GERUNDS AND PARTICIPLES IN MODERN ENGLISH

Abstract

In addition to the traditional categories Noun, Verb and Adjective, English contains Gerunds, which are intermediate between Nouns and Verbs, and Participles, which are intermediate between Verbs and Adjectives. In this paper, –Ing forms in English are taken into consideration to evaluate the hybrid character of ‘gerunds’ and ‘participles’. Analysis of previous research suggests that a gerund may operate as a noun in a derived nominal and a verb in a gerundive nominal because it neutralizes the disparity between nominal and verbal categories. Gerund and participle both overlap in their verbal properties and due to this similarity the distinction between them has converged in Modern English and many grammarians do not make any formal distinctions between them (Huddleston, 1984; Pullum, 1991; and Huddleston & Pullum, 2002).