(n.) A kind of verbal noun, having only the four oblique cases of the singular number, and governing cases like a participle.
(n.) A verbal noun ending in -e, preceded by to and usually denoting purpose or end; -- called also the dative infinitive; as, "Ic haebbe mete to etanne" (I have meat to eat.) In Modern English the name has been applied to verbal or participal nouns in -ing denoting a transitive action; e. g., by throwing a stone.
Example Sentences:
(1) A gerund is a verb ending in -ing that acts as a noun: I like swimming, smoking is bad for you, and so on.
(2) A research on the acquisition of morphemes of plural, diminutive, augmentative, gerund, imperfect, and preterite with 109 Spanish children from 3 to 6 is reported.
(3) Thirty years on from the riots, one walks up Prince's Avenue, past what was the incinerated Rialto and the sign into Toxteth, and yet another sign promising imminent arrival into the "Regeneration Zone", and showing pictures of a perfect cereal-packet multiracial family, pristine modern houses and beautifully refurbished original stock – beneath which is the inevitable crass slogan that accompanies every corporate or political effort these days, always beginning with a pretentious gerund, in this case: "Creating neighbourhoods for the future".
(4) Four hundred and twenty-seven deaf students (age 10 to 19 years) and 60 hearing children (age eight to 10 years) judged the grammaticality of sample sentences which contained infinitival or gerundive complements.
(5) 7 Don't fear the gerund Geoffrey Willans and Ronald Searle's guide to life at St Custard's school , How to Be Topp, features a cartoon in which a gerund attacks some peaceful pronouns, but it is nothing to be afraid of.
Substantive
Definition:
(a.) Betokening or expressing existence; as, the substantive verb, that is, the verb to be.
(a.) Depending on itself; independent.
(a.) Enduring; solid; firm; substantial.
(a.) Pertaining to, or constituting, the essential part or principles; as, the law substantive.
(n.) A noun or name; the part of speech which designates something that exists, or some object of thought, either material or immaterial; as, the words man, horse, city, goodness, excellence, are substantives.
(v. t.) To substantivize.
Example Sentences:
(1) Alternatives for the selection of substantive clinical attributes, the overall structural format into which categories are organized, and construction procedures used in developing a psychopathologic taxonomy are elaborated, as are a number of criteria for evaluating the taxonomy's utility and efficacy.
(2) Further it is argued that there is a need to amalgamate the substantive, conceptual, and methodological facets of research.
(3) Among the implications of the less-than-impressive substantive results of the MWTA is the lesson that while a crisis can tilt the political balance in favor of regulatory legislation, it cannot as readily produce the consensus required to sustain that regulation at the levels promised in the legislation.
(4) Wicker's (this issue) article on substantive theorizing outlines an approach to theory and research that helps communicate the structure and process of doing research on a complex area.
(5) Our findings demonstrate the long lasting substantivity of doxycycline hydrochloride on periodontally diseased root surfaces and supports the concept of using root surfaces as a substrate for the deposition and slow release for local tetracycline delivery.
(6) Twenty-five years of persistent research at the Jena Institute of Bacterial Animal Diseases have yielded substantive results of relevance to general knowledge and veterinary practice in the following fields: Mycoplasma species in farm animals-isolation, demands on culturing substrate, and differentiation; Virulence testing; Development, production, and application of diagnostic preparations; Development to full application maturity of diagnostic techniques and concepts for control of several mycoplasmal infections of relevance in terms of economy.
(7) Redesigning the dream was identified as the integrative theme in the substantive theory that described how family members gradually modify their beliefs about organ transplantation and develop attitudes and beliefs to meet the challenge of living with continual unpredictability.
(8) These data suggest that although a shortened form of the HIT may be useful with aged persons, research exploring the substantive bases for creating a shortened version of the HIT is nevertheless necessary.
(9) Unfortunately, a large number of potential compounds are unsuitable for use in dentifrices because they lack "substantivity", produce undesirable side-effects, or are incompatible with toothpaste ingredients.
(10) Methodological and substantive recommendations for future research are made and a discussion of possible mechanisms is presented.
(11) When the influence of castration on adduct formation was investigated, adduct levels in kidneys of castrated females were higher than those in sham-operated females, but adduct levels in kidneys of the castrated male animals were not substantively different from those seen in sham-operated male controls.
(12) Based on a discrete-time hazard modeling approach, the results substantiate that the occupational task activities--substantive complexity and physical demands--are key elements of the work environment that are evaluated against nonwork alternatives.
(13) "I think when critics don't have a substantive alternative to offer they reach for the 'out of touch' criticism," he said.
(14) Findings revealed two substantive processes, the touching process and acquiring a touching style, neither of which has been previously reported.
(15) Quantitative information is the substantive input to decisions on whether oral and maxillofacial surgeons wish to go where they appear to be going, and if so why, and if not, why not?
(16) The Kinnaird report was very critical of defence acquisition processes up to that point, because approval had often been “sought before whole-of-life costs are well defined and, for many projects, prior to substantive engagement with industry.
(17) What came out instead was a substantive document, involving concrete steps towards defusing the crisis.
(18) But political will to uplift the lot of women substantively was lacking.
(19) But I reckon Laura Tingle is dead right on the substantive challenge - the statement just shows the country can no longer coast.
(20) The union's assistant general secretary Diana Holland said: "We will not be calling Easter strike action as we focus on substantive talks through Acas.