Understanding Nominals: Gerunds, Infinitives, and Nominal Clauses

1. English 325 Understanding English Grammar: Chapter 7

2. Business • Prayer • Announcements / Calendar • Test update • Grades update • Collect EC & homework (prepcheck) • Hunt’s Ketchup • Diagramming • UEG 7

3. The Test UEG, Chapters 3 through 6 (nothing directly on the verb expansion rule) The Mother Tongue, Chapters 5 through 8 • Part 1: Common Errors topics • Part 2: Parts of speech identification • Part 3: Diagramming • Part 4: Mother Tongue essay

4. Terms • Nominal: Any structure that functions as a noun phrase normally functions. • “Nominal” is the adjectival form of the word “name” (or “noun”) • Fr. L. nomen “name” • What, for example, does it mean to be a “nominal Christian”? • A form is nominal if it is not really a noun or noun phrase but has the characteristics of one and, hence, functions as a noun or noun phrase (I.e., in one of the sentence pattern slots reserved for an NP). • Nominals: gerunds, infinitives, nominal clauses, interrogatives (indirect questions) • Slots: subject, object (of verbals and prepositions), complement/appositive

5. Terms, cont’d. • Appositive: (fr. L. ad “toward” [ think of “at”] + positus “placed” [think of “position”]; hence, “placed toward [a noun]” or “positioned at [a noun]”) • Renames another nominal: “My best buddy, Rich, lives in Iowa.” • Where is the appositive in the sentence above? How is it functioning in its sentence? • Where do appositives usually appear? • How does an appositive differ from an adjective? • How do we indicate an appositive in a sentence diagram? • What is the relationship between appositives and their “restriction” (or “non-restriction”)? • What, then, are the rules for punctuating appositives? • What is the difference between a NP or modifier in the “appositive” position and one in the “attributive” position?

6. Terms, cont’d. • Gerund: An –ing verb functioning as a nominal: “I enjoy jogging with my dog”; “Running is a good exercise.” • Where are the gerunds in each of the sentences above? How are they functioning in their sentences? • Can you create a sentence with a gerund functioning otherwise? • Fr. L. gerere “to do” (or “manage,” “wage,” or “conduct”); hence, gerund suggests “something that is done” or “an activity.” • How is a gerund like a participle? How are they different? What can we say about the sentence pattern of a gerund? • How does a gerund differ from a progressive verb form? • Her job was selling computers. • She was selling computers. • What tests can you devise to distinguish gerunds from progressive verbs? • (1) reverse the subject/complement order, • (2) replace with a pronoun or “something,” or • (3) replace with “the activity of . . . ,” or • (4) replace with “to . . .” (yields gerund) v. “supposed to . . . .” (yields verb) • What are the three –ing verbal forms? How are each of the three -ing forms diagrammed? Why are they diagrammed as they are? • What is a dangling gerund? Can you give an example? How are they corrected?

7. Terms, cont’d. • Nominal Infinitive Phrase: (to + verb base form) “To remain neutral on the issueis difficult.” • Where is the infinitive phrase above? How is it functioning in the sentence? • Can you create a sentence with a nominal infinitive phrase functioning otherwise? • Why do we need to call it a nominal infinitive phrase? What other types of infinitive phrases are there? • How does an infinitive phrase differ from a prepositional phrase? • What can we say about the sentence patten of infinitive phrases? • How do we diagram nominal infinitive phrases?

8. Commercial break • Taking grammar from Bro. Murray—what it really feels like.

9. Terms, cont’d. • Nominal Clause: (dependent structure of subject & verb) “I believe that jealousy prompted her action.” • Where is the nominal clause in the sentence above? How is it functioning in its sentence? • Can you create a nominal clause functioning otherwise? • Why must we stipulate it as a nominal clause? What other types of clauses are there? • How does a nominal clause differ from a relative clause? How can you distinguish between them? • What can we say about the sentence pattern nominal clauses? • How do we diagram nominal clauses?

10. Terms, cont’d. • Interrogative (what, who, whose, which, where, when, why, and how; aka indirect questions):“What we have here is a problem.” “I wonder what prompted her action.” • What is the interrogative nominal clause in the sentences above? How is it functioning in its sentence? • Can you create a sentence with one of these clauses functioning otherwise? • How do interrogative noun clauses (indirect questions) differ from “true” interrogatives (direct questions)? • What can we say about sentence patterns and interrogative noun clauses? • How do we diagram interrogative noun clauses?

11. Diagramming pp. 198-99

12. The Everything Game • Pair up and diagram the following sentence; then, identify as much as you can about the form and function of each and every element in the sentence. • “Without a doubt, the first words of a child are a miracle to the child’s parents.”

13. Next class: • Chapters 9 and 10 in The Mother Tongue (prepare summary sheets) • Group B