the gerund andcompoundnoun

7/27/2019 The GERUND Andcompoundnoun

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THE GERUND

THE GERUND

This looks exactly the same as a presentparticiple, and for this reason it is now common to

call both forms 'the -ing form'. However it isuseful to understand the difference between thetwo. The gerund always has the same function as

a noun (although it looks like a verb), so it can beused:

a.as the subject of the sentence:

Eating people is wrong. Hunting tigers is dangerous. Flying makes me nervous.

b.as the complement of the verb 'to be':

One of his duties is attending meetings. The hardest thing aboutlearning English is

understanding the gerund. One of life's pleasures is having breakfast in

bed.

c. after prepositions.The gerund mustbeused when a verb comes after a preposition:

Can you sneeze withoutopening your mouth? She is good atpainting. They're keen on windsurfing.


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She avoided him bywalking on the oppositeside of the road.

We arrived in Madrid afterdriving all night. My father decided againstpostponing his trip to

Hungary.

This is also true of certain expressions ending in apreposition, e.g. in spite of, there's no point in..:

There's no point in waiting. In spite ofmissing the train, we arrived on time.

d. after a number of'phrasal verbs'which arecomposed of a verb + preposition/adverb

Example:to look forward to, to give up, to be for/against, totake to, to put off, to keep on:

I look forward to hearing from you soon. (at theend of a letter)

When are you going to give upsmoking? She always puts offgoing to the dentist. He kept on asking for money.

NOTE: There are some phrasal verbs and other

expressions that include the word 'to'as apreposition, notas part of a to-infinitive: - to look

forward to, to take to, to be accustomed to, to beused to. It is important to recognise that 'to'is a


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preposition in these cases, as it must be followedby a gerund:

We are looking forwardtoseeing you. I am usedto waiting for buses. She didn't really take to studying English.


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COMPOUND NOUNS

COMPOUND NOUNS

Formation

Words can be combined to form compoundnouns. These are very common, and newcombinations are invented almost daily. They

normally have two parts. The second

partidentifies the object or person in question(man, friend, tank, table, room). The first

parttells us what kind of object or person it is, orwhat its purpose is (police, boy, water, dining,bed):

What type / what

purpose

What or who

police man

boy friend

water tank

dining table

bed room


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The two parts may be written in a number ofways :

1. as one word.Example:policeman, boyfriend

2. as two words joined with a hyphen.Example: dining-table

3. as two separate words.Example: fish tank.

There are no clear rules about this - so write thecommon compounds that you know well as oneword, and the others as two words.


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LIST OF SPECIAL NOUNS PLURAL IN FORM

BUT SINGULAR IN MEANING

aerobics

athletics

billiards

binoculars

blues (type of music)

civics

crossroadsdarts

dominoes

economics

eyeglasses

gymnastics

headquarters

mathematics

measles

mumps

news

pants

Philippines

politics

scissorsseries

shingles

shorts

tongs

trousers

tweezers

Example sentences:

1.Billiardsis a game which connectsmathematicsand football .

2.What is thenews?

3.Acousticsisthe study of sounds.


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Activity: From the list pick out the irregular noun that will make eachsentence meaningful:

1. The __________ spreads fast.2. The __________ is a powerful country.3.__________ is fun to play.4.__________ helps make us physically fit.5.__________ is common among the aging people.

billiards news arthritis

United States aerobics mumps

the gerund andcompoundnoun

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