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ESL forum > Grammar and Linguistics > Grammar    

Grammar



cindymchugh511
United States

Grammar
 
hey could anyone tell me what you would call this kind of sentence?
 
I finished reading the book.
I ~ed ~ing the car.
 
It�s not past continuous

22 Dec 2008      





alex1968
Greece

I finished = past simple

the verb finish is followed by a gerund, so: finish + ing

Hence we have the sentence:

I finsihed reading my book.

The verb BEGIN is also followed by a GERUND

I began studying at 5pm and only finished doing all my homework at 11pm last night!

22 Dec 2008     



MissMelissa12
Peru

That Grammar feature is GERUNDS and INFINITIVES

The gerund from -ing:

- After some main verbs: admit, appreciate, consider, delay, deny, detest, dislike, enjoy, escape, face, feel like, FINISH, forgive, imagine, mention, mind, miss, practise, prefer, recommend, risj, suggest, understand, involve, put off, give up...and more.

The infinitive with to:

-After some main verbs: afford, agree, arrange, ask, bear, begin, attempt, hope, expect, start, remember, try, hate, help, promise, offer, want, wish, happe, forget, seem, pretend, prefer, care, choose...and more.

Some verbs can be followed by a gerund or to- infinitive but they have a difference in meaning:

e.g: I remember seeing you somewhere before. (An action that happened before the moment of remembering)

� � � �I remember to lock the door. ( An action after the moment of remembering)

e.g I regret going to the party last night. (be sorry about an action in the past)

� � � I regret to tell you that your bags have been stolen. (be sorry about a present action)

I hope I helpt a little!! ;)

22 Dec 2008     



Damielle
Argentina

I think that "finished reading" is a verb phrase.

22 Dec 2008     



andreaewa
Uruguay

Yes, it�s a verb phrase in the past simple because the main verb of the sentence is finished (past simple).

22 Dec 2008     



Ayaniw
Algeria


Hi  Cindy!
                    The word reading is a gerund (i.e. verb +ing after some verbs) Our colleague Melissa has just given you a list of verbs after which we use a gerund (ing) instead of infinitive.
                    The sentence itself is  an S.V.O. sentence:
                    (I==>Subject / finished==>Verb / reading the book==>Object)
                    and the qq to be asked is: What did you finish? In this sentence the gerund is Object of a sentence as it can be subject is others such as: Repairing a car costs a lot nowadays.
 Bye 
 

22 Dec 2008