Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 2002. Vol. 3. Eger Journal of English Studies.(Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 29)

Csaba Ceglédi: On the Constituent Structure of Infinitives and Gerunds in English

INFINITIVES AND GERUNDS IN ENGLISII 97 Gerunds take adverbial rather than adjectival modification: (61) a. Horace('s) carefully describing the bank vault to Max b. ^Horace's careful describing the bank vault to Max ECM is possible in tensed sentences and gerunds but not in noun phrases: (62) a. John believed Bill to be Caesar Augustus. b. John('s) believing Bill to be Caesar Augustus c. *John's belief Bill to be Caesar Augustus Object-control construcdons occur in gerunds and tensed sentences but not in noun phrases: (63) a. I persuaded John to leave. b. me/my persuading John to leave c. *my persuasion of John to leave Gerunds may contain secondary predicates with a resultative meaning. This is not possible in noun phrases: (64) a. We painted the house red. b. us/our painting the house red c. *our painting of the house red Gerunds and tensed sentences may contain concealed questions, noun phrases cannot: (65) a. I considered sabotage. b. me/my considering sabotage c. *my consideration of sabotage Finally, Abney (1987) points out that noun phrases may contain subjects, but their presence is not obligatory. Ordinary sentences, infinidves, and gerunds, on the other hand, require the presence of a subject. The observations suggest that gerunds must be analyzed as sentences.