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ENGLISH 101. ACADEMIC WRITING |
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Module 1 Module 2 3:
Euthyphro 11:
Research Project 19:
Outlines Module 5 25:
About the Exam
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So far we've seen that verbs have parts because they not only mean what they mean (I eat their bones), but they also carry the added meanings of time (I ate their bones, I was eating their bones, I've already eaten their bones). But like all living, breathing English words, these verb parts aren't always content to remain in one category all of the time. They often quit their jobs as verb parts and become other parts of speech-- sometimes adjectives, sometimes nouns.
How about "falling," as in falling snow, falling leaves or falling temperatures. Still a verb? No, an adjective. It describes the nouns "snow," "leaves," and "temperatures." Now, how about these sentences:
In these sentences 'falling' is a noun. (As a test,, you can easily substitute a familiar noun: Rejection hurts. Rejection doesn't have to mean injury if you know how to handle it. Rejection is never simple.) When a verb part (in this case the present participle) is used as a noun, it's called a gerund. Understanding these mutations in the parts of verbs will help you immeasurably
"Driving to school in my car" is not a complete sentence; it is only a phrase or sentence fragment. (See Hacker section 14 on fragments.) For a complete sentence, add a verb. "Driving to school in my car requires a quart of oil." For
further review of the parts that play other parts, look at Dr. E's
Grammar
Sequence for College Writers. |
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gutchess@englishare.net Academic writing home page Gary & Elizabeth Gutchess © 2003 |
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Take
the verb 'fall' in the sentence, "I've fallen enough already."
Here "fallen" is part of the main verb. But how about a
"fallen" tree? Now "fallen" is an adjective; it
describes "tree" in the same way that the adjective 'leafy'
would. So now 'fallen' isn't really a verb but an adjective.