Some of difficulty comes from the fact that there are
several prepositions that can also be subordinating
conjunctions: after, before, since, till, until. The
other problem is that gerunds look just like present
participles.

So when we have "after dining," do we have a
preposition and a gerund, or a subordinating
conjunction and a present participle, with stuff
missing?

Substitution helps. First substitute the other
prepositions: "Since dining at the Ritz," etc. Then
substitute common nouns as the object of the
preposition: "Since dinner at the Ritz," etc. I don't
think that means "Since (I had) dinner at the Ritz."

Gerunds are nouns, and they can do anything any other
noun can do, such as being the object of a
preposition. It sure seems simpler than trying to keep
them as verbs with a bunch of invisible words.

If it walks like a duck.....

Don

****************
Don Stewart
Keeper of the memory and method of Francis Christensen



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