Grammar question regarding the gerund

English grammar questions, answered by Alan

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Sparky
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Grammar question regarding the gerund

Post by Sparky »

Hello everyone,
I would be greatful if you can explain the reason why some gerunds sound unatural in certain sentences.

A: Gandhi is the praying man.
B: Gandhi is the man praying.
C: The praying man is Gandhi.
D: The man praying is Gandhi.
For me b and d are correct.

But why is it acceptable to use the word suffering before the noun people as follows in this sentence from a text book-


She wanted to stay with him in the UK,but couldn't leave her suffering people behind.

Would be grateful for any answers.
Thank you.
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Alan
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Re: Grammar question regarding the gerund

Post by Alan »

The forms that you cite are actually participles, not gerunds, but still you pose a very good question, to which the answer, unfortunately, is rather complex: essentially, there is no absolute rule determining whether a participle used adjectivally may precede its noun. There are simply tendencies for this to be so, for instance where the usage is metaphorical as opposed to literal, hence 'running water' is natural, but '*a running man' is not. Regarding your examples, 'the man praying' is indeed the correct choice, rather than '*the praying man'.

Note, incidentally, that the above does not apply to words such as 'interesting, boring, excited', which, although deriving from participles, are classified in dictionaries as true adjectives and consequently always precede their noun.

If in doubt regarding the correct positioning of adjectival participles- although a very good learner's dictionary may carry the relevant information - your only option in some cases, I'm afraid, may be simply to consult a native!
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