In Eisenhower’s day, the three armed forces used to have summit meetings, as between three absolutely sovereign powers and it was his last message to his people that they should beware of the forces and the arms industry finally taking power from the elected civilian government.
В годы правления Эйзенхауэра командующие трех родов войск устраивали совещания на высшем уровне, как главы трех суверенных держав, и в своем прощальном послании конгрессу президент предостерег американцев против опасности захвата власти верхушкой армии и военной промышленности.
Как и в предыдущем примере, с грамматической точки зрения ничто не мешает принять biking за причастие, что в корне изменило бы смысл высказывания. Вместо предостережения на будущее, получилось бы, что Эйзенхауэр рекомендует американцам остерегаться уже захватившей власть военщины. Следовательно, в подобных случаях, т.е. когда полугерундий можно спутать с причастием, последнее выражает конкретный факт, а первый — предполагаемый. Решающее значение для того, чтобы разграничить эти две грамматические формы, имеет категория модальности.
Когда герундий может употребляться в синтаксических комплексах наряду с инфинитивом, он выражает более абстрактное и постоянное действие (или состояние), чем инфинитив. Например, в сочетаниях с глаголом to like:
I do not at all like knowing what people say of me behind my back. (O. Wilde)
Мне вовсе не по душе знать, что люди говорят обо мне за моей спиной.
Напротив, инфинитив в аналогичной позиции будет выражать конкретное, единичное действие (состояние).
The spokesman of the TGWU did not like to assume the responsibility of supporting the resolution.
Представитель профсоюза транспортных и неквалифицированных, рабочих не пожелал взять на себя ответственность поддержать резолюцию.
1. Keeping with the times has become an absolute necessity of this complex society of ours. (Th. Dreiser)
2. Hiring of hundreds of thousands of children for practically nothing was one of the ways of development of industry in many capitalist countries. (W. Foster)
3. There is no getting over the fact that the more West Germany’s forces are strengthened, the greater is the jeopardy to the world peace
4. During the nineteenth century the American businessmen became accustomed to selling their goods in foreign markets and to keeping foreign goods out of the American market by means of a tariff wall. (D. С. Coyle,
5. You have no one but yourself to blame lor not having asked for a more detailed information.
6. Too much eating, drinking and sunbathing can cause cancer and some lipsticks and make-up are dangerous too, the World Health Organisation warned yesterday.
A number of hire-purchase firms are to make a black list of people they consider to be bad risks.
Millions of names and addresses, they say, will go down in this index and other firms will be able to make use of it by subscribing to its cost.
Who do these moneylende think they are, to go prying and snooping into private affairs of the people?
What would be much more valuable would be a black list of H.-P. firms who finance shoddy goods at high interest rates and don’t give a damn whether the customer has been swindled or not as long as they get their payments — with interest, of course.
The hire-purchase firms should direct their complaints to the Government. For allowing rents to rise. For making the cost of buying a house dearer by raising interest rates. For pursuing a policy which produces short time. All of which has made keeping up the payments harder.
They are themselves very much to blame for what has happened by backing concerns out for a sale at any price and by charging exorbitant interest on the money advanced. (