Gerunds and Gerundives in Latin

Gerunds and Gerundives in Latin

1. Gerunds

   • noun made from a verb
   • translated as "the act of doing X"
   • it is a second declension neuter noun like "bellum" and declines likewise.
   • has no plural
   • never used in the nominative case or the accusative acting a s a direct object, instead in theses instances the infinitive is used.
     • is used in the accusative however with prepositions that require an accusative object. (ie. ad)
   • conjugates as: Currendum, currendi, currendo, currendo
   • qualified by an adverb and not an adjective
   • "ad + gerund" creates a purpose to the verb, therefore "ad oppugnandum" is equivalent to "ut oppugnaret"

2. Gerundives

   • this is an adjective formed from a verb
   • it does not have a tense but does refer to a type of hypothetical future.
   • it is passive
   • created from the verb stem + characteristic vowel + -nd- +-a/-us/-um
   • the agent in a gerundive sentence is always in the dative

3. Gerundival attraction

   • this is where a gerund is transformed into a gerundive
   • as the gerund cannot take an object, if an object is introduced to the sentence, the gerund is forced to become a gerundive
   • if the gerund has a direct object, that noun changes to the case of the gerund, and the gerund changes into a geundive which agrees with it.