Verbal Nouns

Verbal nouns: are noun forms that are derived from verbs.
Quirk et al (1985) define verbal noun as an abstract noncount noun of the kind
that can be formed from verbs by adding –ing.

Many people tend to confuse gerunds and verbal nouns, especially if they end in the
–ing form. It is important to note that all gerunds end in -ing form whereas verbal
nouns can have different endings. Common verbs of Old English origin, like win, form
a verbal noun by adding – ing. In the French-Latin-Greek part of our vocabulary,
however, verbal nouns are formed in a number of different ways and they are always
distinct from gerunds; for example, discovery, explanation, improvement, response
versus discovering, explaining, improving, responding.( Kreidler, 1998)

What is The Difference Between Gerund and Verbal Noun?

The difference between gerund and verbal noun is in the kind of constructions they
appear in:

 The subject of the verbal noun is a genitive NP. While the subject of the gerund
can be a genitive / or an accusative NP. (Thomson and Martinet ,1986)

Ex. Brown's painting of his wife is wonderful (verbal noun)

He insisted on my / me reading it. ( gerund)

 The object of the verbal noun is preceded by of. While in the gerund it is not .

Ex. John's refusing of the offer is polite. (verbal noun)

John's refusing the offer is out of anger. ( gerund)

 Quirk et al (ibid.) show the difference in meaning between gerund and verbal
noun in terms of action and mode interpretation.

Ex. I warned him against fast driving. (verbal noun)

I warned him against driving fast. ( gerund)

 The gerund, can be modified by the adverb whereas the verbal noun by the
adjective .

Ex Brown’s deft painting of his daughter is wonderful. (verbal noun)

Brown’s deftly painting his daughter makes her happy. ( gerund)

 .The gerund allows auxiliaries, whereas verbal noun cannot contain an auxiliary.

Ex John's having criticized the play annoyed us.

* Brown's having painted of his wife is wonderful.

Trask (2006) points out that although the verbal noun is derived from a verb, it
is strictly a noun and it exhibits nominal properties.
The characteristics of gerund indicate that it has mainly verbal characteristics
and it can be considered syntactically a verb (Greenbaum, 1992).

Overt subject and tacit subject in verbal nouns:

Overt subject means that the subject of the verbal noun is different from the
subject of the main verb but if the subject of the verbal noun is the same as the
subject of the main verb, there is a tacit subject.

If the verb has an overt subject, that subject becomes possessive before the verbal
noun, as shown. If the verbal noun has a tacit subject, the verbal noun is preceded
by the. .( Kreidler, 1998)

Ex. They excused my opening of the letter.

.
I defended the opening of the letter.

Done by M.A. Student : NOOR ALAA