Вопрос 16. The problem of discrimination participle, gerund and the verbal noun
The gerund is another verbid that serves as the verbal name of a process and combines verbal features with those of a noun; the gerund, like the infinitive, can be characterized as a phenomenon of hybrid processual-substantive nature, intermediary between the verb and the noun.
It is even closer to the noun, because besides performing the substantive functions in a sentence like the infinitive, it can also be modified by an attribute and can be used with a preposition, which the infinitive can not do, e.g.: Thank you for listening to me; Your careful listening to me is very much appreciated.
Functions:
The functions of the gerund in the sentence are as follows - that of a subject, e.g.: Your listening to me is very much appreciated; It’s no use crying over spilt milk; of a predicative, e.g.: The only remedy for such headache is going to bed; of an object, e.g.: I love reading; of an attribute, e.g.: He had a gift of listening; of an adverbial modifier, e.g.:On entering the house I said “hello”.
Verbal noun is a noun formed from or otherwise corresponding to a verb. Different languages have different types of verbal noun and different ways of forming and using them. An example of a verbal noun in English is the word singing in the sentence "I think singing is fun" (this is a noun formed from the verb sing). Verbal nouns may be non-finite verb forms such as infinitives or gerunds in English (or Latin) usage.
They may also be "pure" verbal nouns, formed from verbs, but behaving grammatically entirely like nouns rather than verbs (not taking direct objects, for example).
!!!! The verbal features distinguish the gerund from the verbal noun, which may be homonymous with the indefinite active form of the gerund, but,
1. it has no other verbal forms (passive or perfect);
2. cannot take a direct object, but only prepositional objects like all other nouns, cf.: reading the letters (gerund) – the reading of the letters (verbal noun);
3. like most nouns can be used with an article and in the plural, cf.: my coming (gerund) – his comings and goings (verbal noun).
In the correlation of the three processual-substantive phenomena, which constitute a continuum of transitions between the verb and the noun – the infinitive, the gerund, and the verbal noun, the infinitive is the closest to the verb, as it is more dynamic and possesses fewer substantive features, the gerund is somewhere in between the two, semantically semi-dynamic, and the verbal noun is the closest to the noun, semantically static, possessing practically all the features of normal nouns.
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Participle I (present participle) is fully homonymous with the gerund: it is also an ‘ing-form’ (or, rather, four ‘ing-forms’, cf.: writing, being written, having written, having been written). But its semantics is different: it denotes processual quality, combining verbal features with features of the adjective and the adverb; participle I can be characterized as a phenomenon of hybrid processual-qualifying nature, intermediary between the verb and the adjective/adverb.
The dubious cases can be clarified if the gerund and the participle are distinctly opposed as polar phenomena. In gerundial constructions the semantic accent is on the substantivized process itself; the nominal character of the verbid can be shown by a number of tests, for example, by a question-forming test, cf.: I remember the boy’s singing (his singing). - What do you remember?; the noun denoting the subject of the action semantically and syntactically modifies the gerund – Whose singing do you remember? In participial constructions the semantic emphasis is on the doer of the action, e.g.: I remember him singing. - Whom do you remember?; the present participle modifies its subject, denoting processual quality. In half-gerund constructions the semantic accent is on the event described, on the situational content with the processual substance as its core, cf.: I remember the boy singing in the backyard. – What do you remember about the boy? This case can be treated as the neutralization of the opposition, as a transferred participle, or a gerundial participle.
In the attributive function, the semantic differences between participle I and the gerund are unquestionable: the noun modified by participle I denotes the actual doer of the action, and the participle denotes its processual qualification; the meaning of the gerund in the attributive function is non-dynamic; the difference can be demonstrated in the following tests, cf.: a sleeping girl à a girl who is sleeping (participle I); a sleeping pill à a pill taken to induce sleep (the gerund).
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В помощь:
Спорные случаи можно прояснить, если противопоставить причастие и герундий как полярные явления. Герундий акцентирует собственно субстантивированный процесс; именной характер данной вербалии можно подтвердить с помощью тестов, например, с помощью теста на постановку вопроса, ср.: I rememberthe boy ’ s singing ( his singing ). - What do you remember ?; существительное, обозначающее субъект действия, является семантическим и синтаксическим определением герундия – Whose singing do you remember ? В причастных конструкциях семантический акцент приходится на производителя действия, ср.: I remember him singing. - Whom do you remember?; причастие первое является определением субъекта, обозначая его процессуальный признак. В полугерундиальных конструкциях семантический акцент делается на описываемом событии, на его ситуационном содержании с процессуально-предметным ядром, ср.: I remember the boy singing in the backyard. – What do you remember about the boy? Подобные случаи можно рассматривать как нейтрализацию оппозиции, как перенесенное причастие, или «герундиального причастия». В функции определения семантические различия между причастием первым и герундием особенно очевидны: референт существительного, которое модифицирует причастие I, обозначает производителя действия, а само причастие первое обозначает его процессуальный признак; значение герундия в атрибутивной функции не является динамическим; различия между ними можно продемонстрировать с помощью следующих тестов: a sleeping girl à a girl who is sleeping (причастие I); a sleeping pill à a pill taken to induce sleep (герундий).
SYNTAX
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