To distinguish the gerund from the participle, it is sometimes necessary to give the gerund a possessive modifier (§ 223), or to change the form of the sentence:

1. They insisted on John's being present; or, They insisted that John be present. (In 'They insisted on John being present' the word being can hardly be classed either as a participle or as a gerund.)

2. That will not hinder his doing (or him from doing) it. (Not 'him doing'.)

3. You cannot prevent our believing it. (Not 'us believing '.)
4. Pardon my interrupting you. (Not 'me interrupting '.)
5. I was vexed by his leaving us. (Not him leaving '.)

6. They insisted that the poor be fed. (Not 'insisted on the poor being fed '.)

7. In case that much rain falls; or, If much rain falls. (Not 'In case of much rain falling '.)

8. They insist that something be done. (Not 'insist on something being done '.)

9. It prevented the question from being raised. (Do not omit from.)

10. He consented to the passage of the bill. (Not 'to the bill passing'; nor 'to the bill's passing ', § 46.)

NOTE. After verbs of seeing and hearing the form in -ing is originally a gerund, with the preposition a (§ 288) omitted; but it is now usually treated as the present participle modifying the noun or pronoun:

1. I saw Mary (a) coming.

2. We hear her (a) singing softly.

3. I could hear their feet (a) rattling up the old stairs.

226. Gerund for progressive passive. In the older language the gerund with the preposition a or in was in common use for what is now the progressive passive voice (§ 209; the gerund without the preposition is occasionally used so still, but sounds archaic or affected, § 380):

1. Forty and six years was this temple in building.—THE BIBLE. 2. The book is now printing. (Preferably, is being printed.)

227. Gerund in forming nouns. The present gerund is often used as the first part of a noun phrase or compound noun; it should not be confused with the present participle:

1. A sleeping room (= a room for sleeping). Compare 'a sleeping lion' (= a lion that sleeps), sleeping being here a participle; 'a living likeness' (= a likeness that lives), living being here a participle.

2. His working clothes (= clothes for working). Compare 'a working man' (= a man that works), working being here a participle.

3. A carving knife (= a knife for carving; the word carving is here a gerund, but is easily mistaken for a participle).

4. The building trade, drinking water, a stepping-stone, my walking stick, her writing lessons. (Gerunds.)

228. Being with predicate pronoun. A predicate pronoun used after the gerund being is in the nominative case (§ 40); when followed by a predicate adjective, being is often omitted: 1. We did not dream of its being she. 2. I was surprised at its being they. 3. We felt certain of its being he.

4. The statement is far from (being) clear.

229. Misattached gerund. The gerund, like the infinitive (8 222), may be used without reference to a subject, to denote action or state in a general way; but when it is used to denote the action or state of a particular person or thing, that person or thing should be expressed, either as a possessive (possessive adjective, or noun in the possessive case) modifying the gerund, or as the subject of the clause in which the gerund stands (otherwise the gerund is faulty, being grammatically attached to the wrong subject):

1. Seeing is believing. (General action.)

2. She was not sure of his going. She was not sure of going. 3. He went away without our knowing it.

4. I lost my way without (my) knowing it. (Omit my; it repeats the subject I. Avoid needless repetition; § 413.)

5. By Jane's doing so his life was saved.

6. On opening the door he saw a stranger. (Not ' On opening the door a stranger appeared'.)

7. After talking the matter over, we decided on a plan. (Not 'a plan was decided on '.)

8. The boat was upset by my leaning over. (Do not omit my.) 9. In revising this book the author has added an index. (Not 'In revising this book an index has been added '.)

10. The car was used without our changing the tire. (Do not omit our.)

11. After singing this hymn, we shall be addressed by Mr. Thomas. (Not' Mr. Thomas will address us'; for this would mean that Mr. Thomas is to sing the hymn.) (Exercise XXV, b, c, § 570.)

230. Verbal adjective: participle. From the verb are formed two verbal nouns (§ 215) and a verbal adjective, called the participle. The participle may be used like an ordinary adjective; but, like the infinitive and the gerund, it has tense and voice also, and may take the same constructions (object, modifier, predicate noun, etc.; see, also, §§ 175, 209) as the verb from which it is formed (§§ 628, 634, 640, 646, 652). The participle with its modifiers is called a participial phrase : 1. The babbling brook; faded flowers. 2. Some gypsies weaving baskets. 3. A brook babbling through the woods. 4. Being a boy, he was frightened.

NOTE. The perfect participle (§§ 628, 634, etc.) denotes time preceding that of the principal verb; the present participle properly denotes the same time as the principal verb, but is often used with the force of the perfect participle:

1. Having found that I was early, I took a walk.

2. Sitting before the open fire, she prepared her evening meal. 3. Finding that I was early, I took a walk. (= Having found.) Opening the window, he looked down into the street.

231. Misattached participle. The participle, being an adjective, modifies a noun or pronoun (§ 113). Care should be taken to make it modify the proper word (otherwise it is faulty, being grammatically attached to a word to which it does not belong; this is especially true of an introductory participle, which regularly modifies the subject of the sentence; see the fourth example):

1. An absorbing story. (Modifier of story.)

2. The story was absorbing. (Predicate adjective, § 158.)

3. Being a boy, he was frightened. (Modifier of the subject he.) 4. Attempting to get into the canoe, we upset it. (Not 'it was upset'. Attempting modifies we. In the sentence 'Attempting to get into the canoe, it was upset' attempting modifies the subject it, the canoe; but this makes nonsense.)

5. Sitting by the window, she heard the watchman. (Not 'the watchman was heard '.)

6. Judging by this, I think he has talent. (Do not omit I think.) 7. Subtracting one and dividing by five, we obtain two for the answer. (Not' the answer is two '.)

8. My shoes being run down at the heel (§ 233), I had them mended. (Not Being run down at the heel, I had my shoes mended '.)

9. Being a wax doll, she immediately forgot her cares. (Not 'Being a wax doll, her cares were immediately forgotten'.)

232. Exceptions to rule. The participle speaking is frequently used independently (without noun or pronoun) with such adverbs as broadly, correctly, generally, properly, roughly, and strictly, in parenthetic adverb phrases:

1. There are, strictly speaking, two classes. 2. Roughly speaking, he lives in his shop.

The participles considering, regarding, saving, and a few others (§ 283, 3) are sometimes used as prepositions :

1. He did well considering (= in view of) his youth. 2. What can be done regarding all this?

233. Nominative absolute. A noun or pronoun modified by a participle may be used in the nominative case with the force of an adverb clause, without being grammatically connected with the sentence; this construction is called the nominative absolute; the participle being is often omitted:

1. Time permitting (= If time permits), he will return.

2. How can I be happy, you being (= when you are) absent? 3. All the rest agreeing, I was obliged to comply. DEFOE. 4. Supper (being) over, they went into the library.

NOTE. The nominative absolute is convenient, but should not be used much; its frequent use tends to mannerism.

234. Punctuation with participle. When a participle is not needed to define the meaning of the noun or pronoun which it modifies, it is nonessential, and is separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma or commas (§§ 50, 92, 477):

1. They found the boat capsized. (Essential.)

2. The book lying on the table is yours. (Essential.)

3. Sitting at the window, she worked late. (Nonessential.) 4. The old man, much wearied, ate little. (Nonessential.)

235. Participle compounded. When the participle is used simply as an adjective, it is often compounded:

1. The snow-capped summits of the Alps.

2. Such far-sighted, sharp-witted men.

236. Participle as noun. The participle is often used as a

noun:

1. The loving are the daring.

2. She cared for the lost and forsaken. (Exercise XXV, d, § 570.)

237. Verbs conjugated with be. Some intransitive verbs denoting motion are conjugated with be (instead of have) to express the condition or state attained, rather than the action which leads to it: