Sasha
Enseignant professionnel
Gerund as a Subject (There's no doing smth) Hello! Are these sentences ok to give an example of a gerund in the meaning of a subject in this structure (There is/was no + doing something)? 1. There's no talking to her when she is in such a mood. 2. There is no stopping them now. 3. There was no denying it. Could you write one common example to add? Thank you!
18 mai 2020 11:56
Réponses · 5
1
The gerunds in those sentences are not subjects. In those structures, they are just nouns. It's the same as saying 'there's no rice in the cupboard'. An example of a gerund as a subject could be 'Smoking is bad for you.' or 'Swearing doesn't help anybody'. Is it that by 'subject' you mean 'noun'? As David says, the sentences are all correct.
18 mai 2020
"There's no pleasing him" - great example. Thank you!
18 mai 2020
All three sound correct and are commonly used. As to whether they are grammatically correct or are examples of colloquial speech, maybe one of the English language experts can comment. Another example would be "there's no pleasing him", meaning whatever you do or say, he'll never be satisfied.
18 mai 2020
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