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A gerund may function syntactically as the head of a verb phrase: for instance, the gerund of a transitive verb may take a direct object in the accusative case, e.g., ad discernendum vocis verbi figuras 'for discerning figures of speech', hominem investigando opera dabo 'I will devote effort to investigating the man'.
When used as a gerund or present participle, the -ing form is a non-finite verb, which behaves like a (finite) verb in that it forms a verb phrase, taking typical verb dependents and modifiers such as objects and adverbs. That verb phrase is then used within a larger sentence, with the function of an adjective or adverb (in the case of the ...
In linguistics, an object is any of several types of arguments. [1] In subject-prominent, nominative-accusative languages such as English, a transitive verb typically distinguishes between its subject and any of its objects, which can include but are not limited to direct objects, [2] indirect objects, [3] and arguments of adpositions (prepositions or postpositions); the latter are more ...
A single (direct) object generally follows the verb: I love you. If there is an indirect object, it precedes the direct object ( I gave him the book ), although an indirect object can also be expressed with a prepositional phrase following the direct object (and this method is usual when the direct object is a personal pronoun): I gave the book ...
A gerund is a verb form that appears in positions that are usually reserved for nouns. In English, a gerund has the same form as a progressive active participle and so ends in -ing . Gerunds typically appear as subject or object noun phrases or even as the object of a preposition:
The wind began changing directions — transitive gerund; By contrast, an intransitive verb coupled with a direct object will result in an ungrammatical utterance: What did you arrive? I belong the team. Conversely (at least in a traditional analysis), using a transitive verb in English without a direct object will result in an incomplete sentence:
Some verbs can take two objects: an indirect object and a direct object. An indirect object precedes a direct one, as in He gave the dog a bone (where the dog is the indirect object and a bone the direct object). However the indirect object may also be replaced with a prepositional phrase, usually with the preposition to or for, as in He gave a ...
The gerund can behave like a verb in taking objects: crossing the river cost many lives. The deverbal noun does not take objects, although the understood object may be expressed by a prepositional phrase with of: the crossing of the river cost many lives (an indirect object is expressed using to or for as appropriate: the giving of the award to ...