For example, afraid can have a prepositional phrase complement with the
preposition of, as in I am afraid of bears, or a thatclause complement, as in (111), or a full infinitive
clause complement, as in (112). 111.I am afraid that they are lost. 112.I am afraid to go. Other adjectives
can't take infinitive clause complements -- so aware and conscious can both take that-clause
complements as in (113) and (114), but not infinitive clause complements. 113. Jane was conscious that
something unpleasant had happened 114. The bear seemed aware that we were watching it. Some
adjectives can take infinitive clause complements, but not that-clause complements, like eager or
reluctant, as in (115) and (116). 115.He's eager to help me. 116.I'm reluctant to let him help me. In all
these cases, if the adjective were change the form of the complement or even the possibility of having a
complement would change. Consider adjectives like tall or devout -- none of them allow complements. If
any of them were to be used in place of the adjective heads in the subject complement adjective
phrases in (111) - (116), the resulting sentences would be ungrammatical. On the other hand, an
adjective like happy or sad which allows both kinds of clausal complements can be substituted in the
appropriate place in (111) - (116) and the resulting sentences would mean something different, but they
would be grammatical. • Comparative Clauses When you draw a comparison of one thing to another,
the thing being compared to is the standard of comparison. You can note the equality between
something and the standard and comparison or an inequality. The standard of comparison is typically
expressed in a clause after the subordinating conjunction as when the thing compared is being equated
to the standard of comparison (equative), as in (117), or after the subordinating conjunction that when
the something is greater or less than the standard of comparison (comparative), as in (118). The main
clause in both equative and comparative sentences contains a marker that indicates the kind of
comparison is being drawn, as is used in equative sentences and more or a comparative adjective or
adverb (a form with the suffix -er) in comparative sentences. 117. Charley is as wide as he is tall. 118.
Mary likes ravioli more than Charley hates spaghetti. 119. Mary sings more often than she dances. 120.
Charley sings as well as he dances. When the things being compared are on different dimensions, the
subordinate clause must be a complete clause. So in (116) - (119), the as clause and the than clause
contain complete subjects and predicates. When the predicates of the two clauses would be the same,
the predicate in the standard of comparison clause can be reduced or omitted altogether, as in (121-
125) 121. Charley is as tall as Mary is. 122. Mary likes ravioli more than Charley does. 123. Mary is as tall
as Charley. 124. Mary likes ravioli more than Charley. 125. I did less than I should have. If the subject and
verb phrase of the two clauses are the same, the subject and verb phrase can often be reduced or
omitted altogether, as in (126-127) 126. The children like spaghetti as much as (they do/like) ravioli.
127.The children like spaghetti more than (they do/like) ravioli. Sometimes, however, it cannot be, so
(128) is ungrammatical. 128. *Charley is as wide as tall. One result of this kind of reduction is ambiguity.
When you have a sentence like (129), 129. Charley likes Mary more than Susan. it is ambiguous between
the reading in which Susan is the subject of the clause than Susan likes Mary and the reading in which
Susan is the direct object of the clause than Charley likes Susan. In formal written English, this is
distinguished when Susan is replaced with a pronoun, since the first reading will result in Susan being
replaced by she, as in (130), while in the second reading Susan would be replaced by her, as in (131).
130. Charley likes Mary more than she. 131. Charley likes Mary more than her. In less formal usage,
Susan would be replaced with her in both readings, suggesting that in less formal usage, than can be
used as a preposition which takes an OP naming a nominal standard of comparison as well as a
subordinating conjunction which must appear in a clause which contains an overt predicate. (This is
stigmatized in formal writing. It is easy to avoid, however, by simply using an overt, verb-ful clause like
(122)-(126).) Practice Identifying the Structure and Function of Subordinate Clauses a. Identify the
function (noun/pronoun-modifying, nominal, adverbial, adjective complement, comparative) of each of
the underlined subordinate clauses in Text 1 below (the same text as earlier in this chapter). Text 1: The
first time Jake saw her, he was stunned by Miranda’s appearance. As she entered the room, she seemed
to be bathed in golden light. While standing with the sunlight all around her, she looked like an angel,
with her white dress, golden hair and innocent blue eyes. The president of the company led Miranda
over to introduce her to Jake. She smiled glowingly and held out her hand, but Jack acted as if he had
never seen a gesture like that before. Swept off his feet, he could not take his eyes off her, and he could
not find a word to say. After a few embarrassing seconds, he shook her hand, stammering out an almost
incoherent greeting. Miranda continued smiling at him in the courteous pretense that he had behaved
perfectly normally. This was not the first time her beauty had left a man standing speechless before her.
She asked him pleasantly what he did at the company. By that point he had pulled himself together and
could tell her he worked in communications. They looked at each other and the incongruity of his
answer and his behavior clearly struck each of them simultaneously and made them burst out laughing.
That was the beginning. b. Underline each of the subordinate clauses in Text 2 below. c. Identify the
structure (finite, infinitive, participle, gerund) of each of the clauses you underline in Text 2 below. d.
Identify the function (noun/pronoun-modifying, nominal, adverbial, adjective complement,
comparative) of each of the clauses you underline in Text 2 below. Text 2: The sad truth is that many
Americans do not vote. In fact, when there is no presidential election, the overwhelming majority of
Americans do not go to the polls. Where is the excitement which people in a republic should feel about
participating in the governing of their town, state and nation? Why is it so difficult to vote? Why are
people who care about their community and participate in local and national regular and primary
elections viewed as extremists? Why do people believe that politics, the source of the people’s power, is
a “dirty business”? I don’t know the answer to these questions, but I do know that part of the problem is
the suggestion that government itself is the problem for a free people. A president of the United States,
Ronald Reagan, campaigned on the premise that the government is the problem. If government is the
problem according to the people controlling the power in our government, how can we expect the
people to want to participate in the creation and running of the government? We are in danger of losing
our republic when we don’t engage in the easiest and yet greatest responsibility and privilege of
citizenship. What can we do that is more important than choosing the men and women who serve us by
running our government? If, as the founders of our nation believed, the only legitimacy a government
has is the consent of the governed, then how can we have that consent if the populace considers
participation in the political process to be dirty or unimportant? I wonder how we can continue as a
republic when the only elections we applaud are those of other nations. Fights for power may not be
pretty, but fights for honorable debate and the struggle to find our way toward a brighter future are
crucial and noble. Ultimately if we back away from politics, we hand our future and our children’s future
over to those who would make all governance dirty. (Microsoft Word - chapter7.doc (wsu.edu) ) – last
seen 23.12.2020

For + Gerund Clause

State the function of things — What is it for?

Stating Function

NAME OR SUBSTANCE

When asked What is it?  we respond with the name or substance of the thing.

QUESTION RESPONSE
What is it? It is a box cutter.

    string.

    postal tape.

FUNCTION   

When asked What is it for?  we respond with the function of the thing.  A gerund clause is used
after for.

QUESTION RESPONSE

What is it for? It is for opening boxes.

    for tying up boxes.

    for taping boxes.

 
Also see Prep Complements.

Contrast
Function, Purpose and Means

 
 

FUNCTION - GERUND

When we ask  What is it for?  we focus on the function of the thing. We use for followed by a

noun or a gerund. 

What's it for?  (focus on instrument)

It is for boxes. (noun)
A box cutter is for opening boxes. (gerund)

It is for newspapers.
String is for tying up newspapers. 

It is for packages.
Postal tape is for taping packages.  

PURPOSE OR INTENT -  INFINITIVE

When we ask  What do you use it for?  we focus on the user.  We use an infinitive verb form.

Why do you use it?   (focus on person)

I use boxcutter to open boxes.

I use it in order to open boxes.

I use string to tie up newspapers.

I use string in order to tie up newspapers.

I use postal tape to tape packages.

I use postal tape in order to tape packages.

 
Related page In Order to

 
 

Stating Method or Means 

METHOD -  BY + GERUND PHRASE

We use by to indicate a method or means of doing something.  By is followed with a gerund

phrase. 

How?  (method)

You can open it by using a boxcutter.

You can open it by cutting the string.

You can open it by tearing the end.

MEANS  -  WITH + NOUN PHRASE

We use with to indicate a method or means of doing something.  With is followed by a noun

phrase (a tool, implement, system, etc.). 

How?  (means, tool, implement)

You can open it with a boxcutter.

You can open it with scissors.

You can open it with a letter opener.

 
Related page  By + Gerund     

 
 

Common Mistakes
Errors and Solutions

Error and Solution

ERROR

Why did you come here?

*I came here for getting a good education.
*I came here for to get a good education.
*I came here for get a good education.

What is an education for? 

*Its for open your mind.

SOLUTION

 
I came here to get a good education.  (purpose / reason)
I came here in order to get a good education.

It's for opening your mind.  (function)

 
 

Practice
Functions of Gadgets

Complete the sentence with an expression for function, purpose or means.

1. Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence. 

2. Compare your response to the feedback by clicking the "Check 1-10" button at the bottom, or

click the "Check" button to the left  as you go.

1.

What's this little gadget for? 

— —
It's                       the number of footsteps you take and                   

distance you travel while exercising.

gadget - a small mechanical or electronic device 

Feedback 1 

2.
 How do you use a pedometer? 

—
You use it                it onto your waistband.

Feedback 2 

3.

How do you measure how many steps you take while jogging?

—
I do it                                                   .

Feedback 3 

4.
What is this device for? 

—
It is                                                                     the on and off switch of a

lamp.
Feedback 4 

5.
How do you turn your lamps on and off?

—
I do it                                                               .

Feedback 5 

6.

How do you turn your lamps on and off at night while you're away on vacation?

—
I do it                                                each lamp into an automatic timer.

Feedback 6 

7.

What is that lock for?

—
It is                                              my things safely inside a gym locker.
Feedback 7 

8.
How do you keep your things safe while you're in the gym?

—
I secure it                                                    them in my lnside my locker.

Feedback 8 

9.

How do you secure your locker?

—
I secure it             .

Feedback 9 

10.
 What do you use Krazy glue for?

—
I use it                                                   together things that have come apart .

Feedback 10 

11.

What's Krazy Glue for?

—
It is                chipped dishes.

Feedback 11 

12.
How do you fix chips on the edges of dishes?

—
I fix it           Krazy glue on the pieces. Then I hold the pieces together until they stick.

Feedback 12 

(For + Gerund Clause – Function | Grammar Quizzes (grammar-quizzes.com) ) last seen 23.12.2020
Gerunds | Grammar Quizzes (grammar-quizzes.com)

4 Types of Gerunds and Gerund Phrases

By Mark Nichol

A gerund is one of three classes of words called verbals — words based on verbs and expressing an
action or a state of being but serving another grammatical function. (The other two are participles
and infinitives.) A gerund, which functions as a noun, can consist of a single word or a phrase.

The four types of gerunds and gerund phrases follow:

1. Subject
Gardening is my favorite hobby. (Gardening is normally a verb, but here it is the name of an activity.)
Gardening in the summertime is a challenge because of the heat. (The gerund is followed by a
modifying adverbial phrase, forming a gerund phrase.)

2. Direct Object
My neighbors admire my gardening. (The admiration is not for the action of gardening, but for the
results of the action.)
I am enjoying my gardening this year. (The direct object of the subject is “my gardening this year.”)

3. Object of Preposition
I have received several awards for my gardening. (The awards have been given for the results of the
activity.)
Some people consider my interest in gardening an obsession. (The gerund phrase is “gardening an
obsession.”)

4. Subject Complement
My favorite hobby is gardening. (Again, gardening is described as something done, not the act of
doing it. The statement is the inverse of the first sentence in this group; here “My favorite hobby” is
the subject, and gardening is its complement.)
I do my gardening in the morning. (The phrase “gardening in the morning” is the subject
complement.)

Confusion with Present Participle Phrases

If a sentence resembling one of these statements includes a comma, it’s likely to contain a present
participle phrase, not a gerund phrase. For example, the sentence “Gardening in the summertime, I
built up a resistance to hot weather” contains a present participle phrase, which includes a participle,
a verb functioning as an adjective or an adverb.
(4 Types of Gerunds and Gerund Phrases (dailywritingtips.com) ) last seen 23.12.2020

Gerunds
A gerund is a verbal that ends in -ing and functions as a noun. The term verbal indicates
that a gerund, like the other two kinds of verbals, is based on a verb and therefore
expresses action or a state of being. However, since a gerund functions as a noun, it
occupies some positions in a sentence that a noun ordinarily would, for example:
subject, direct object, subject complement, and object of preposition.
Gerund as subject:
  Traveling might satisfy your desire for new experiences. (Traveling is the gerund.)
 The study abroad program might satisfy your desire for new experiences. (The gerund
has been removed.)

Gerund as direct object:

 They do not appreciate my singing. (The gerund is singing.)

 They do not appreciate my assistance. (The gerund has been removed)

Gerund as subject complement:

 My cat's favorite activity is sleeping. (The gerund is sleeping.)

 My cat's favorite food is salmon. (The gerund has been removed.)

Gerund as object of preposition:

 The police arrested him for speeding. (The gerund is speeding.)

 The police arrested him for criminal activity. (The gerund has been removed.)

A gerund phrase is a group of words consisting of a gerund and the modifier(s) and/or
(pro)noun(s) or noun phrase(s) that function as the direct object(s), indirect object(s), or
complement(s) of the action or state expressed in the gerund, such as:
The gerund phrase functions as the subject of the sentence.
Finding a needle in a haystack would be easier than what we're trying to do.

Finding (gerund)
a needle (direct object of action expressed in gerund)
in a haystack (prepositional phrase as adverb)
The gerund phrase functions as the direct object of the verb appreciate.
I hope that you appreciate my offering you this opportunity.

my (possessive pronoun adjective form, modifying the gerund)

offering (gerund)
you (indirect object of action expressed in gerund)
this opportunity (direct object of action expressed in gerund)
The gerund phrase functions as the subject complement.
Tom's favorite tactic has been jabbering away to his constituents.

jabbering away to (gerund)

his constituents (direct object of action expressed in gerund)
The gerund phrase functions as the object of the preposition for.
You might get in trouble for faking an illness to avoid work.

faking (gerund)
an illness (direct object of action expressed in gerund)
to avoid work (infinitive phrase as adverb)
The gerund phrase functions as the subject of the sentence.
Being the boss made Jeff feel uneasy.
Being (gerund)
the boss (subject complement for Jeff, via state of being expressed in gerund)
Punctuation
A gerund virtually never requires any punctuation with it.
Points to remember:
1. A gerund is a verbal ending in -ing that is used as a noun.
2. A gerund phrase consists of a gerund plus modifier(s), object(s), and/or complement(s).
3. Gerunds and gerund phrases virtually never require punctuation.

(Gerunds // Purdue Writing Lab ) last seen 23.12.2020

Preceding a Gerund with a
Possessive -
DailyWritingTips

Preceding a Gerund with a Possessive

Posted: 24 Jul 2014 09:33 PM PDT
A gerund is an -ing verb form that is used as a noun.
Like any other noun, a gerund can function as the subject or object of a verb, or as the object of a
preposition:

1. Gardening is my favorite hobby. (noun, subject of “is”)

2. He likes shooting skeet. (noun, object of “likes”)

3. He loves to talk about hunting. (noun, object of the preposition “about”)

4. Do you mind my asking a question? (noun, object of “mind”)

This post is about the use of my in the fourth example.

Why precede the gerund asking with the possessive adjective my? Why not write, “Do you
mind me asking a question?”
In this sentence, the word asking is a gerund. A gerund is a noun. Nouns are modified by adjectives, not
by other nouns or pronouns. Consider: Because some people don’t like animals, I ask a guest, “Do you
mind my dog?” I wouldn’t say, “Do you mind me dog.” Ergo, I wouldn’t say, “Do you mind me asking?”

That’s the reasoning and the rule.

Then there’s popular usage:

If you don’t mind him calling you at work, give him your business card.
If you don’t mind them losing your possessions, then this is the hotel for you.

You should take out the garbage without me asking.

H. W. Fowler calls the construction of preceding a gerund with a noun or accusative pronoun a “fused
participle” and devotes several tetchy pages to it in Modern English Usage. He illustrates the problem
with three sentences:

1. Women having the vote share political power with men.

(This example is grammatically correct: having is a participle modifying the subject women.)

2. Women’s having the vote reduces men’s political power.

(This example is grammatically correct: having is a gerund modified by the possessive women’s.)

3. Women having the vote reduces men’s political power.

(This example is ungrammatical.)

Fowler points out that because the verb reduces is singular, women cannot be its subject.
Yet, having can’t be the subject because that would leave women “in the air” without a grammatical
function. He says the construction is a compound notion that fuses the noun women with the
participle having. He calls this construction a “fused participle,” denouncing it altogether as
“grammatically indefensible.”

Modern grammarians still prefer preceding the gerund with a possessive in formal usage, but do not
uniformly condemn the fused participle as Fowler did.

A writer at a site about legal prose observes that sometimes a fused participle is the only idiomatic choice:

There are exceptions–sentences in which idiom simply demands that a participle be fused, or else the
sentence rewritten altogether.–Lawprose.org/.

Some of the exceptions cited as being accepted by “respected usage commentators” are:

The likelihood of that happening is nil.

He frequently felt a chance of this happening.

He disapproved of politicians still in their prime writing memoirs.

Blindly following the rule with these sentences would produce the following unidiomatic constructions:

The likelihood of that’s happening is nil.

He frequently felt a chance of this’s happening.

He disapproved of politicians still in their prime’s writing memoirs.

Careful writers will continue to think carefully about which word precedes a gerund in formal writing.
Even in informal speech and writing, a construction like, “I hate my husband being passed over at work”
is to be avoided. As the speaker does not, presumably, hate her husband, the better choice is, “I hate my
husband’s being passed over at work.”

Preceding a Gerund with a Possessive (dailywritingtips.com) last seen 26.12.2020

A Gerund Is a Verb and a

Noun in One -
DailyWritingTips

A Gerund Is a Verb and a Noun in One

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 02:06 AM PST
A gerund is a verb that also functions as a noun. For example, one can say one is engaged in the act of
writing, but one can also say that what one is doing is a thing called writing. A gerund can be part of the
subject of a sentence (“Writing takes a lot of effort”) or part of the object (“I’ve done a lot of writing”).
Most writers generally employ gerunds without difficulty, but one aspect of their use can be confusing:
the genitive case.
In the genitive case, the pronoun associated with the gerund takes a different form than it would when
associated with the same word used as a verb. For example, when expressing that you listened to some
people talking, you would write, “I heard them talking.” However, if you are emphasizing talking as a
thing rather than an action, you would write, “I heard their talking.” Or, consider the difference between
“They heard it breaking” (breaking is a verb) and “They heard its breaking” (breaking is a gerund).
Writers should also make a distinction with possessive forms of nouns: “The girl shouting awakened her
parents” uses shouting as a verb (girl is the subject); in “The girl’s shouting awakened her parents,”
however, shouting is a gerund (and shouting, not girl, is the subject).
In many instances, the difference in connotation is insignificant, but whether one employs a simple verb
or uses it as a gerund can change the sense of the sentence.

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