YoY
Do you count gerunds? This is very broad question. I am not sure if I understand right. Is verb noun in general countable? If not, could you give me some example and kind explanation? Thank you very much for your help!
Aug 3, 2014 10:51 PM
Answers · 20
2
Hmm, not really. Just because a word is formed from a verb and an 'ing' doesn't mean that it's a gerund. A word such as 'feeling', for example, can have a plural form - feelings. But if you talk about the feelings which a person has, this isn't a gerund - it's a noun. Compare: You can eat this fat-free ice cream without feeling guilty. = 'feeling' is a verb form here. The gerund doing the job of a noun here, but it is still a verb, so it can't have a plural form. I hope I've understood your question correctly. I have a strange feeling every time I enter this room. = 'feeling' is a noun here. This can be have a plural form.
August 3, 2014
1
As a native speaker, but not a grammarian, I'm puzzled. I can give usage examples but not explain them. I would say that when a word is truly a gerund--manufactured out of a verb by adding "-ing"--then no, it is not countable and does not have a plural form. Or not usually. Skipping, testing, thinking, listening. They have no plurals. But either there are many exceptions, or there are many words ending in "-ing" with a verb-like root that are not gerunds, or there are a lot of gerunds that have gotten a special status as nouns. I can say "he is writing" or "he and she are writing." But I can speak of "Charles Dickens' writings." I can say "He is baking zwieback," or "Zwieback is baked twice, and each of the two bakings is done on a different day." In short, I don't know.
August 3, 2014
1
There are 2 topics here: How can you tell if a word is a gerund? Su.Ki, actually you are not quite right. I would say your example could be considered a special exception along with words like "teaching." "Feeling" can be one of 3 things: 1. gerund 2. progressive 3. noun I'm going to give an example that uses the word "feeling" in all 3 forms: Q: Which one of that guy's actions made you uncomfortable? A: The feeling. He was feeling the underwear, and that gave me an uncomfortable feeling. In this example: gerund: "The feeling" progressive: "feeling the underwear" noun: "uncomfortable feeling" You probably wouldn't ever say that sentence, but it has perfectly valid grammar. Unfortunately, with word ends that end in "ing," you have to look them up in a dictionary. It's kind of like Godan and Ichidan verbs in Japanese. If the verb ends in su, tu, tsu, bu, etc then it's definitely a Godan verb, but if a verb ends in ru you just have to look it up in a dictionary. It's annoying, isn't it! lol Let's assume that you already know that a word is a gerund. Can you count it? The answer is no. You have to convert the verb into some kind of noun first. Example: "listen" If you want to count "listenings" then you have to change "listen" into "a time that listening happened". OK: There were 3 times that you listened to me. Wrong: There were 3 listenings.
August 4, 2014
1
In English, a gerund is just a name for the suffix "ing". It generally connects to verbs together without the need of a connective, like "but". Two good examples would be "I am talking" and "The cars are racing"
August 4, 2014
No, you don't count gerunds because they don't have plural forms. On the other hand, there are some gerunds that have plural forms like: suffering, showing, meaning, finding, building
August 4, 2014
Still haven’t found your answers?
Write down your questions and let the native speakers help you!