2015-02-18
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Exercise 154. Translate the sentences. Define the syntactical function.
1. Your daughter doing the dishes after meals may save your time. 2. The best thing is Fred’s being ready to give you a hand whenever you need it. 3. They never mind their car being borrowed by their friends. 4. Your objection to Julie and Ann taking a trip to the mountains can’t be ignored. 5. They have exchanged letters with a view to their representatives meeting to discuss the problems of their countries’ cooperation. 6. You can make her happy by her son being given back to her. 7. Because of the exchange rate being too low they made up their mind not to buy foreign currency. 8. After the horse being sold he had to sell the sheep. 9. One can’t do anything without the data being fed into the computer. 10. Despite your parents teaching you good manners your behaviour leaves much to be desired. 11. It’s no good your room-mate making dinner for you. 12. Instead of your receiving her every weekend you could just give her a call every day. 13. The only way out was Rudolph’s fetching a bucket of water from the pond. 14. I understand his hesitation in his relatives being informed of the incident. 15. The programme was shown for them getting more feedback from the viewers. 16. He managed to sell the car for his agent having arranged everything for him. 17. She finds it awful him having applied for another job. 18. Before the dish being cooked you are supposed to buy a bottle of red wine. 19. Can you rely on your children looking after you when you get old? 20. They suggested our visiting the Hermitage and the Russian museum. 21. There’s no use in them going there by coach. 22. They often arrive very late without their chief reproaching them for that. 23. We can’t insist on the lecturer giving a lecture on Saturday. 24. It seemed unnatural crocodiles and snakes appearing in this area. 25. Do you realize the necessity of the farmers growing more vegetables? 26. I can’t count on someone helping me.
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Exercise 155. Point out the gerundial construction. Define its syntactical function. Note the nominal element preceding the gerund or the gerundial phrase. Say what the nominal element is expressed by. Make sure that the doer of the action denoted by the nominal element and the subject are different.
MODEL 1: It’s like your house being ruined one day. The gerundial construction is used as predicative. The nominal element denotes a lifeless thing and is expressed by a noun in the common case.
MODEL 2: She liked it (the dish) being cooked without milk. The gerundial construction is used as direct object (complex object). The nominal element denotes a lifeless thing and is expressed by a personal pronoun in the objective case (a noun in the common case).
MODEL 3: His jokes take some getting used to. The gerundial construction is used as direct object (complex object). The nominal element is expressed by an indefinite pronoun.
MODEL 4: They approved of his/Robert’s/him collecting ancient vases. The gerundial construction is used as prepositional complex object. The nominal element denotes a living being and is expressed by a possessive pronoun/a proper name in the genitive case/a personal pronoun in the objective case.
MODEL 5: The idea of a woman of this age taking part in the competition couldn’t but surprise us. The gerundial construction is used as attribute. The nominal element denotes a living being and is expressed by a noun + a postmodifying attribute.
MODEL 6: We can’t have a meeting here without a table and fifty chairs being fetched. The gerundial construction is used as adverbial modifier of condition. The nominal element denotes a lifeless thing and is expressed by two nouns in the common case.
1. It makes all the difference your putting duty before pleasure. 2. We appreciate their paying us on time. 3. He dislikes all this fussing over health. 4. They objected to Jack’s dropping out of the university. 5. We examined the possibility of some students being given a grant. 6. His younger sister thought it exciting him and his classmates going to Britain. 7. The discussion may result in Bob Truman and Bill Shark being elected. 8. But for him being a drunkard his children and his wife wouldn’t suffer. 9. In spite of the competition being so stiff he was lucky to get a place. 10. You can’t get him to do it without his wife pushing him into this. 11. The weather is so changeable that we can’t rely on its being fine tomorrow. 12. Your leaving the car and walking for a change will relax you. 13. I heard of the diesel engine being long-lasting. 14. He chose to return to the relative peace of his childhood village after someone telling him that his house was to be sold. 15. She went to visit some of her relatives for a few days because of her aunt, a woman of seventy, being seriously ill. 16. To my relief, he found the suggestion of the computers being given to the children acceptable. 17. We couldn’t do anything because of them showing reluctance to support these measures. 18. It’s like people searching through the bombed remains of the house. 19. He was displeased with the girl of this sort having been chosen by his son. 20. You can’t solve problems by your friends doing things instead of you. 21. It’s no good Sid and Tom painting the door together. 22. The house is too old and they will insist on its being restored. 23. The teacher was ignorant of the students of this group cribbing off each other. 24. Everybody interfering with her affairs bothered her.
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Exercise 156. Make up your own Russian sentences and translate them using a gerundial construction in different syntactical functions. Make sure that the doer of the action denoted by the gerund (the nominal element) and the subject are different. Use different kinds of the nominal element.
MODEL: Преподаватели настаивали на том, чтобы студенты сдавали экзамены вовремя. The teachers insisted on the students taking exams on time. (object)
Преподаватели настаивали на том, чтобы Дик Смит сдавал экзамены вовремя.
Преподаватели настаивали на том, чтобы он сдавал экзамены вовремя.
Преподаватели настаивали на том, чтобы экзамены сдавали вовремя.
Преподаватели настаивали на том, чтобы экзамен/его сдали вовремя.
Преподаватели настаивали на том, чтобы экзамены и зачеты сдавали вовремя.
Преподаватели настаивали на том, чтобы экзамен по грамматике сдавали вовремя.
Exercise 157. Translate the sentences. Use a gerundial construction in the proper syntactical functions. Use the proper preposition if necessary.
1. To, что ты пытаешься успокоить их, абсолютно правильно. 2. Он терпеть не мог все эти споры и ссоры. 3. Не отвергай их предложение отправить твою мать в санаторий. 4. Вместо того, чтобы твоим родителям тратить деньги на магнитофон, ты мог бы заработать сам. 5. Этот перевод нельзя публиковать, если ты не покажешь его автору рассказа. 6. Несмотря на то, что редактор внимательно читал рукопись, ошибка не была замечена. 7. Они часто покупают своим детям подарки, но дети не благодарят их при этом. 8. После того как заслушали доклад, ученому задали много вопросов. 9. Эту машину можно отремонтировать, поменяв эти две детали. 10. Мы согласны с тем, чтобы ваши друзья пожили у нас месяц-другой. 11. То, что она сразу приняла его предложение, доказывает, что она любит его. 12. То, что она провалилась на экзаменах, просто ужасно. 13. Перед тем как пишется картина на историческую тему, каждый художник продумывает сюжет и собирает материал. 14. Молодожены отправились в Париж, так как там жили их близкие родственники. 15. То, что твой день рождения приходится на воскресенье, совсем меняет дело.
