Starting a Sentence with a Gerund

AnneMarble · Mar 16, 2007

Well I had to call the thread something as I couldn't remember the name

In the how to writing books, I often hear that we should avoid gerunds in a phrase at the beginning of a sentence. For example, "Turning on his heel, Joe answered the door."

IIRC the reason given is that Joe can't do both things simultaneously (unless he has long arms or a small room). But sometimes, this sort of phrasing is OK. (For example, "Smiling, Joe looked at Jane.") And sometimes, you just have to use tbe bloody gerund to give some bloody variety to the bloody sentences.

So when is it OK to start a sentence with a phrase like this? When is it awkward or even wrong? Or are there times these rules are just too picky. (Ahem, like when writing a first draft, ahem.)

alleycat · Mar 16, 2007

Is your example actually a gerund? I wouldn't think so, but (as always) I don't claim to be a grammar expert.

To me "turning" is just a verb. I don't see "turning on his heels" as a gerund phrase.

I'm asking, more than telling.

Mr. Fix · Mar 16, 2007

Gerund?

"Joe turned on his heels and then answered the door."

Maybe like this?

Commas, my bad addiction, bad, bad, bad commas!

Mr. Fix · Mar 16, 2007

Ignore the man behind the curtain...

AnneMarble said:
Well I had to call the thread something as I couldn't remember the name

In the how to writing books, I often hear that we should avoid gerunds in a phrase at the beginning of a sentence. For example, "Turning on his heel, Joe answered the door."

IIRC the reason given is that Joe can't do both things simultaneously (unless he has long arms or a small room). But sometimes, this sort of phrasing is OK. (For example, "Smiling, Joe looked at Jane.") And sometimes, you just have to use tbe bloody gerund to give some bloody variety to the bloody sentences.

So when is it OK to start a sentence with a phrase like this? When is it awkward or even wrong? Or are there times these rules are just too picky. (Ahem, like when writing a first draft, ahem.)

Ahem, my apologies. I just looked at your profile and realized my reply wasn't the kind of answer you were looking for. (My stupid newbie mistake, stupid, stupid, stupid!) I have no idea what a gerund is, so I shouldn't have even jumped in, of course now I'm just blathering...
I'll go home now.

Jamesaritchie · Mar 16, 2007

gerund

AnneMarble said:
Well I had to call the thread something as I couldn't remember the name

In the how to writing books, I often hear that we should avoid gerunds in a phrase at the beginning of a sentence. For example, "Turning on his heel, Joe answered the door."

IIRC the reason given is that Joe can't do both things simultaneously (unless he has long arms or a small room). But sometimes, this sort of phrasing is OK. (For example, "Smiling, Joe looked at Jane.") And sometimes, you just have to use tbe bloody gerund to give some bloody variety to the bloody sentences.

So when is it OK to start a sentence with a phrase like this? When is it awkward or even wrong? Or are there times these rules are just too picky. (Ahem, like when writing a first draft, ahem.)

It's usually okay when it sounds okay, and doesn't accidentally have two meanings, and this is usually when it's a common phrase.

But you do have to be careful. "Turning on his heel," for example, is a classic no-no. I mean, where's the on and off switch? And what does his heel do when he turns it on?

Gerunds can often be taken two ways when you open a sentence with one, and this is always bad.

AnneMarble · Mar 16, 2007

Jamesaritchie said:
It's usually okay when it sounds okay, and doesn't accidentally have two meanings, and this is usually when it's a common phrase.

But you do have to be careful. "Turning on his heel," for example, is a classic no-no. I mean, where's the on and off switch? And what does his heel do when he turns it on?

Puts on the Barry White album and waits for him in the bedroom?

That's what I get for posting too quickly. I couldn't think of a better example.

Jamesaritchie said:
Gerunds can often be taken two ways when you open a sentence with one, and this is always bad.

I'll have to remember the heel turns. (I swear, some characters must come with a pivot. And I'm a prime offender.) I once saw "Turning on his side" as another example to be avoid. (I can imagine the clicks and whirs now.)

Thanx for the advice. I guess I shouldn't say "Thanx" on the Grammar for Grasshoppers board.

AnneMarble · Mar 16, 2007

Mr. Fix said:
Ahem, my apologies. I just looked at your profile and realized my reply wasn't the kind of answer you were looking for. (My stupid newbie mistake, stupid, stupid, stupid!) I have no idea what a gerund is, so I shouldn't have even jumped in, of course now I'm just blathering...

But I edit articles with names like "Characterization of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa Something or Another System as a Lipoprotein Sorting Mechanism Something or Another."

Also, for all the editing I do, I'm not always good at naming thing. A gerund is one of those "ing thingies."

Mr. Fix said:
I'll go home now.

Me, too.

benbradley · Mar 16, 2007

AnneMarble said:
Well I had to call the thread something as I couldn't remember the name

In the how to writing books, I often hear that we should avoid gerunds in a phrase at the beginning of a sentence. For example, "Turning on his heel, Joe answered the door."

IIRC the reason given is that Joe can't do both things simultaneously (unless he has long arms or a small room). But sometimes, this sort of phrasing is OK. (For example, "Smiling, Joe looked at Jane.") And sometimes, you just have to use tbe bloody gerund to give some bloody variety to the bloody sentences.

So when is it OK to start a sentence with a phrase like this? When is it awkward or even wrong? Or are there times these rules are just too picky. (Ahem, like when writing a first draft, ahem.)

I don't have answers to your questions. It may not be the gerund thing as much as it is that dependent clause followed by an independent clause. I see what you say about variety, but...

This brings up a memory of a columnist for Popular Electronics which I read in high school and college circa 1975-1978. I don't remember the writer's name (ISTR I DID look and know his name month-to-month, but it's been way too long since I last saw it), but a quick perusal of PE columns and articles from that era combined with my description below should easily identify him. His sentences were much like the "turning on his heels, bla bla bla" example. He wrote sentences something like:

"Using a 555 timer, this circuit creates a consistent, accurately timed pulse."

"Powered by a nine-volt transistor radio battery, this project pulls only 25 milliamperes from its power source."

I recognized this from my English Grammar classes as: <dependent clause>, <independent clause>. This type of sentence structure is I think not very common, EXCEPT in that particular columnist's writings. "Reading each sentence of his columns, I practically cringed."
If there had been only one or two, maybe even only THREE of these per column I probably wouldn't have noticed, but several paragraphs started off with these sentences, as well as there being several more within the paragraphs. I was concentrating more on how annoying these sentences were than on the contents of the articles. This is one of the few times I've been interrupted in my reading and started wondering about the writing rather than the content. I now also wonder what the editor was doing and how these columns got by and was printed.

It also points out that perhaps I should spend less time writing Internet posts for free, and start writing and submitting articles or something for pay. Better I should be paid for my published writing that annoys someone else...

maestrowork · Mar 16, 2007

Technically, you're right. Unless the two actions are simultaneous, you shouldn't do it. "Turning on his heels, he answered the door" just doesn't make sense and it sounds bad. What's wrong with "He turned on his heels and answered the door"?

If they're simultaneous, it's okay: "Pointing at the sky, he yelled, "It's a plane."

An agent actually went too far by telling me "beginning a sentence with -ing and "as" is amateurish." Of course, I think she's full of crap.

But generally speaking, you do have to be careful. Many people misuse and overuse this just so they don't always begin a sentence with a subject. But a lot of times they do it wrong:

Running down the street, Jerry stopped and looked at the motorcycle at a shop.

Ugh. Eeek. Yak.

AnneMarble · Mar 16, 2007

maestrowork said:
Running down the street, Jerry stopped and looked at the motorcycle at a shop.

maestrowork said:
Ugh. Eeek. Yak.

Indeed.

Judg · Mar 16, 2007

This is the Grammar forum, right? I'm allowed to be super-picky and anal in here? *Looks around nervously and whispers* None of those were gerunds. Gerunds are present participles used as NOUNS. Like this: Writing is difficult. All the examples above are participial phrases.

Yeah, I know it doesn't matter, unless you have a snooty agent you want to one-up. Probably not a wise thing to do...

I like throw participial phrases in occasionally for variety and rhythm, but they should be handled with some care. One thing to keep in mind is that they should ALWAYS have the same "subject" as the verb in the main clause, a rule that is often broken by sloppy writers.

maestrowork · Mar 16, 2007

Absolutely:

Barking at his aunt, Tom had to restrain the dog.

This one is not as obvious:

Feeling the pain, Tom realized Mary was in labor.

benbradley · Mar 16, 2007

maestrowork said:
This one is not as obvious:

Feeling the pain, Tom realized Mary was in labor.

Having read that, It's obvious to me that Mary punched Tom and said "I'm in LABOR, you dork!"

Sage · Mar 16, 2007

maestrowork said:
Absolutely:

Barking at his aunt, Tom had to restrain the dog.

This one is not as obvious:

Feeling the pain, Tom realized Mary was in labor.

Whew. This thread was making me worry. But after reading the examples, I feel better. I know I don't do that :e2point:

(Yes, Sage is paranoid about grammar lately)

Carmy · Mar 16, 2007

It's usually okay when it sounds okay, and doesn't accidentally have two meanings, and this is usually when it's a common phrase.

But you do have to be careful. "Turning on his heel," for example, is a classic no-no. I mean, where's the on and off switch? And what does his heel do when he turns it on?

Gerunds can often be taken two ways when you open a sentence with one, and this is always bad.

Thanks James R. Put that way, I'll remember it and never make that mistake without having a laugh.

maestrowork · Mar 16, 2007

benbradley said:
Having read that, It's obvious to me that Mary punched Tom and said "I'm in LABOR, you dork!"

Knowing that's funny, it's clear to me that you know what you're talking about.

benbradley · Mar 17, 2007

maestrowork said:
Knowing that's funny, it's clear to me that you know what you're talking about.

I've always heard "write what you know"...

Jamesaritchie · Mar 17, 2007

Judg said:
This is the Grammar forum, right? I'm allowed to be super-picky and anal in here? *Looks around nervously and whispers* None of those were gerunds. Gerunds are present participles used as NOUNS. Like this: Writing is difficult. All the examples above are participial phrases.

Yeah, I know it doesn't matter, unless you have a snooty agent you want to one-up. Probably not a wise thing to do...

I like throw participial phrases in occasionally for variety and rhythm, but they should be handled with some care. One thing to keep in mind is that they should ALWAYS have the same "subject" as the verb in the main clause, a rule that is often broken by sloppy writers.

Isn't a gerund really just a noun that, by adding ing, functions as a verb? If the resulting ing verb is a subject, a subject complement, a direct object, an indirect object, or the object of a preposition, it's a gerund.

Siddow · Mar 17, 2007

Jamesaritchie said:
Isn't a gerund really just a noun that, by adding ing, functions as a verb?

A gerund is a noun formed from a verb by adding -ing.

And that's about all I know, and I had to look that up. I was told, a long, long time ago, that a writer should look at all his/her -ing words and reconsider them. Not eliminate, but reconsider. I didn't know why until I read a piece for crit where the writer started dang near ever sentence that way. Thank you, nOOb. I got it after that one!

Judg · Mar 17, 2007

Jamesaritchie said:
Isn't a gerund really just a noun that, by adding ing, functions as a verb? If the resulting ing verb is a subject, a subject complement, a direct object, an indirect object, or the object of a preposition, it's a gerund.

What Siddow said. If we were adding an -ing to make it function like a verb, why would we immediately turn around and use it as a noun? Of course, if you have a concrete example that illustrates what you're talking about, I could find out that I'm wrong again... But for now, I can't even imagine it.

However, my definition of gerund was correct. I double-checked it before posting because I learned a long time ago that I can be wrong even when I'm convinced I'm right. Your hypothetical situation might exist (although I can't conjure up an example to save my life) but it would not be a gerund.

maestrowork · Mar 17, 2007

"Speaking in public was the hardest thing I had to do." -- speaking is a gerund.

"Speaking in public, Simon forgot what he had to say." -- It's not. That's a participial phrase.

absitinvidia · Mar 17, 2007

There's some book that says using opening participial phrases is a hallmark of hack writers. I profoundly disagree with that. The main reason I think people should avoid them is the likelihood of dangling modifers: Walking down the street, the car nearly hit my neighbor.

Birol · Mar 17, 2007

Participial phrases are easy and make the writing a bit soft. That's why some agents may refer to them as amateurish and other individuals counsel writers to never, ever do them.

Now, I don't mean this as an insult to anyone. In my first drafts, I have far too many of them and often have to go through and edit them out. Like every other tool of the trade, they should be used in moderation.

Maryn · Mar 17, 2007

Yeah, what Judg said.

A gerund is a verbal identical in form to the present participle but functioning as a noun.

Studying is a bore. (gerund subject)
I enjoy studying. (gerund object)
We were busy studying. (not a gerund)
Studying his shoe, Tom waited for her to say something. (not a gerund)

A gerund phrase serves as a noun, acting as a subject, a complement, or an object. It is built around a gerund, the –ing form of a verb acting as a noun.

Exercising regularly and sensibly is a key to good health. (gerund phrase subject)
I dislike exercising regularly and sensibly. (gerund phrase direct object)
I’ve had it up to here with exercising regularly and sensibly. (gerund phrase as the object of a preposition)

I suspect that participial phrases are like adverbs: easy, and therefore overused by beginners--and pros who are eager to get it all written down and will clean it up later. I don't think the occasional participial or adverb is a hallmark of amateurish writing, but a slew of them might be.

Maryn, who still has to rap her own knuckles for adverb overuse

maestrowork · Mar 17, 2007

Birol said:
Participial phrases are easy and make the writing a bit soft. That's why some agents may refer to them as amateurish and other individuals counsel writers to never, ever do them.

It's funny though. That agent lectured me on "it's amateurish to start..." and I panicked. So I looked through my manuscript again and noticed only TWO (2) participial phrases in more than 10 pages. I hardly think I was overdoing it; so I knew this agent was full of it.

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