Maureen,
   The more I look at it, the more I think "spend" allows participial
structures as complement. A "complement" is something specially
licensed by the verb. It also often has the feel of being a necessary
element. "I spent all weekend" seems to me to need "building a shed" to
complete the meaning. So the reason these seemed strange to you is that
all three have participial structures as complements, a special
property of the verbs "spend" and "have trouble [with]".>
   I find that more satisfying than what I wrote below.

Craig
 Maureen,
>    The term "gerund" comes up from time to time on list and often gets an
> argument going. Some of us have trouble with it. At any rate, it is
> usually used for the -ing form of the verb when the structure it heads
> is in a noun phrase role. I like Bruce's analysis of #2 as a complement
> of "trouble or "trouble with". But I don't think even a gerund advocate
> would use gerund for the other two.
>    The usual explanation for these participle phrases or clauses is that
> they modify their implied subject. (Hence we get the notion of
> "dangling participle" when this subject seems missing or misleading. "I
> found a dollar walking down the street.") By this analysis, one and
> three would modify their implied subjects ("I"). The fact that they
> seem to add adverbial meaning (how the time was spent) is worth
> pointing out. This isn't unusual for these structures. "Flailing my
> arms, I pushed my way through the crowd." Even though this says "how",
> it is usually described as an adjectival modifier of its implied
> subject, "I".
>    A word group like "building a shed" is more predicate like than noun
> like. "Building" retains its verb like quality, even taking a direct
> object complement ("shed") just as it would if this were a primary
> clause. "I am building a shed." "I built a shed." For that reason, plus
> the fact it's not in a noun phrase role, I would say "gerund" is
> inappropriate even for a gerund fan.
>    We do have the problem that "Smiling, I spent the morning" seems to
> mean something different, at least in nuance, from "I spent the morning
> smiling." That might be best explained as a sort of special quality of
> the verb "spend". which seems to ask for a "how" complement, especially
> in relation to a period of time. That way, at least, we won't get too
> bogged down with the classification problem. Verbs govern the nature of
> the predicate, and they are under no obligation to follow our ideas
> about them.
>    These are fine questions, by the way, very much what we often talk
> about on the list.
>
> Craig
>
> To ATEG folks-
>>       I have joined this listserve at the suggestion of NCTE in order to
>> seek advice about the following grammar issue.  As a brash newcomer,
>> I will dive right in.  I beg the indulgence of veterans for any
>> lapses of local culture or etiquette.
>>
>> Here are 3 model sentences:
>> #1.  I spent the morning smiling.
>> #2.  I have trouble dancing in the dark.
>> #3.  I spent the weekend building a shed.
>>
>>       What are those "ing" words?  They're not gerunds used as direct
>> objects; "morning," "trouble," and "weekend" seem to be the direct
>> objects.
>> -Possible explanation  A:  Participles that are oddly placed?  (smiling
>> I,
>> dancing I, building I)
>> -Possible explanation B:  Are they gerunds in understood prepositional
>> phrases that serve as adverbs to modify the verb?
>>             I spent the morning [in] smiling
>>             I have trouble [with] dancing in the dark.
>>             I spent the weekend [in] building a shed.
>>
>> -Possible explanation C:  Some sort of obscure direct object?  (Doesn't
>> really fit the definition or word order - IO before DO).
>> -Possible explanation D;   A Latinate structure.  For example, ablative
>> absolute in Latin becomes a nominative absolute in English.  Although
>> the
>> Latin specifications for an ablative absolute seem to fit, the English
>> versions provided on the web don't fit the model.
>>
>>     With sincere thanks for any light you can shine on this mystery,
>>     Maureen
>>
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