Sentence Structure Course: Gerunds in Action
Two Sentences That Hit you in the Gut
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Boom! We are back, everyone. Let's practice two sentence structures this week in VERBAL land.
The first is a very effective form of nostalgia building. In previous weeks, we've discussed front-loading a sentence with a gerund. Donald Day kills this form in the sentence below.
"Stealing watermelons on dark and rainy nights was a pious duty when I was a boy"
I love this structure because it creates a nostalgic, reminiscing sentence.
However, placing the gerund at the front contrasts the dreamy vibe with a dynamic hit. The gerund functions as the subject in the sentence, which is focused on the action of stealing and not on the character reminiscing.
"Stealing watermelons on dark and rainy nights" (Gerund Phrase.)
Another element of the sentence is the predicate nominative (a pious duty) which completes the gerund thrust and the linking verb (was).
In the end, we get an adverbial clause of time specifying when the pious duty takes place.
Assignment One: Write a nostalgic sentence with the same structure
[Gerund Phrase as Subject] + [Linking Verb] + [Predicate Nominative] + [Adverbial Clause of Time]
----- Gerunds as an Object
Below is a sentence by Chris Hedges that shows a sad truth with the gerund functioning as the object. It also feels very aphoristic which connects to the fiction assignment this week.
"The cause, sanctified by the dead, cannot be questioned without dishonoring those who gave up their lives"
The gerund in this sentence (dishorning) acts as a noun and serves as the object of the preposition (without). This gerund placement adds intensity to the moral message of the sentence by framing the questioning of the dead as a form of disrespect. THAT IS SICK. Let's dive deeper.
Like the previous sentence, we are hit with the subject at the start (The Cause)
However, the nonrestrictive participial phrase (sanctified by the dead) adds depth, framing the soldiers as elevated and sacred beings.
Next, a modal verb phrase (cannot be questioned) sets up the moral nature of the sentence.
Then, after the gerund, the relative clause (who gave up their lives) closes everything out by using death, which is ABSOLUTE.
Assignment Two: Write an aphoristic sentence using the structure below
[Subject] + [Nonrestrictive Participial Phrase] + [Modal Verb Phrase] + [Prepositional Phrase with Gerund as Object] + [Relative Clause]