Gerund Question

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Barb_D

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Re: Gerund question

Time to move to the linguistics forum?
 

5jj

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cuneiform

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Re: Gerund question

ON GRAMMAR SYNONYMS WITH A, THE, AND ZERO-ARTICLE


Introductory

There are only two kinds of philosophy possible: Either object-related (positivism, analytical philosophy, etc.) or subject-related (existentialism, hermeneutics, etc.) philosophy, as only either objective or subjective logic is possible. Hence, the both produce either objective statements (1+2=4) or subjective ones (beauty is attractive). How this can be used in grammar?

Rules of Thumb
[my own explanations or comments set in brackets]

It was a summer of dreadful speculations and discoveries of which these were not the worst. [most general notion] Crime became real, for example, for the first time not as a [conceived] possibility, but as the [real] possibility. (J. Baldwin).

Because the reality is unique like the sun. Non-reality may only be transcended.


A as designation / designator of conceiving, interpretation, evaluation or perception = subject - related, or subjective statements / expressions

The Governor can declare anything to be anything. He can claim a fish to be a fur-bearer. The Governor can declare a birch a balsam, a jack-pine a maple, a lake a river, a tree a rock (J. Aldridge)..
A New English Grammar by Henry Sweet, Oxford, 1891. [a (new) mental conception]
A Linguistic Study of the English Verb by R.P. Palmer, 1965. [a (new) mental conception, collection of ideas involving the verb as the only reality]

THE as designation / designator of the true, given reality = object - related, or objective statements / expressions

It was the end of October [reality]- a fine clear sunless day [evaluation or interpretaion](Wilson).
He looked the picture of health [reality]. (S. Maugham).
The son [reality], a boy of about sixteen [evaluation or interpretaion], is the image of his father [reality] (F. Lawson).
Jonson, Ben (1756). The English grammar: Made by Ben Jonson for the benefit of all strangers, out of his observation of the English language now spoken and in use. The Works of Ben Jonson: Volume 7. London: D. Midwinter et al.[apparently the full reality of the English grammar as it appeared to be at that time; Henry Sweet was more tolerable]

No other approach to the theory of the English articles (a, the, zero-article) could be presented so compactly, fruitfully, and understandable for all students, learners, and users of English including the natives.

This approach is in fact a philosophic one, thus giving a new chance to deeply understand the intrinsic, immanent logic of English, which remains always obscure in grammar books during hundreds of years.


Tags: philosophy of grammar, grammar, synonyms, grammar synonyms, semantics, contextual meaning, lexicology

© cuneiform 2012. Feel free to use this content within www.usingenglish.com while indicating this source.
 
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5jj

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Re: Gerund question

A as designation of the true reality

... nutty as a fruitcake. (Magorian, Michelle (1983) Goodnight Mister Tom, Harmondsworth: Puffin.
 

cuneiform

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Re: Gerund question

A as designation of the true reality

... nutty as a fruitcake. (Magorian, Michelle (1983) Goodnight Mister Tom, Harmondsworth: Puffin.

Context (whole text, paragraph, sentence - at least) is important.
As you have put it, it's clearly one's evaluation, a comparison involving "as", "like", etc.
Other subjects would have made probably other comparisons involving no fruitcake.
Therefore, it cannot be the reality but one's idea only.

I can transform e.g. Maugham's sentence that way also:
He looked like a picture of health [just a comparison, a mental process of conceiving]. Instead of
He looked the picture of health [reality](S. Maugham). However, the essence of the sentence has changed.
Further examples:
A New English Grammar by Henry Sweet, Oxford, 1891.
[a (new) mental conception]
A Linguistic Study of the English Verb by R.P. Palmer, 1965. [a (new) mental conception, collection of ideas involving the verb as the only reality]
 
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5jj

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Re: Gerund question

A New English Grammar by Henry Sweet, Oxford, 1891. [a (new) conception]
A Linguistic Study of the English Verb by R.P. Palmer, 1965. [a (new) conception, collection of ideas involving the verb as the only reality]
Could you provide page references, please?
 

cuneiform

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Apropos of "in connection" again.

MS Word's reaction is to instantly mention its cliche-like essence that requires revising.

On the other hand, one who is going to be casual might want to use (dare use) connexion instead.
Current English Usage by Wood, Flavell, and Flavell, page 77.
 

cuneiform

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Re: Gerund question

Could you provide page references, please?

There is some misunderstanding: I cited these titles as examples of conceiving only, nothing else, in order to show what the both A and THE do here mean, and what their meanings are. - Not as sources related to this grammar theory. Sorry.
 
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Tdol

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Re: Gerund question

There is no misunderstanding that I can see- sources are sources, and claiming that they are anything else is wrong.
 

cuneiform

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Re: Gerund question

Could you provide page references, please?

Here again,

A New English Grammar by Henry Sweet, Oxford, 1891. [a (new) conception]
A Linguistic Study of the English Verb by R.P. Palmer, 1965. [a (new) conception, collection of ideas involving the verb as the only reality]

are examples as titles or else titles as examples with my comments only, which do not contain any references to the content presented.
 

5jj

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Re: Gerund question

As we seem to be getting little sense here, I am closing the thread.
 
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