Timeline for Is "running" a gerund or a participial adjective?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
23 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Mar 15, 2019 at 13:03 | comment | added | BillJ | @user178049 I think you're going off-topic. | |
| Mar 15, 2019 at 8:19 | comment | added | Mohd Zulkanien Sarbini | @BillJ Yes. I understand that. But after reading the page you suggested, I failed to understand what H&P mean by "the highest category". The distinction between phrase and clause is now confusing. | |
| Mar 15, 2019 at 7:49 | comment | added | BillJ | @user178049 I'm talking about "enlightening" and "running" etc. That's what this thread is all about, isn't it? | |
| Mar 15, 2019 at 7:22 | comment | added | Mohd Zulkanien Sarbini | @BillJ According to CaGEL "living near the side" in "people living near the side" is clause. It's not in the highest category; it's in the nominal. So it should be a VP, not clause. | |
| Mar 15, 2019 at 6:43 | comment | added | BillJ | @user178049 It is a VP. I think I said that. | |
| Mar 15, 2019 at 3:17 | comment | added | Mohd Zulkanien Sarbini | @BillJ "The people running"—why is "running" a clause not a VP? | |
| Mar 15, 2019 at 3:17 | comment | added | Mohd Zulkanien Sarbini | @BillJ "The people running"—why is "running" a clause not a VP? | |
| Mar 5, 2018 at 18:37 | comment | added | BillJ | I asked about CGEL because the topic of VPs as attributive modifiers is discussed in detail on p444. | |
| Mar 5, 2018 at 18:27 | comment | added | herisson | @BillJ: Thanks, I still need to study more about how coordination works. I have a hard time understanding coordination tests. No, I have not. | |
| Mar 5, 2018 at 9:25 | comment | added | BillJ | No, I don't think it affects the analysis. I see "a sleeping and defenseless child" as a coordination of VP and AdjP, each modifying "child". Btw, have you by any chance got a copy of CGEL? | |
| Mar 5, 2018 at 6:19 | comment | added | herisson | One thing I just was thinking about recently: we can't say "a very sleeping child" or "the child seemed sleeping", but we can say "a sleeping and defenseless child", can't we? Does that pose an issue for the analysis of "sleeping" as a VP, or is it OK to coordinate a VP and an AP in this context? | |
| Jan 7, 2017 at 20:33 | comment | added | BillJ | The similarity is of course that verbs like "sleeping" have the same function as genuine adjectives, that of modifier (a sleeping child / a naughty child). And the same applies to "sleeping" (a sleeping / peaceful town. You have to perform the tests I mentioned in order to decide word category. "Sleeping-bag" is different; it's a noun-centred compound noun (gerund-participle verb + noun). | |
| Jan 7, 2017 at 20:13 | comment | added | user140086 | @BillJ We should stop discussing this. Neither of us is wrong. | |
| Jan 7, 2017 at 19:35 | comment | added | user140086 | I am not disputing "sleeping" is a verb, I am arguing it could be interpreted as an adjective, too. Also, "sleeping" in "sleeping bag" is a noun. It's wrong to assume that just because "sleeping" in "sleeping baby" is a verb "sleeping" in "sleeping town" is a verb, too. It's disputable. That's the way English works "strangely". | |
| Jan 7, 2017 at 19:31 | comment | added | BillJ | @Rathony "silent", "calm", etc., are clearly adjectives since they can be modified by "very" (this town is very quiet/calm; this is a very quiet/calm town) and they can be complements to complex-intransitive verbs (The criminal suddenly became silent/calm), and to complex transitive verbs (Using a taser quickly made the criminal silent/calm). "Sleeping" is different and cannot be used like that. | |
| Jan 7, 2017 at 19:17 | comment | added | user140086 | @BillJ I don't think so. If "sleeping" can be replaced by "silent", "calm", "no-activity", or else, it clearly has properties of an adjective. I know what you mean, but all I want to say is the line is not clear. | |
| Jan 7, 2017 at 19:16 | comment | added | BillJ | @Rathony Why not? it refers to the inhabitants, not the buildings. Whatever the interpretation, "sleeping" can only be a verb. | |
| Jan 7, 2017 at 19:13 | comment | added | user140086 | @BillJ Can "town" sleep? | |
| Jan 7, 2017 at 19:12 | comment | added | BillJ | @Rathony When we say "sleeping town", we are of course referring to the townfolk, not the buildings. It's no different to "sleeping child", so the test is fine. | |
| Jan 7, 2017 at 15:37 | comment | added | user140086 | I 100% agree that "sleeping" in "sleeping baby" is a verbal phrase, but I doubt the same word in "sleeping town" is a verbal phrase. It is closer to ungradable adjective. That's what I raised in my answer. Again, the test is useful, but not perfect. | |
| Jan 7, 2017 at 10:26 | comment | added | Mari-Lou A | Could you please define what a gerund-participial verb is, I only found 14 instances on Google and their definitions do not seem to match my example. | |
| Jan 7, 2017 at 9:31 | comment | added | Mari-Lou A | For the benefit of visitors who might be unfamiliar with the acronym, VP stands for verb phrase | |
| Jan 6, 2017 at 17:35 | history | answered | BillJ | CC BY-SA 3.0 |