Oh those Gerunds!

Oh those Gerunds is the 2008 upgrade and revision of several separate files into one xhtml file. If you've reached this page via a link from of the older pages please dont forget to bookmark it for return visits. Topics covered in this article include Gerunds in English and Latin and other languages along with related forms such as Gerundives and Greek Verbal Adjectives.

What's A Gerund?

Oh those Gerunds! What are they? The name suggests some mysterious hostile alien race ... the Grrruns! So what are they?
Gerunds are a form of Verbal Nouns peculiar to Latin. I say peculiar to Latin because although other languages have grammatical forms called Gerunds with similar functions, Latin Gerunds are unique. English Gerunds are really participles with a gerund function in that when used as gerunds they are Verbal Nouns instead of Participles even though they have the SAME form. Latin Gerunds however have a special form that clearly distinguishes them from Latin Participles which have different endings.
The word Gerund comes form the Latin Verb GERO - carry.
Gerunds function as Verbal Nouns in both English and Latin.

What a Gerund IS NOT!

• Gerunds are not Participles or Gerundives!
• They have NO case or number or tense.
• They are derived from Verbs but function as a NOUN.
• They are Nominal not Adjectival.
• They are not Gerundives! Gerundives are Verbal Adjectives!

English Gerunds

English Gerunds have the same form as a Present Progressive Participle but a different usage. Remember Verb used as Noun! Here are some samples of the Gerund as a Subject and Object in sentences.The Gerund is a Verbal Noun in with an -ING ending formed from a Verb. It is the function that differs. English Gerunds are always ACTIVE and NEUTER and SINGULAR. They can be used as a Subject or Object whereas Latin prefers to use Infinitives a Subject.
This is a Gerund. I enjoy running.
This is a Participle - Stay away from running water. Note how in the second example running describes the action.
More examples:

• Speaking is easier than listening.
• Walking with you is a pleasure.
• Coming here is a pleasure.

Note that Infinitives can be used the same way and are in English Latin Greek and other languages. Here are sentences with the same meaning but in which the Infinitive form is used as a Verbal Noun and hence a Subject.

• To speak is easier than to listen
• To walk with you is a pleasure.
• To come here is a pleasure.

N.B. Latin and Greek generally tend to use the Infinitive form of a Verb as a Subject rather than a Gerund.

Latin Gerunds

Latin Gerunds are Verbal Nouns, like the Infinitive and Supine forms, but unlike other Nominal and Adjectival forms, such as Participles and Gerundives, Latin Gerunds have:

• NO Nominative Case
• NO Plural
• NO TIME Reference - unlike the Latin Infinitive Gerunds have no Tense!

They are always ACTIVE and NEUTER and follow the Second Declension pattern, and are marked by an - ND morph, not the - NT - of participles. They can take adverbs: ad bene vivendum, for living well, .

An Sample from the Verb AMBULO
Ambula - ND - I -	Genitive	- of walking
Ambula - ND - O -	Dative	- to walking
Ambula - ND - UM -	Accusative	- for (the purpose of) walking
Ambula - ND - O -	Ablative	- by (means of) walking

As you can see from the above table Latin often uses a gerund where English has a Prepositional Phrase. A Latin speaker would say that the Art of Teaching is Ars Docendi.
Important Translation Tip! A Present Infinitive used as the Subject of a sentence can be translated into English as a Gerund. Latin Docere bonus esse becomes English To teach is good.The art of teaching is Ars Docendi but when teaching is the subject of a sentence then ... Docere mihi iucundum est. Teaching for me is pleasant.
While Gerunds do have an accusative form it is better to use a gerundive for a direct object unless it is an accusative of say Purpose like this one: Ad pugnandum For towards fighting. Genitive Gerunds often complement Adjectives: Pugnandi cupidi sunt, they are desirous of fighting. Ablative Gerunds expressing means, cause, or manner, often include the words Gratia, or Causa, gratia navigandi celeriter, for (the sake of) sailing quickly. Here's an Ablative: Pugnando BY fighting. A rare dative gerund appears with certain adjectives, bonus, utilis, idoneus, Aqua bibendo bona est, the water is good for drinking, Locus idoneus castris, a place suitable for camping.
Here are a couple of more Gerund examples: Studium plura cognoscendi, Zeal for learning more, Pugnandi causa venerunt, They came to fight, Parcendo hostibus, by sparing the enemy.

Other Related Forms One - Verbal Nouns

Here's some more information on Verbal Nouns.
Verbal Nouns are Supines Infinitives and Gerunds. They are also referred to as Nominal forms. Nomen is Latin for Name and also Noun. Nominalization is the process of turning verbs into nouns. Verbla Nouns have verb stems that have morphs added to them that turn them into nouns or noun phrases.

Gerundives are Verbal Adjectives. Participle are Verbal adjectives. Both like adjectives describe things and persons. Greek as well as Participles has Verbal Adjectives using the endings - teos and -tea. Both Greek and Latin use Gerundives to express duty, obligation, and necessity. The most famous example is Carthago delenda est. Carthage must be destroyed! A Neuter nominative gerundive takes an intransitive verb, but if used as an adjective, a transitive verb.
Gerundives are declined like adjectives or like Future Passive Participles in Latin following the -us -a -um pattern and have all Genders Cases and Numbers. In postclassical Latin Gerundives often replaced Gerunds, especially if the gerund was accusative / object.

Gerundives in English
Gerundives in Latin
Gerundives in Greek

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