Functions of nominal -ing clause

University of Sarajevo Mentor: Lada Šestić, PhDFaculty of Philosophy Melisa Okičić, MAEnglish Language and Literature Department Student: Selma Gondžetović

FUNCTIONS OF NOMINAL –ING CLAUSE

FINAL PAPER

Sarajevo, September 2012

Contents

1. INTRODUCTION..............................................3

2. PHRASE ON SYNTACTIC LEVEL................................4

3. NOMINAL DEPENDANT (SUBORDINATE) CLAUSES...................6

4. NOMINAL –ING CLAUSE.......................................8

5. ANALYSIS.................................................17

7. CONCLUSION...............................................28

8. APPENDICES...............................................29

9. BIBLIOGRAPHY.............................................31

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1.INTRODUCTION

The paper discusses the nominal –ing clause and its functions

in a sentence. This syntactic construction is usually used as a

means to condense certain information in a more compact way.

The reason for I have chosen to deal with nominal –ing phrase

is that is frequently used equally in both written and spoken

language, but, on the other way, the nominal –ing clause is not

always realized as nominal clause in the Bosnian language. The

main goal of this paper is analysing the function of nominal –

ing clauses which are collected from the corpus, i.e. novel by

Colleen McCullough, The Thorn Birds, in order to identify the most

frequent nominal –ing clause function. This paper is structured

as follows: in the introduction section we introduce the topic

and explain the main goal of this paper. In the following

section we give a brief literature overview in relation to the

general characteristics of nominal –ing clauses, with special

attention given to the function of nominal –ing clauses. The

references we used for this purpose are as follows: A Student’s

Introduction to English Grammar by Huddleston, R. ,Pullum G.K.

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(2005), The Oxford English Grammar by Greenbaum, S. (1996),

Macmillan English Grammar in Context by Vince, M. (2007), Longman

English Grammar by L.G. Alexander (2003), The Cambridge Encyclopaedia

of the English Language by Crystal, D. (2003), The Cambridge Grammar of

the English Language by Huddleston, R., Pullum G.K. (2002), A

University Grammar of English by Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S. (1998), A

Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language by Quirk, R., Greenbaum,

S., Leech, G., Svartvik, J. (1999) and Modern English: A Practical

Reference Guide by Marcella Frank (1972).

The third section deals with the analysis of the nominal –ing

clause functions, identified and collected from the corpus,

where we list the examples of the nominal –ing clause and we

give statistical data regarding the frequency of each function.

The fourth section summarizes our findings in a form of a

conclusion and recommendations for future research papers.

2. PHRASE ON SYNTACTIC LEVEL

The term phrase in linguistic literature can sometimes be

ambiguous. At one point linguists use phrase while referring to

semantic constructions (i.e. synonym for expression, idiom), and

then they use the same term to discuss syntactic structures.

These different meanings of the term should never be mixed and

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one always has to bear in mind these distinctions when

discussing either the semantic or syntactic level of a phrase.1

In syntax a phrase is a group of words without subject-

predicate relationship.

e.g. While writing an essay PHRASE, students felt anxious and tired.

Unlike phrases, clauses are groups of words which express a

thought by using subject-predication relationship.

e.g. While students were writing an essay CLAUSE, they felt anxious and tired.

If the thought is complete, the clause is independent, and if

the thought is incomplete, the clause is dependent. According

to A University Grammar of English (Quirk, Greenbaum: 1998: 310)

dependent clauses can be classified either by structural type

or by function they have in the sentence. There are three main

classes of clauses at the structural level (Quirk, Greenbaum:

1998: 310) :

a) Finite clause – a clause whose V element is a finite verb

phrase (VP which has tense distinction, person and number

concord between S and the finite verb, and mood), e.g.

John has visited New York.

b) Non-finite clause – a clause whose V element is a non-

finite verb phrase, e.g. Having seen the pictures,...

c) Verbless clause – a clause containing no V element, e.g.

Although always helpful, he...

A finite verb is a verb that carries a contrast in tense between present and past, and

may also be marked for person and number. In a finite verb phrase the first or only1 In this paper we deal with the syntactic side of what phrase denotes andsemantics are not to be included in any way!

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verb is finite, and the other verbs are non-finite. In a non-finite verb phrase all the

verbs are non-finite (Greenbaum, Nelson 2002: 76).

In this paper we deal with non-finite clauses only, and thus we

will not discuss a and c.

One of the main characteristics of non-finite clauses is the

fact that it can be constructed without a subject. Quirk and

Randolph (1998:310) distinguish four types of non-finite

clauses:

a) Infinitive with to e.g. The best thing would be to tell

everybody.

b) Infinitive without to e.g. Rather than John do it, I’d prefer

to give the job to Mary.

c) –ing participle e.g. Her aunt having left the room, I declared my

passionate love for Celia.

d) –ed participle e.g. Covered with confusion, I left the room.

It is important to note several characteristics of non-finite

clauses (Randolph, Quirk: 1998: 311/312)

- They cannot have distinctions of person, number, or modal

auxiliary since they do not have the finite verb form.

- In negative non-finite clauses, the negative particle is

placed immediately before the verb, e.g. It is his fault

for not doing anything about it.

In A Student’s Grammar of the English Language (Quirk, Greenbaum, 1990:

304) the authors discuss four major groups of dependant clauses

on the basis of the function they have in a sentence:6

a) Nominal

b) Adverbial

c) Relative

d) Comparative

Nominal dependant -ing clauses are only relevant for this

paper, so other categories will not be part of our discussion.

The only exception deals with the including in this paper

adjectival function of nominal –ing clauses. We have decided to

include them too because the analysed corpus is abundant in

them and they are very interesting for our research.

3.NOMINAL DEPENDANT (SUBORDINATE) CLAUSES

Quirk and Greenbaum (1998: 315) compare a nominal clause with

noun phrases (NPs). They claim that just like NPs may occur as

subject (S), object (O), complement (C), appositive, and

prepositional complement, so every nominal clause may occur in

some or all of these roles. However, they emphasize that the

occurrence of nominal clauses is limited by the fact that they

are normally abstract, i.e. they refer to events, facts,

states, ideas, etc (Quirk, Greenbaum 1998: 316). The authors

deal in details with nominal clauses and classify them

according to the specific element of their structure. The

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classification of nominal clauses according to Quirk and

Greenbaum is as follows (Quirk, Greenbaum 1998: 317):

a) That-clauses; e.g. That she is still alive is a consolation.

b) Wh-interrogative clauses; e.g. I can’t imagine what made

him do it.

c) Yes-no interrogative clauses; e.g. Do you know if/whether the

banks are open?

d) Nominal relative clauses; e.g. He gave whoever came to the

door a winning smile.

e) To-infinitive nominal clauses; e.g. His ambition, to be a

straight actor, was never fulfilled.

f) Nominal –ing clauses; e.g. I’m tired of being treated like a

child.

g) Bare infinitive and verbless clauses; e.g. All I did was

(to) turn off the gas.

In A Students’ Grammar of English (Quirk, Greenbaum: 1990: 309) the

authors discuss another type of nominal clauses:

h) Exclamative clauses; e.g. It is incredible how fast she can

run.

This was a short introduction into the realm of English

clauses. In the next section we will discuss only one of the

above mentioned clauses, and that is nominal -ing clause.

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Figure

Figure

4.NOMINAL –ING CLAUSE

Nominal –ing clause is a specific syntactic construction for

various reasons. First, the name of the construction is not

definite. Many linguists discuss the construction naming it

differently and it seems that they cannot agree about a single

term for this construction. It is known as gerund phrase,

nominal –ing clause, verbal noun, gerund-participial clauses.

Secondly, ing-nominal clause is often mixed with present

participle clauses because they are very similar in the

appearance, but in fact their use and meaning is different.

Since many linguists deal with the issue of non-finite

constructions in the English language, we will here give a

brief overview of their research and conclusions they reached

regarding the nominal -ing phrase. The overview is given

according to the chronological order so that we can follow the

changes that occurred in the research of this construction in

the last two decades. The main observation regarding these

changes is the issue of the term used for this structure.

In the Handbook of English Grammar (Zandvoort 1957: 24) the author

starts his discussion by claiming that all words derived from a verb

stem by means of the suffix -ing may be used in a variety of meanings and functions,

according to the context in which they occur. Zandvoort primarily states

that such words may be used as verbal nouns, which means that

they have a verbal meaning, and he gives the following examples

(Zandvoort 1597: 24)

e.g. Reading and writing are now common acquirements; I am fond of smoking.

(Zandvoort 1957: 24)10

At the same time, this –ing form may have a verbal function

too. In addition, Zandvoort also claims that it can take an

object or be qualified by an adverb.

e.g. I am fond of smoking a pipe, He educated himself by

reading widely. (Zandvoort 1957: 24)

As the author claims, nouns in –ing with verbal meaning, or with verbal

meaning and function combined, are called gerunds. The author finds it

important to mention that in groups of words such as human

being, the Chrysler Building, the character of the words in -ing is purely nominal,

the former being synonymous with person or creature, and the latter with house or

edifice. Such nouns are not called gerunds (Zandvoort 1957: 24).

The author of this book firmly claims that a gerund may exhibit

all the syntactic properties of a noun (Zandvoort 1957: 25). This means

that it can be pre-modified by an article, a possessive or

demonstrative pronoun, a noun in the genitive, or an adjective.

At the same time, it can be post-modified by a prepositional

phrase. The functions of the gerund are as follows (Zandvoort

1957: 25)

a) Subject

E.g. His handling the situation was masterly.

b) Object or nominal predicate of a sentence

E.g. He was waked by an insistent tapping on his door.

c) It can form part of a prepositional adjunct

E.g. I detested all this quibbling.

The author continues his discussion of gerund by introducing

the fact that it can also exhibit the syntactic properties of a

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verb. This implies that it may be qualified by an adverb or

adverbial phrase, and in the case of a transitive verb it may govern an object

(Zandvoort 1957: 25). In this sense it can take a subject of

its own and it may be used in the perfect tense (having written)

and in the passive voice (being written). He illustrates these

statements by the following examples (Zandvoort 1957: 25):

a) Of making many books there is no end.

b) He was suspected of having embezzled large sums of money.

c) I object to being treated like a child.

Nominal –ing clause is discussed in details in the English

Grammar (Curme 1963: 276), but under a different name. The

author claims that the gerund was originally a verbal noun in –ing this

differing from the participle in –ing which was originally an adjective (Curme

1963: 276). Gerund is connected to verbs only by its verbal

meaning, which means that its all other characteristics are

nominal. Curme states that the noun gerund usually preserves its original

active form even where it has strong passive force and is usually formally

distinguished by a preceding adjective, descriptive or limiting.

d) He has not committed any act worth of hanging (Curme 1963: 276).

Curme gives the following classification of syntactic functions

(Curme 1963: 278, 279, 280)

a) Subject

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e.g. Seeing is believing.

(1) Predicate

e.g. Seeing is believing. or To see is to believe.

(2) Object:

(1) Accusative object

e.g. I like getting up early.

(2) Dative object

e.g. He came near being killed.

(3) Prepositional object

e.g. He spoke about my returning so late.

(3) As an attributive element:

(1) As an attributive genitive

e.g. the fear of losing his friendship

(2) As an appositive, agreeing with its govern noun

in case

e.g. I now have very pleasant work, preparing boys for

college.

(3) As an attributive prepositional phrase

e.g. his joy on account of my coming.

(4) In abridged adverbial clauses

e.g. In going down town, I met an old friend.

Gerund phrase is the only term used for discussing this type of

construction in Modern English: A Practical Reference Guide (Frank 1993:

310). In her textbook the author claims that the verb in a gerund

phrase is reduced to participial form. Frank finds it important to13

mention that all participial forms may function as gerunds except the –ed past

participle (Frank 1993: 310). The author also reflects on the time

expressed by the gerund and she claims that the –ing form is neutral

with respect to time; the time that is intended often depends on the tense or the

meaning of the main verb [...] and that the perfect form expresses time that

precedes that of the main verb. If the main verb is present or future, the perfect

gerund corresponds to the present tense [...] and if the main verb is past, the

perfect gerund corresponds to the past perfect tense (Frank 1993: 311).

Important part of Frank’s discussing gerund phrases is its

nominal functions. The author states that gerund phrases may

perform all the functions that nouns are capable of fulfilling,

thus the following examples (Frank 1993: 310):

(5) Subject of Verb2

e.g. Her watering the plants every day is necessary.

(6) Object of Verb3

e.g. Her mother appreciates her watering the plants every day.

(7) Object of preposition

(1) In Prepositional Object

e.g. Her mother insists on her watering the plants every day.

(2) 15.2. In Adverbial Phrase

e.g. By watering the plants every day she is pleasing her mother.

2 Sometimes a gerund phrase subject appears after anticipatory it + anadjective and such constructions are usually used in informal style, e.g.It's very embarrasing, not remembering your name. (Frank 1993: 317)3 Most verbs which take a gerund phrase as their object denote mentalactivity or indirect speech. This is the reason they require subjects thatrefer to human beings. However, other verbs have little semantic contentoutside of indicating aspect. These verbs may or may not be used withsubjects denoting persons. There is less agreement that a verbal followingone of the aspect-denoting verbs given in the list is its object. Most ofthe verbs listed cannot be used with perfect gerunds due to their semanticnature (Frank 1993: 317). The list of the verbs followed by gerund objectsis given in the appendix to the paper.

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Frank pays a lot of attention to this function of gerund

phrase. She states that any verb used as the object in a prepositional

phrase takes the form of a gerund (Frank 1993: 319). We are provided

with three functions of prepositional gerund phrase (Frank

1993: 319-321):

- Nominal function of prepositional gerund phrases is

attributed to such gerund phrases which function as

prepositional objects of verb. A lot of the verbs listed

under prepositional objects4 take such gerund objects.

e.g. He insisted on paying the entire bill for dinner.

Some verbs are followed by either gerund phrase prepositional

objects or infinitive phrase, but also there are verbs which

are followed by word to which is not a sign of the infinitive

but rather a preposition and therefore requires a gerund after

it. These verbs are:

accustom oneself, allude, confess, confine oneself, dedicate oneself, limit oneself,

look forward, object, plead guilty, reconcile oneself, resign oneself, resort, revert,

e.g. He objected to their entering the factory without permission. (Frank

1993: 319-320)

- Adjectival function of prepositional gerund phrases is

characterized by adjectival constructions which appear

mostly after nouns and which begin with of or for. These

prepositional gerund phrases can follow nouns derived from

verbs or adjectives and they can appear after nouns that

4 The list is given in the appendix to the paper15

are non-derivational. Both types may have alternate

infinitive forms.

(1) His pretence of being rich didn’t fool anyone.

(2) This is not a good way of doing it. (Frank 1993:

320)

- Adverbial function of prepositional gerund phrases implies

that there are prepositional gerund phrases modifying

verbs (express almost all adverbial meanings except place)

and prepositional gerund phrases modifying adjectives

(introduced by at, about, for, of, with, by).

(1) After listening to the news, she started to prepare

dinner.

(2) He was embarrassed at hearing himself praised. (Frank

1993: 320-321)

(8) Subjective complement (predicative noun)

e.g. What her mother insists on is her watering the plants every

day.

(9) Appositive

e.g. Her mother insists on one thing – her watering the plants

every day.

We have noticed that textbooks issued in the last two decades

do not even mention the term gerund. For example in A Student’s

Grammar of the English Language (Quirk & Greenbaum 1990: 312) the

authors speak of nominal –ing clauses. Only in a footnote do the

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authors claim that the –ing participle in a nominal clause is commonly

called a gerund. (Quirk & Greenbaum 1990: 313) Their

classification of syntactic functions of this form somewhat

differs from Frank’s (1957). Nominal –ing clauses may function

as (Greenbaum & Quirk 1990: 312):

(1) Subject

e.g. Watching television keeps them out of mischief.

(2) Direct object

e.g. He enjoys playing practical jokes.

(3) Subject complement

e.g. His first job had been selling computers.

(4) Appositive

e.g. His current research, investigating attitudes to racial

stereotypes, takes up most of his time.

(5) Adjectival complementation

e.g. They are busy preparing a barbecue.

The same authors deal with nominal –ing clauses, i.e.

gerund phrase, in their University Grammar of English (1998:

321) too. They now introduce the term participle clause to

depict a closer definition of the nominal –ing clause.

Their classification of syntactic functions is almost the

same as in their previous textbook, only in the new

edition they added one more function a gerund phrase can

obtain in a sentence. This is the function of:

(6) Prepositional complement.17

e.g. I am tired of being treated like a child. (Quirk &

Greenbaum 1998: 321)

Quirk and Greenbaum are not the only grammarians who use term

nominal –ing clauses. In the Longman Grammar of Spoken and written English

(Biber 1999: 199) the author only mentions –ing clauses as such,

and does not even classify them as nominal. He never uses term

gerund. Biber gives a detailed classification of syntactic

functions of –ing clauses (Biber 1999: 199, 200):

(1) Subject

e.g. Understanding how a planet generates and gets rid of its heat is

essential if we are to understand how that planet works.

(2) Extraposed subject

e.g. There is only around five tonnes of newsprint left

and it’s very difficult getting supplies into Sarajevo.

(3) Subject predicative

e.g. The real problem is getting something done about the cheap

imports.

(4) Direct object

e.g. It’s as if the guy never stops thinking about the issue.

(5) Prepositional object

e.g. No-one could rely on his going to bed early last night.

(6) Part of noun phrase

e.g. I think he smashed two cars coming down the road

(7) Part of adjective phrase

e.g. It might be worth giving him a bell to let him know what’s

happening.

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(8) Complement of preposition

e.g. The art of expanding limited recall by asking leading, open-ended

question is a subtle one.

In their textbook A Students Introduction to English Grammar (Huddleston

& Pullum 2005: 312) the authors discuss gerund-participial clauses.

When it comes to their functions in a sentence, Huddleston and

Pullum compare them to those of to-infinitivals, but they

emphasize that there are some crucial facts that differentiate

to types of clauses, which will be stated later. The authors

state the following functions of gerund-participial clause

(Huddleston & Pullum 2005: 213):

(1) Subject

e.g. Bringing your dad in on the deal was a great idea.

(2) Extraposed subject

e.g. It’s been a pleasure talking to you both.

(3) Object

e.g. I find talking to Max rather stressful.

(4) Extraposed object

e.g. He considers it a waste of time going to meetings.

(5) Internal complement of verb

e.g. I remember telling you about her visit.

(6) Complement of preposition

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e.g. He insists [on checking everything himself].

(7) Adjunct in clause

e.g. Having read the paper, I can’t see why you care.

(8) Modifier in NP

e.g. Who was [the doctor performing the operation]

In their conclusion to this set of examples the authors claim

that unlike infinitivals, gerund participials can occur as objects with a

following predicative complement, as in (8) (Huddleston & Pullum 2005:

213). They also bring light to the fact that many prepositions

can take gerund-participials as complement, as in (2).

Based on this brief overview we can conclude that the

classification of syntactic functions of nominal-ing clause as

well as the terms used to refer to this construction slightly

differs in the observed textbooks. This is the summary of what

we stated above:

a) The term gerund is used in textbooks by older authors,

dating from roughly the first half of the 20th century,

i.e. Zandvoort (1957), Curme (1963) and Frank (1993). In

the modern grammars this term is no longer in use. The

authors have decided to combine gerund phrase and

participial clause under one name – the -ing form.

However, there is some kind of division between the two

because Frank’s gerund phrase is now referred to as –ing

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phrase which has nominal characteristics, i.e. nominal –

ing phrase.

b) Main characteristics of nominal –ing clauses are (Frank

1993: 310-322)

- It occupies all positions occupied by the noun

- It retains a stronger verbal force than do other nominals

(noun clausers, infinitive phrases, abstract noun phrases)

- Verb is reduced to participial form

- -ed past participial cannot function as gerund

- The –ing form is neutral with respect to time – the time

that is intended often depends on the tense or the meaning

of the main verb

- The subject of a nominal –ing phrase (i.e. gerund) usually

denotes a live being, but sometimes it designates a

lifeless thing or an abstract idea. It can be understood

or found in another part of the sentence

- A prepositional nominal –ing phrase may appear in all

three adverbial positions, i.e. initial, medial and final

position

-

c) The classification of syntactic functions is very similar

in most of the grammar textbooks. There are only some

minor distinctions. It is important to mention that all

observed authors agree of the most common functions of the

nominal -ing clause, and these are: subject, subject

complement, and object. Some of them add some other, more

peripheral, functions which are not as common as those

three stated above (see: Curme 1963).

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It is impossible to follow all these classification in our

corpus analysis. We have decided to accept and adhere to the

classification offered by Quirk and Greenbaum in A Student’s

Grammar of the English Language. The next section of the paper is

the analysis of the nominal-ing clause functions in the novel

by Coleen McCullough, The Thorn Birds.

5.ANALYSIS

1. NOMINAL –ING CLAUSE FUNCTIONING AS SUBJECT OF A

SENTENCE

The first pattern of nominal –ing clauses functioning as

subject of a sentence is the one that has a form of general

statement followed by main verb be, as shown in the following

examples.

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(1) Bleeding was a fact; someone in the Cleary family bled

copiously at least once a week. (McCullough 2003: 10)

(2) Drying a few dishes won’t kill me. (McCullough 2003: 19)

(3) Playing with the boys is better than playing all by

myself. (McCullough 2003: 58)

(4) Trying to keep a secret in this family is impossible.

(McCullough 2003: 61)

(5) Living in the big house was certainly very different.


(6) Keeping the books of a station as large as Drogheda was a full-

time job. (McCullough 2003: 315)

(7) Well, as far as I’m concerned, living in sin is a lot

better than turning my coat inside out. (McCullough 2003:

320)

(8) Sitting up on a train for a while won’t kill you, Meghann!


(9) Sometimes being a large family was an advantage.


Sometimes nominal –ing clause can appear after the expletive it

which is usually followed by an adjective. Examples (10-12)

approve this claim.

(10) It was hard not having help around the house, but it was

worth it. (McCullough 2003: 22)

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(11) We must eat dinner as late as the Spaniards in this

heat, but no need to worry; it’s too late to start phoning

people. (McCullough 2003: 198)

(12) Oh, it’s nice having you already! (McCullough 2003: 337)

Examples (13-16) show nominal –ing clauses as subjects of

sentences where subject of nominal –ing clause is used in

possessive form.

(13) Meggie’s vomiting turned out to be a blessing in

disguise. (McCullough 2003: 39)

(14) His breathing started coming from the bottom of his

chest with the effort of keeping his hands by his sides.


(15) One day there wouldn’t be any more Ralph de

Bricassarts, because they’d value their manhood enough to

see that her demanding it of them was a useless sacrifice,

having no meaning whatsoever. (McCullough 2003: 369)

Many examples from the corpus (16-18) illustrate nominalization

of verb to be. In these cases nominal –ing clause can be

replaced with to-infinitive clause.

(16) Being thick with the Clearys usually meant trouble of some

kind. (McCullough 2003: 51)

(17) Being a blacksmith in Wahine pays a lot better than being a

soldier in Europe. (McCullough 2003: 53)

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(18) Being a priest makes you feel safe, that’s all.”


It is interesting to note that, when nominalised, verbs such as

want and know can have the –ing suffix. This form should not be

mixed with the form of continuous tense where it is strictly

defined that these, and many other verbs of perception, cannot

have the -ing continuous suffix. The form and the usage are

different and one should bare this distinction in mind.

Examples (19) and (20) clearly show that verbs want and know

are nominalised and that they do not express continuous tense.

(19) But why should wanting more out of life than drudgery be so

bad? (McCullough 2003: 19)

(20) But knowing the wrongs couldn’t alter them. (McCullough

2003: 369)

Examples (21) and (22) do not fit any of the previously

mentioned patterns, but we include them into the analysis

because they do function of the subjects of sentences and they

may be relevant when it comes to defining the most frequent

function of nominal –ing clauses in our corpus.

(21) There were times when only kneeling on the marble floor of the

palace chapel until he was stiff with physical pain prevented him from

catching the next train back to Gilly and Drogheda.


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(22) Sharing the family passion for reading didn’t endear Riverview

to them at all. (McCullough 2003: 287)

2. NOMINAL –ING CLAUSE FUNCTIONING AS DIRECT OBJECT OF A

SENTENCE

The following examples show –ing nominal clause functioning as

an accusative object of a sentence:

(23) Then she began picking among the grass blades where she

thought the pearls might have fallen. (McCullough 2003: 6)

(24) Padraic knew where he was, because he could hear the

steady clocking of an axe from the direction of the woodheap.


(25) To make sure she would never revert to using it, her

left arm was kept tied to her body for a further two

months; (McCullough 2003: 43)

(26) She began to bite her nails down to the quick, and

had to endure Sister Agatha’s making her walk around every desk in the

school holding her hands out so all the children could see

how ugly bitten nails were. (McCullough 2003: 43)

(27) As the sire of this phenomenon, Paddy knew Frank’s

reputation very well and understood Frank’s battle to gain

respect, though it did not prevent his becoming angry when

fighting interfered with the work in the forge. (McCullough

2003: 55)

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(28) He had been so looking forward to going with his father

as an apprentice shearer, and Archibald’s was to have been his

first pen. (McCullough 2003: 77)

(29) It was impossible to tell from her face whether she

resented being so summarily dismissed. (McCullough 2003: 80)

(30) He hated the ceaseless patrolling of the paddocks, the hard

ground to sleep on most nights, the savage dogs which

could not be treated as pets and were shot if they failed

to do their work. (McCullough 2003: 104)

(31) It meant a grueling amount of work for every soul on the place,

male and female. (McCullough 2003: 112)

(32) You’re a beneficiary, too, Father, so I’d appreciate

your staying for the reading. (McCullough 2003: 198)

(33) In the cookhouse Mrs. Smith stoked up the range

firebox and the maids began bringing down huge pots from their

ceiling hooks. (McCullough 2003: 250)

(34) I couldn’t resist seeing for myself that you don’t have a pot of

gold powder on your dressing table. (McCullough 2003: 311)

(35) Most of the gardens seemed to be jungle, bamboo and

palms, as if the inhabitants had given up trying to keep floral

order. (McCullough 2003: 326)

(36) Everything in her up-bringing conspired to prevent

her leaving Luke. (McCullough 2003: 348)

(37) At midnight the women were relegated to standing

around the walls; the pipers skirled into “Caber Feidh” and

the serious dancing began. (McCullough 2003: 351)

(38) I don’t ever remember her mentioning Ralph before.


27

(39) He loves being with men as strong and independent as he is himself;

he loves roaming from one place to the other. (McCullough 2003:

385)

(40) Can you imagine riding the same wave for a hundred miles?


(41) What is it about this frigging country, that its men

prefer being with other men to having a home life with their wives and

children? (McCullough 2003: 398)

(42) There’s something in Luke and in you which believes

that needing a woman is a weakness. (McCullough 2003: 414)

(43) Oh, I wish just once you’d let me enjoy having the

upper hand! (McCullough 2003: 622)

There are certain verbs that are in most cases followed by –ing

nominal clauses. These verbs are: stop, enjoy, mind (in negative and

interrogative forms), try, etc.

(44) They were both vain and enjoyed evoking intense femaleadmiration, but admiration was as far as it went.(McCullough 2003: 342)

(45) I don’t mind getting your breakfast this morning, but

theoretically to commit myself until the day I die?


(46) Don’t mind continuing my fast a little longer.” (McCullough

2003: 68)

(47) I never realized it, but Harry has employed one chapjust to deal with Drogheda’s accounts, and at the momenthe’s a man short, so he doesn’t mind passing it back to us at all.(McCullough 2003: 228)

28

(48) When she was smaller Daddy used to pick her up a lot,

but ever since she started at school he had stopped letting

her sit on his knee, wouldn’t let her throw her arms around his

neck, saying, “You’re a big girl now, Meggie.” (McCullough

2003: 59)

(49) Fee had stopped trying to vomit and had sunk into a kind

of coma, from which they could not rouse her. (McCullough

2003: 83)

(50) But he could stop being a priest. (McCullough 2003: 237)

(51) Fee stopped keeping cash lying about, and had Stuart make

a camouflaged cupboard for the safe behind the chapel

altar. (McCullough 2003: 246)

(52) On the heavy, idle wind came a strong, sickening

stench Meggie hadn’t stopped trying to get out of her nostrils since

stepping off the train. (McCullough 2003: 338)

(53) Yet how can I stop loving a man who loves God?


(54) Oh, will I ever stop regretting that they’re not Ralph’s

children? (McCullough 2003: 396)

3. NOMINAL –ING CLAUSES FUNCTIONING AS SUBJECT COMPLEMENT

OF A SENTENCE

(55) It was like being inundated by a magenta-pink wave;


(56) Fascinated, terrified, meaning to free himself at

any cost, he pulled her head away; but somehow all he

succeeded in doing was having her back in his arms, a snake

29

coiled tightly about his will, strangling it. (McCullough

2003: 266)

(57) “I’m sorry, Meghann,I really am. I didn’t think of

your being a woman. Not used to having a wife with me. (McCullough

2003: 325)

(58) It was like having a ticket of admission to a whole new planet,

peering through the glass down into that teeming, exquisitely fragile world,

where delicate forms were buoyed and bolstered by the

loving intimacy of water. (McCullough 2003: 392)

(59) This was being a man. (McCullough 2003: 411)

4. NOMINAL –ING CLAUSES FUNCTIONING AS APPOSITION OF A

SENTENCE

This function is very rare and we have not identified it

in the analysed corpus.

5. NOMINAL –ING CLAUSES FUNCTIONING AS ADJECTIVAL

COMPLEMENT OF A SENTENCE.

These examples are not within the level of dependant nominal

clauses, but within adjectival function. This is the only

exception we are making in the paper because this function is

not one of the basic sentence functions, but we have decided to

include it too in order to show that nominal-ing clause can

also have this form. The following examples show nominal –ing

30

clause functioning as adjectival complement in a sentence. It

is usually introduced by for, of, to, and then.

(60) As for Meggie, she was incapable of equating Teresa’s

beaming, portly little mother with her own slender

unsmiling mother, so she never thought: I wish Mum hugged

and kissed me. (McCullough 2003: 44)

(61) “I’m sorry for swearing, Mum (McCullough 2003: 47)

(62) Playing with the boys is better than playing all by myself.


(63) He wasn’t in the least afraid of Frank, but he was

afraid of creating a scene in public. (McCullough 2003: 124)

(64) She hardly ever moved from it these days; there was

not the necessity any more with Paddy so capable of

overseeing things. (McCullough 2003: 143)

(65) For the most part he was occupied in discovering just what

and how much Mary Carson had owned, and in gathering the reins of

government together on behalf of the Church. (McCullough 2003: 212)

(66) So he simply passed on an idealistic image of a

Frank resigned to paying for his sins to society, and in a passage

heavily underlined told Paddy Frank had no idea they knew

what had happened. (McCullough 2003: 230)

(67) A man could always be sure of having his tuckerbag filled

when he arrived on Drogheda. (McCullough 2003: 245)

(68) As to the romantic and dashing, Your Grace, it’s

just that you’re not used to seeing what is customary garb in

Gillanbone. (McCullough 2003: 277)

31

(69) It’s better than looking at the top of your head, pretty

though that might be. (McCullough 2003: 291)

(70) She had grown used to hiding what she felt, to appearing

always calm and outwardly happy. (McCullough 2003: 295)

(71) I think she’s terrified of committing herself to the kind of

love marriage would entail, and I must say I admire Rainer.


(72) She was too busy remembering the quality of his kiss, and

dreaming of more. (McCullough 2003: 618)

(73) With his left arm broken and his ribs cracked, Frank

had fought on until Jim Collins was a slobbering mass of

bloodied flesh at his feet, and he had to be forcibly

restrained from kicking the senseless face in. (McCullough 2003: 55)

6. NOMINAL –ING CLAUSES FUNCTIONING AS PREPOSITIONAL

COMPLEMENT OF A SENTENCE

Nominal –ing clause functioning as prepositional complement in

a sentence can be introduced by: from, to, before, without, in, of, for,

between, by, e.g.:

(74) From waking to sleeping she lived in the kitchen and

back garden, her stout black boots beating a circular path

from stove to laundry to vegetable patch to clotheslines

and thence to the stove again. (McCullough 2003: 11)

(75) He saved my Agnes from being killed, and he’s going to

glue her hair on again for me after tea. (McCullough 2003:

15)

32

(76) Finally Fee beckoned Meggie to sit on a high stool,

and did up her hair in its nightly rags before packing her

off to bed with Stu and Hughie. (McCullough 2003: 18)

(77) Frank worked on the doll without raising his head, but

as the pile of plates grew he got up silently to fetch a

towel and began to dry them. (McCullough 2003: 18)

(78) She fascinated Meggie, used to fairness and

freckles, for even Frank with his dark eyes and hair had a

fair white skin; so Meggie ended in thinking her deskmate the

most beautiful creature she had ever seen. (McCullough 2003: 33)

(79) If you’d give me the satisfaction of hearing you bellow,

I wouldn’t hit you so hard or so often!’ (McCullough 2003:

37)

(80) His arms were filthy from mucking out Mr. Jarman’s dairy,

his wide-brimmed hat pulled low over his eyes.


(81) Her name was Teresa Annunzio, and she was just dull

enough to escape Sister Agatha’s attention without being so

dull that it turned her into Sister Agatha’s butt. 39

(82) He did not believe in beating his children on the hands, face

or buttocks, only on the legs. (McCullough 2003: 43)

(83) If you went to England they’d look down their noses

at you for being a colonial. (McCullough 2003: 54)

(84) He kept his resentment from showing in his face.


(85) Chastity I accept without finding it difficult to maintain.


33

(86) “I have the intention of making you my head stockman.


(87) “I wouldn’t dream of dunning her for that!” he snapped.


(88) “I won’t hear of your leaving them behind,” Paddy told Fee

firmly. (McCullough 2003: 81)

(89) Without seeming to notice how his fine serge robe wallowed in the

dust, he stepped past the boys and squatted down to hold

Meggie between his hands, and they were firm, gentle,

kind. (McCullough 2003: 89)

(90) Meggie and Stu discovered the differences between

running a house in New Zealand and living in the head stockman’s residence

on Drogheda. (McCullough 2003: 95)

(91) He unsaddled his mare near a clump of trees by the

gate to the second paddock, talking optimistically of being

able to get the stock out of it also before the rain started.


(92) I wouldn’t dream of putting you to so much trouble!

(McCullough 2003: 108

(93) Her eyes lost their pleasure in seeing him, her face

flooded with scarlet shame. (McCullough 2003: 113)

(94) Sometimes it was better not to know what Annie

meant,or encourage her by paying much attention to what she said.


(95) His breathing started coming from the bottom of his

chest with the effort of keeping his hands by his sides.


34

(96) His love for her and his priestly instinct to offer

himself in any required spiritual capacity warred with an

obsessive horror of becoming utterly necessary to someone human.


(97) He shrank from touching her in death as he had in life,

especially those flyblown lips. (McCullough 2003: 189)

(98) Never to Father Ralph’s knowledge had Paddy

complained of being shabbily treated, thinking no doubt that

when his sister died he would be amply repaid for managing

the property on ordinary stockman’s pay, while his sons did

stockman’s work for rouseabout’s wages. (McCullough 2003:

195)

(99) You’re a beneficiary, too, Father, so I’d appreciate

your staying for the reading.” (McCullough 2003: 198)

(100) No one had ever heard of having so much money.


(101) Besides, it will do you good to know you can drive

anywhere you want without depending on one of us being around.


(102) Yes, she knew it was forbidden to have a priest as

husband or lover, but she had got into the habit of getting

around it by stripping Ralph of his religious office. (McCullough 2003:

235

(103) His was the delicate role of providing a link between the

Australian hierarchy and the Vatican nerve center. (McCullough 2003:

240)

(104) Before being given this appointment he had of course hoped

for the United States of America, but on thinking about it

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he decided Australia would do very nicely. (McCullough

2003: 240)

(105) Ah, that was good! An old, aristocratic name and a

perfect record of keeping the faith through emigrations and

persecutions. (McCullough 2003: 242)

(106) There were times when only kneeling on the marble

floor of the palace chapel until he was stiff with

physical pain prevented him from catching the next train back to

Gilly and Drogheda. (McCullough 2003: 243)

(107) Yet no one blamed Paddy for not wanting to take chances with

his women. (McCullough 2003: 246)

(108) But Mrs. Smith would grow so sharp and sour at such

talk that they learned not to speak of leaving Drogheda when

she was within hearing distance. (McCullough 2003: 246)

(109) Without waiting the stipulated five minutes, he put another

shell in the rifle breech, pointed the gun due south, and

fired. (McCullough 2003: 260)

(110) Meggie said firmly that she couldn’t see the point in

bringing them six hundred miles to witness a ceremony they didn’t

reallyunderstand. (McCullough 2003: 316)

(111) I’m sorry, Meghann,I really am. I didn’t think of your

being a woman. 325)

(112) The men won’t have a woman in the barracks, and

what’s the use of your living alone in a house? (McCullough 2003:

334)

(113) He had murmured about taking Meggie to Sydney, but instead

he went to Sydney with Arne and without her. (McCullough

2003: 347)

36

(114) I don’t know if I’m strong enough to take the

loneliness of having no home for the next ten or fifteen years, Anne,

or however long it’s going to take Luke to wear himself

out. (McCullough 2003: 286)

(115) She had no doubt that eventually Meggie would realize

there was no hope of salvaging her relationship with Luke, and

would then return to Drogheda. (McCullough 2003: 400)

(116) There could be no other reason for his joining her in a place

like this, calling himself Luke O’Neill. (McCullough 2003:

406)

(117) He drifted for a while on the wings of a different

kind of freedom: the relief of relinquishing his mandate to fight

her, the peace of losing a long, incredibly bloody war and

finding the surrender far sweeter than the battles.


(118) Why should you assume I could charm a young and

beautiful woman into being my mistress? (McCullough 2003: 610)

(119) Please forgive me for behaving like an utter prawn.


In the analysis we have used 119 examples from the chosen

corpus. It shows that the most frequent function of nominal –

ing clause in a sentence is that of prepositional complement.

Apposition is the only common sentence function which was not

identified. The following chart shows the frequency of all

analysed functions in a sentence.

37

Figure 3

38

7.CONCLUSION

In this paper we have dealt with the issue of nominal –ing

clauses and their functions in a sentence. The literature which

we used in determining which functions this construction can

obtain helped us realize how productive it is and how often it

is used to express different things. In our analysis we have

followed. The nominal –ing clause can have following functions:

subject, direct object, subject complement, apposition,

prepositional complement, and adjectival complement. The last

function does not belong to the common sentence function, it is

analysed at a higher syntactic level, but we have decided to

incorporate it in our paper since the corpus is abundant in

examples of this function. This may be a basis for analyzing

nominal –ing clauses on a higher level in the future. Finally,

we have come to a conclusion that the most frequent function of

this construction is prepositional complement, followed by

direct object and other functions. This construction may be

interesting on a comparative level, i.e. it would be

39

challenging to analyse its translation equivalents in Bosnian

language.

8.APPENDICESAppendix 1

List of verbs followed by nominal –ing objects:5

- acknowledge- admit- advocate- anticipate- appreciate- avoid- cannot help- consider- contemplate- defer- delay- deny- despise

- justify7

- keep- keep on- leave off- mean- mention- miss- necessitate- postpone- practice- put off- quit ( = stop, informal)- recall

5 Frank, 1993: 31840

- detest- disclaim- dislike- drop ( = stop)- encourage- endure- enjoy- entail6

- escape- evade- facilitate- fancy ( = imagine)- finish- give up ( = stop)- (be)grudge- imagine- involve-

- recommend- relinquish- relish- renounce- report- resent- resist- risk- sanction- shrink- stop- suggest- tolerate- understand- urge- withold

Appendix 2

Verbs listed under prepositional objects that take nominal –ing objects:8

1. Absolve2. Abstract3. Accuse4. Acquit5. Advise 6. Ask 7. Base8. Beg

39. Furnish40. Help41. Hide42. Hinder (from – only

with the gerund)43. Import44. Inflict45. Inform

6Verbs in bold usually have non-human subjects7 Verbs in italics can have subjects that do not designate human beings8 Frank 1993: 186

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9. Bestow10. Blame11. Borrow12. Burden13. Buy14. Charge15. Collect16. Compare17. Compensate18. Conceal 19. Condemn20. Confuse21. Connect22. Consult23. Convict24. Convince 25. Cure26. Deduce27. Defend 28. Deprive29. Deter (from – only

with the gerund)30. Discourage (from –

only with the gerund)31. Dismiss 32. Distinguish33. Divert34. Eliminate35. Entrust36. Exchange37. Exclude38. Forgive

46. Keep47. Learn 48. PardonPaste49. Persuade50. Prepare51. Present52. Preserve53. Prevent (from – only

with the gerund)54. Protect55. Provide56. Purchase57. Question

Read58. Remind 59. Remove60. Reprimand61. Reproach62. Rescue63. Request64. Rob65. Save66. Scold67. Search 68. Shield69. Stick70. Stop (from – only with

the gerund)71. Substitute72. Supply73. Suspect74. Thank75. Warn76. Write

9.BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Alexander, L.G. Longman English Grammar. Edinburgh: Longman,

2003. Print.

Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of the English Language.

New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Print.

Curme, O. George. English Grammar. New York: Barnes &

Noble, Inc, 1963. Print.

Frank, Marcella. Modern English: A Practical Reference Guide. New

Jersey: Regents/Prentice Hall, 1993. Print.

Greenbaum, Sydney. The Oxford English Grammar. New York:

Oxford University Press, 1996. Print.

Greenbaum, Sydney and Randolph Quirk. A University Grammar of

English. Edinburgh: Longman, 1998. Print

Huddleston, Rodney and Geoffrey K. Pullum. The Cambridge

Grammar of the English Language. London: Cambridge University

Press, 2002. Print.

Huddleston, Rodney and Geoffrey K. Pullum. A Student’s

Introduction to English Grammar. New York: Cambridge University

Press, 2005. Print.

Quirk, Greenbaum, et al. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English

Language. Edinburgh: Longman, 1999. Print.

Zandwoort, Reinar Willem. A Handbook of English Grammar.

London: Longman, green and Co LTD, 1957. Print.

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Functions of nominal -ing clause

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