Reading the reading of the gerund: the share of non-eventive interpretations of -ing nominals

Abstract

The present paper focuses on the changing interpretations of the English gerund. Since no method can accurately and uniformly account for the meanings of all in-stances of existing -ing forms, previous studies have offered approximate charac-terizations based on small samples. This study looks at the numbers of -ing deriva-tions denoting institutionalized activities, on the assumption that these represent non-eventive readings. The derivations in question are arranged chronologically in terms of their time of coinage to compare changing productivity levels of this pro-cess relative to -ry derivations. This count shows that -ing suffi xations outnumber other nominalization processes and this trend has increased in the last two centuries.