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Parts of speech: Difference between revisions
→participles as dangling modifiers
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</div> | </div> | ||
>> to do: | '''>> to do:''' | ||
from: https://classroom.synonym.com/can-word-verb-adjective-3119.html | from: https://classroom.synonym.com/can-word-verb-adjective-3119.html | ||
<blockquote>Sometimes, it can be difficult to tell the difference between a gerund and a participle. A good rule of thumb to follow is that a participle can be omitted and the sentence will still make sense. | <blockquote><i>Sometimes, it can be difficult to tell the difference between a gerund and a participle. A good rule of thumb to follow is that a participle can be omitted and the sentence will still make sense. | ||
The old lady showed me the way to the museum still works without the participle "smiling," but the same doesn't work for a gerund. If you omit “smoking” from the sentence, He was scolded for smoking, it won’t make sense. | The old lady showed me the way to the museum still works without the participle "smiling," but the same doesn't work for a gerund. If you omit “smoking” from the sentence, He was scolded for smoking, it won’t make sense. | ||
The sentence, Visiting relatives can be boring, is ambiguous because visiting can be interpreted here as a gerund or as a participle. If you interpreted it as "going to relatives houses can be boring," you saw it as a gerund that appears in the subject position in the sentence. You can replace it with a simple noun to confirm it (e.g. Math can be boring). If you interpreted it as "relatives who come to your house can be boring," you saw it as a participle that serves as an adjective modifying the noun "relatives." In this case, you can omit it (Relatives can be boring) and the sentence will still make sense. | The sentence, Visiting relatives can be boring, is ambiguous because visiting can be interpreted here as a gerund or as a participle. If you interpreted it as "going to relatives houses can be boring," you saw it as a gerund that appears in the subject position in the sentence. You can replace it with a simple noun to confirm it (e.g. Math can be boring). If you interpreted it as "relatives who come to your house can be boring," you saw it as a participle that serves as an adjective modifying the noun "relatives." In this case, you can omit it (Relatives can be boring) and the sentence will still make sense. | ||
</blockquote> | </blockquote></i> | ||
=== subjunctive === | === subjunctive === | ||