The Gerund: in love and clown shoes

On Saturday, I awoke thinking of the Gerund.*

Some say the Gerund is a fabrication in English; they say it belongs to Latin. Perhaps this is true, but in my opinion, it's too good to let slip away.

In fact, I think I'm in love with the Gerund.

A Gerund is identical in form to an ing verb. It's the active present participle, if you will.

But let's not. Instead, let's focus our attention on the most commonly acknowledged Gerund form, the Gerund-and-possessive.

"I appreciate your bringing over the clown shoes."

As you can see, the ing verb here is bringing. The possessive plus Gerund is your bringing.

We could easily say, "I appreciate you bringing over the clown shoes."

But to the attentive ear -- the ear that adores subtletly and nuance, the ear that is attuned to social slights of which modern speakers are, dare I say it, rarely aware, let alone knowingly capable -- these are two very different statements.

One says: I appreciate your caring action.

The other says: I appreciate you. ...Oh, and that thing you did.

We could also say, "I appreciate that you brought over the clown shoes", but that puts the action in the past. It's been, it's gone, it's all said and done. In fact, people (okay, I) tend to use this construction most commonly when we plan to follow it with something like, "but they were purple, and clashed with my fight wig."

Don't believe me? Fine, scheister. Let's look at a more sensitive example, shall we?

"I appreciate your sympathy on the death of my cat."

In this sentence, the sympathy might as well be a commodity. You went out, boxed up your sympathy, and sent it over, along with a card that read, "With our sympathies."

"I appreciate your sympathising on the death of my cat."

In this sentence, we credit the reader with capabilities far beyond the perfunctory politess. We acknowledge their sensitivity, the potential that they may be grieving even now -- and in the future -- and we imply an understanding that sympathy is not as simple as an "I'm sorry about Fluffy."

The Gerund-and-possessive form allows us to strengthen a relationship, to communicate empathy. To show we get it.

Are you with me now? I knew you'd come around. And believe me, I'm glad. Really, I am. In fact, I'd go so far as to say:

I appreciate your coming around to the Gerund.

*If you didn't click on that link, you're crazy. For God's sakes, open it in a new tab. Gerunds don't get much more amusing than that.