文档介绍：College English Grammar: Grammar and Writing
Unit 10
Phrases: Gerund Phrases and Absolute Phrases
Grammar: 1. Gerund Phrases 2. Absolute Phrases
Writing:
Correcting: mas with Nonessential Elements
Rewriting: Intra-sentence coherence
I. Gerund Phrases
Both a gerund and a present participle end in –ing but they function as different parts of speech. A gerund is used as a noun, whereas a present participle is used as an adjective or an adverb.
. Form and function
A gerund phrase includes the gerund and the object of the gerund or any modifiers related to the gerund. Like a gerund, it is used as a noun—as subject, predictive, object, object of a preposition, or appositive.
1) as a noun to be subject
You must know your enemy.
That is the best defense.
Knowing your enemy is the best defense.
2) as a noun to be predictive
He finishes his supper.
He takes a short walk.
That is his habit.
In this habit, he keeps healthy.
His habit to keep healthy is taking a short walk after supper.
3) as a noun to be appositive
His dream is finding lost treasure.
His dream almost came true recently.
His dream, finding lost treasure, almost came true recently.
4) as a noun to be object
I travel in the country.
I love that.
I lose my way.
I don’t like that.
I love traveling in the country, but I don't like losing my way.
5) as a noun to be object of a preposition
They wanted to travel to foreign country.
They have made preparation for it.
They have made preparation for traveling to a foreign country.
. Position and punctuation
Gerund phrases can either hold the subject position or the direct object position. A gerund nearly never requires any punctuation with it except its function as appositive. When a gerund phrase is used as an appositive, we use ma to set it off from the word it modifies.
Beggars sell themselves as human beings.
Such behavior arouses the pity of passers-by.
Beggars’ behavior, selling themselves as human beings, arouses the pity of