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the gerund is identical in form to the present participle (ending in -ing) and can behave as a verb
within a clause (so that it may be modified by an adverb or have an object), but the clause as a
whole (sometimes consisting of only one word, the gerund itself) acts as a noun within the larger
sentence. For example: Editing this article is easy.
In "Editing this article" (although this is traditionally known as a phrase, it is referred to as a
non-finite clause in modern linguistics), the word "Editing" behaves as a noun; the phrase "this
article" is the object of that noun. "Editing this article" acts as a noun phrase within the sentence
as a whole, though; it is the subject of the verb "is."
Other examples of the gerund:
• I like swimming. (direct object)
• Swimming is fun. (subject)
Some use "gerund" to refer to all nouns ending in -ing, but in more careful use, not all nouns
ending in -ing are gerunds.[1] The formal distinction is that a gerund is a verbal noun – a noun
derived from a verb that retains verb characteristics, that functions simultaneously as a noun and
a verb, while other nouns ending in -ing are deverbal nouns, which function as common nouns,
not as verbs at all. Compare:
• I like fencing. (gerund, an activity, could be replaced with "to fence")
• The white fencing adds to the character of the neighborhood. (deverbal, could be
replaced with an object such as "bench")
3. Like a noun the gerund can be modified by a noun in the possessive case or by a
possessive adjective:
o I wonder at his keeping calm.
o Is there any objection to my seeing her?
3. The gerund has tense distinctions; the gerund of transitive verbs has also voice
distinctions.
Causative
1. The causative has the meaning of 'someone causes someone to do something'.
2. The three verbs usually used for the causative are get, have, and make.
Examples:
a. John got Susan to rake the leaves.
b. John had Susan rake the leaves.
c.John made Susan rake the leaves.
Notice in a that there is a to in to rake.
Notice in b and c that there is no to.
3. Get gives the idea of persuasion, have is asking, and make is forcing or strong convincing.
There is not much difference between have and get.
4. These causative verbs can be in any verb tense:
a. I am making my students write the exam again next week because they did so poorly.
b. I have been having my kids shovel the sidewalks after every snowfall.
c. I have to get my wife to pick me up after work because my car is in for repairs.
Conditional if
First conditional
a. Nature: Open condition, what is said in the condition is possible.
b. Time: This condition refers either to present or to future time.
e.g. If he is late, we will have to go without him.
If my mother knows about this, we are in serious trouble.
Second conditional
a. Nature: unreal (impossible) or improbable situations.
b. Time: present; the TENSE is past, but we are talking about the present, now.
e.g. If I knew her name, I would tell you.
If I were you, I would tell my father.
Compare: If I become president, I will change the social security system. (Said by a
presidential candidate)
If I became president, I would change the social security system. (Said by a schoolboy:
improbable)
If we win this match, we are qualified for the semifinals.
If I won a million pounds, I would stop teaching. (improbable)
Third conditional
a. Nature: unreal
b. Time: Past (so we are talking about a situation that was not so in the past.)
e.g. If you had warned me, I would not have told your father about that party.(But you
didn't, and I have).
The Type 1 conditional, where the tense in the 'if clause is the simple present, and the tense in
the main clause is the simple future
In these sentences, the time is the present or future and the situation is real. They refer to a
possible condition and its probable result.
3. The Type 2 conditional, where the tense in the 'if' clause is the simple past, and the tense in
the main clause is the present conditional:
In these sentences, the time is now or any time, and the situation is unreal. They are not based
on fact, and they refer to an unlikely or hypothetical condition and its probable result.
4. The Type 3 conditional, where the tense in the 'if' clause is the past perfect, and the tense in
the main clause is the perfect conditional:
In these sentences, the time is past, and the situation is contrary to reality. The facts they are
based on are the opposite of what is expressed, and they refer to an unreal past condition and
its probable past result.
A further type if 'if' sentence exists, where Type 2 and Type 3 are mixed. The tense in the 'if'
clause is the past perfect, and the tense in the main clause is the present conditional:
In these sentences, the time is past in the 'if' clause, and present in the main clause. They refer
to an unreal past condition and its probable result in the present.
Tag question
Indirect Speech (also referred to as 'reported speech') refers to a sentence reporting what
someone has said. It is almost always used in spoken English.
• If the reporting verb (i.e. said) is in the past, the reported clause will be in a past form.
This form is usually one step back into the past from the original.
For example:
o He said the test was difficult.
• If simple present, present perfect or the future is used in the reporting verb (i.e. says) the
tense is retained.
For example:
o He says the test is difficult.
Auxiliary
Helping verbs or auxiliary verbs such as will, shall, may, might, can, could, must, ought to,
should, would, used to, need are used in conjunction with main verbs to express shades of time
and mood. The combination of helping verbs with main verbs creates what are called verb
phrases or verb strings. In the following sentence, "will have been" are helping or auxiliary verbs
and "studying" is the main verb; the whole verb string is underlined:
• As of next August, I will have been studying chemistry for ten years.
Students should remember that adverbs and contracted forms are not, technically, part of the
verb. In the sentence, "He has already started." the adverb already modifies the verb, but it is not
really part of the verb. The same is true of the 'nt in "He hasn't started yet" (the adverb not,
represented by the contracted n't, is not part of the verb, has started).
Shall, will and forms of have, do and be combine with main verbs to indicate time and voice. As
auxiliaries, the verbs be, have and do can change form to indicate changes in subject and time.
• I shall go now.
• He had won the election.
• They did write that novel together.
• I am going now.
• He was winning the election.
• They have been writing that novel for a long time.
STUCTURE II SUMMARY
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08211211054
SEMESTER VII