Linked Questions

Literature is inevitably a distorting--not a neutral--medium. Writers interpose their vision between the reader and reality. In the above sentence, is the word distorting a gerund or a participle ? ...

In the sentence "baking is fun," what part of speech is "baking"?

ᴛʟᴅʀ: Is it ever possible for a sentence to have a word in it that is simultaneously more than one single part of speech in that sentence under the same parse and meaning? (For example, a few ...

We generally use modifiers such as "so" and "very" for gradable/normal adjectives (water can be quite/so/very HOT, but not quite/so/very BOILING (an ungradable/extreme adjective). Yet would you say ...

Is it possible to use un- with new words such as sit, sleep, sad? I'm currently seeing many words (in programming) which use un- in the meaning of undoing something. For example, is it possible to ...

Is the idiomatic expression 'get started' (as in "Let's get started") a passive construction? Or is 'started' here an adjective? EDIT As John Lawler has suggested in his answer, let's not get ...

I know that a gerund is a noun, so it should be modified by an adjective. However, it is also a verb form. Can I modify it by using an adverb?

I've read somewhere that some adjectives cannot be used in the predicative position; for example "this is a major problem" is acceptable, but "the problem is major" is not acceptable. I'm wondering ...

I read from TheFreeDictionary http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Gerunds.htm the examples "Studying too hastily will result in a poor grade." and "Working from home allows me to spend more time with my ...

What is the difference between a gerund and present participle? When should we use a gerund and when should we use a present participle ?

The prefix 'un-' is polysemous. Its meaning depends on the word class of the root/stem it is being attached to: for verbs the meaning has a "reversible" effect and for adjectives it has a "negated" or ...

A case refers to a "binding" or authoritative decision made by the court. Binding is a verb, noun or an adjective?

According to a dictionary, rumor can function as a noun or a verb. I can see rumor being a noun, but am having difficulty accepting it as a verb. The dictionary gives the example sentence, John is ...

Can you explain why using "loud" as either an adjective or an adverb changes the meaning of the sentence. Is it just an English convention, or is there something deeper going on? I like loud singing =...