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Scotty
Is this sentence correct?
Today my teacher gave me a sentence goes like this :
Frequently checking cellphones render them less efficient at work.
My question is, frequently here is adverb. so it should be followed with a verb. but checking is a ing form verb which should be considered as a noun. so why not use a adjective to describe " checking "?
24 de dic. de 2019 13:28
Respuestas · 7
A little tricky.
You are right in saying that "checking" here is acting as a noun. Simplifying the sentence gives us "Checking renders them less efficient at work." (As a side note, it should be "renders" with an "s" for the singular, since the act of checking is a singular noun.)
However, it is not just "checking" but *frequently* checking, and not just checking, but checking *cellphones* - so "frequently checking cellphones" becomes an entire "phrasal noun." (This is not the actual definition of a phrasal noun, but let's just use it for now to describe this phenomenon of a group of words acting together as one noun.)
In other words, *within* the phrase "frequently checking cellphones," "checking" acts a verb and therefore is modified by an adverb.
However, the entire phrase "frequently checking cellphones" acts here in this sentence as a noun.
24 de diciembre de 2019
A gerund has both noun and verb characteristics.
"frequently checking cellphones" = gerund phrase, subject of the sentence.
frequently = adverb for the gerund "checking"
checking = gerund of "to check"
cellphones = gerund object, direct object of the gerund "checking"
24 de diciembre de 2019
@Jocob. very good example. learned
24 de diciembre de 2019
It’s correct.
Look at this.
Quickly cooking the food
Quick cooking of the food
24 de diciembre de 2019
Checking in this sentence is a verb so there is not need to describe it wth an adjective.
24 de diciembre de 2019
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Scotty
Competencias lingüísticas
Chino (mandarín), Inglés
Idioma de aprendizaje
Inglés
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