Posted by John Lambert on January 11, 2010 at 19:42:20 user John.
In Reply to: Re: Grammar (was Ages in GN) posted by David Bamford on January 11, 2010 at 13:41:00:
Yeah, I always wince when I hear that one. This introductory spiel used to continue . . .where no man has gone before.. Political correctness, alas, has claimed another victim. Now it's where no one has gone before. Since the crew of the Enterprise now includes women, I suppose that makes sense.
A gerund is a verb with delusions of grandeur. It thinks it's a noun and acts like a noun, but cannot shake off its lowly verb origins. Swimming (swim), Running (run), Thinking (think) are gerunds used as nouns. Although they may not have snouts as in the Searle cartoon, they do end in -ing. That's how you can identify the beast.