The Classification of Words

partially viewed as a substance.

The categories of voice and order (see paradigm on
p. 186).

The group morpheme -ing.

The combinability resembling that of the verb (the
gerund is associated with adverbs, with nouns or pronouns
denoting the object of the action) and that of the noun (the
gerund is associated with prepositions, with the conjoint
possessive pronouns, nouns in the possessive case).

E. g. The district is justified in blindly ignoring the county. (Bennett).
5. The syntactical functions of subject, complement,
attribute, etc.
E. g. His returning so soon surprised his family. (Mere­dith). / remember meeting him in London. (Collins).
§322. The gerund, like the infinitive, combines verbal and noun features, yet the gerund is more of a noun than the infinitive, which is to some extent explained by the fact
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that the gerund became part of the verb system much later than the infinitive.
The combinability of the gerund differs considerably from that of the infinitive. Thus, the gerund may be preceded by a preposition, as in She thought of going there. We insisted on staying here. The wisdom of I i v i n g is greater than the wisdom of the book. (Abrahams).
In contrast to the infinitive, the gerund is often accompa­nied by a noun in the possessive case or a possessive pronoun. Sometimes the action denoted by the gerund is not associated • with any doer, any producer of the action, as in Living is striving.
Very often the doer is not clear, as in / like singing (it is not clear whether I myself like to sing or I like other people's singing). This is much rarer with the infinitive, which mostly denotes an action whose subject is represented by some word in the sentence. Cf. / like singing and / like to sing (in the latter sentence the doer of the action denoted by to sing is represented by /).
The gerund, as H. Sweet^J says, is less of a verb than the infinitive, inasmuch as it does not join in the conjugation of the finite verb.
In addition, the infinitive possesses a peculiar modal force not observed in the gerund, as in the article to be translated (=which must be translated).
§ 323. Some grammarians are of the opinion that the diffe­rence between these rival forms — the infinitive and the gerund — is an aspective one, the gerund representing an action in its progress (accordingly it is thought to be imper-fective) and the infinitive — representing an action in its entirety (accordingly it is thought to be perfective). Besides, the gerund is believed to denote a general action, the infini­tive — a concrete one.
Many linguists (among them Curme ²) refute this point of view and supply examples showing that the differentiation is not felt in actual usage. Thus, in-the sentence It has a bad air your forgetting me so early, though a gerund is used, a concrete, individual instance is meant.

¹ Op cit , p. 116. " Op. cit., p. 492

7 Хаймович и др
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It is hard to foretell how the rivalry of these forms will progress. It is quite probable that the gerund and the infi­nitive will be further differentiated. In Modern English speech the gerund is, probably, the only usual verbid after 1) some verbs such as to advise, to avoid, to delay, to deny, to enjoy, to escape, to excuse, to fancy, to finish, to give up, to go on, to imagine, to keep on, to leave off, to mind, to put off, to postpone, to quit, to set about, to stop, to suggest; 2) cer­tain verb-groups such as can't help (bear, stand, stomach, suffer); after verbs with fixed prepositions such as to accuse (of), to agree (to), to approve (of); 3) adlinks and adjec­tives — aware (of), capable (of), fond (of), -proud (of), etc.
On the other hand, some verbs can attach an infinitive, but not a gerund, as to hope, to promise, to refuse, to start out, etc.
§ 324. The gerund, which is a peculiarity of the English language, is very extensively used as the centre of complexes (nexuses) synonymous with subordinate clauses. Compare:
/ know of his h a v i n g g о п е to Kiev. I know that he has gone to Kiev.
There are probably few types of subordinate clauses which have no synonymous complexes. Compare: