Information About

Gerundive




In Linguistics , a gerundive is a Verb form. The term is applied very differently to different languages; depending on the language, gerundives may be Verbal Adjective s, Verbal Adverb s, or Finite Verb s. Not every language has gerundives; for example, English does not.


IN LATIN


In Latin , the gerundive is a Verbal Adjective used to indicate that a noun needs or deserves to be the object of an action. It is sometimes known as a future passive participle. For example, if English had a Latin-style gerundive, and ''feed-ando'' were the gerundive form of the verb ''to feed'', then "The cat is feed-ando" would mean "The cat should be fed." English sometimes uses a passive infinitive to this effect: "The cat is to be fed."

Some examples of the Latin gerundive include:

  • Cato The Elder , a Roman Senator , frequently ended his speeches with the statement, "Ceterum censeo Carthaginem delendam esse" (''lit.'' "I also think Carthage '''to be destroyed''' is," i.e. "I also think Carthage must be destroyed").

  • In the Harry Potter series of novels, the motto of Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry is "Draco dormiens numquam titillandus" (''lit.'' " dragon sleeping [is never '''to be teased'''," i.e. "Never tease a sleeping dragon").

  • The phrase "quod erat demonstrandum" ("which was '''to be demonstrated'''"), whose abbreviated form '' Q.E.D. '' is often used after the final conclusion of a proof.

  • The name ''Amanda'' is a feminization of ''amandus'', the gerundive of ''amare'', ''to love''. Thus, it means roughly, "worthy of being loved", "worthy of love", or simply "loveable". Similarly with the name ''Miranda''; ''mirare'' means ''to admire'', so the name means roughly "worthy of admiration" or "admirable".

  • A number of English words come directly from Latin gerundives; for example, '' Addendum '' comes from the gerundive of ''addere'', ''to add''; '' Referendum '' comes from the gerundive of ''referre'', ''to bring back''; and '' Agenda '' comes from a plural of ''agendum'', the gerundive of ''agere'', ''to do''. Additionally, some words come from Latin gerundives by an indirect route; ''propaganda'', for example, comes from a New Latin phrase containing a feminine form of ''propagandum'', the gerundive of ''propagare'', ''to propagate''.



IN FRENCH AND SPANISH


The French and Spanish gerundives are verbal Adverb s used to indicate that one action caused or happened at the same time as another. For example the French adage ''C'est en forgeant qu'on devient forgeron'' means ''It is '''by blacksmithing''' that one becomes a blacksmith''.

One major use of the Spanish gerundive is to form the Continuous Aspect , much as the Present Participle does in English; ''Miguel está estudiando'' means ''Miguel is '''studying'''''.


IN ESPERANTO


The Esperanto gerundive is a verbal adverb used to indicate that one action took place before another. For example, the sentence ''aǔdinte lin sxi venis'' means '''''having heard''' him, she came''. The gerundive is more commonly called the ''past active adverbial participle'', by analogy with Esperanto's other adverbial participles.


IN TIGRINYA





The .


SEE ALSO



EXTERNAL LINKS


The following pages provide definitions or glosses of the term ''gerundive'':