§ 220. The ing-form is sometimes found in a sentence pattern with it as a formal object of the verbs to find, to make and to think. The formal it in this case is followed by an adjective.

e.g. He found it worth reminding her of her promise. He thought it very odd my leaving when I did.

For the means of expressing the subject of the action denote by the ing-form see § 166.

(For comparison with the infinitive see § 191.)

The ing-form as Subjective Predicative

§ 221. The ing-form as subjective predicative is lexically de- pendent. It is found after a limited number of verbs in the pas- sive. These verbs are: to catch, to find, to hear, to leave, to no- tice, to report, to see, to set, to show, to watch.

e.g. I felt I had been caught boasting.

The baby was found sitting on the floor.

The old woman was heard shrieking in short bursts like a ship in the fog.

When the door closed, Monty and I were left looking at each other.

About that time a hurricane was reported moving out of the Caribbean in our direction.

Here also belong a few verbs after which the ing-form is intro- duced by as. They are: to accept, to consider, to explain, to guaran- tee, to mention, to regard, to take, to treat, to understand, Here also belong the verbs to speak of and to think of which retain their prepositions in this sentence pattern.

e.g. The Browns did not entertain and were spoken of in the dis- trict as being "poor as church mice".

Janet and I became very friendly, and at school we were con- sidered as going together.

The use of the ing-form as subjective predicative is not of fre- quent occurrence.

(For comparison with the infinitive see §§ 192 and 240.)

The ing-form as Objective Predicative

§ 222. The ing-form as objective predicative is lexically depen- dent — it is used after a number of transitive verbs in the active followed by an object which is expressed by a noun or a pronoun. The following are the most frequently used verbs taking a direct object: to call, to catch, to discover, to feel, to find, to hear, to get, to imagine, to keep, to leave, to (dis)like, to notice, to picture, to see to send, to set, to stop, to watch, to want.

e.g. I felt him looking at me now and again.

When he arrived he found me reading Tom Jones.

Just as I got to the end of the corridor, I heard my telephone

ringing again.

Ellen had noticed me talking with the landlady. He saw me watching him. One afternoon in August I saw something that surprised me

and set me thinking.

This construction is also found after two verbs taking a prepo- sitional object — to listen to and to look at. e.g. We opened the door for a moment and looked out at the

windy night and listened to the trees groaning. He looked at Jane wiping her tear-wet face. Here also belong a few verbs after which the ing-form is intro- duced by as: to accept, to consider, to explain, to guarantee, to mention, to regard, to speak of, to take, to think of, to treat, to un derstand. e.g. You took his statement as being quite in order.

He has spoken of your relatives as though he would never ac- cept them as being his. We always thought of him as being "promising."

With all the above verbs, the object that precedes the ing-iorm is expressed by a noun in the common case or by a personal pro- noun in the objective case, and serves as subject of the action de- noted by the ing form. But there are a number of other verbs after which the object may be expressed either in the above described way or by a noun in the genitive case or a possessive pronoun. These verbs are: to appreciate, to dread, to excuse, to fancy, to for- get, to forgive, to hate, to have, to imagine, to mind, to miss, to par- don, to prevent, to recall, to remember, to resent, to (mis)understand and also can't bear, can't help and to catch sight of. e.g. Forgive my (me) interrupting you, Mr Passant, but with a school record like yours I'm puzzled why you don't try for a university scholarship?

I appreciate your (you) coming to my defense. Do you recall Bayard's (Bayard) doing that? (For comparison with the infinitive see §§ 193 and 241.)

The ing-form as Adverbial Modifier

§ 223. The ing-form can serve as an adverbial modifier of a verb. In this case it is preceded by a conjunction or a preposition which lend it adverbial meanings, such as time, concession, condi- tion, attending circumstances, manner, cause and some others. The adverbial meaning of the ing-form is determined by the mean- ing of the preceding conjunction or preposition. The ing-form is not lexically dependent here — it may be used after any verb. For the means of expressing the subject of the action denoted by the ing-form see "Verbs", § 166.