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Examples: 1
Thinks I, this is what comes of my not thinking 2
They lost their steering-oar.
f Gerund after certain idiomatic expression
There are some common idiomatic expressions in English that can normally be followed by gerund.
Examples: 1
He said it warn’t no use talking. 2
They got so tame, on account of being hungry.
g Gerund to show prohibition
There is no gerund to show short prohibition found iun the novel.
3.2 Findings
In the novel, Twain uses many gerunds in various kinds. The writer finds 234 gerunds which are classified to their kinds.
a Gerund as subject
There are 8 gerunds used as object of preposition: 1
Laying on o hands is my best holt. 2
Making them pens was a distressed tough job. 3
Preachings my line. 4
Shooting is good. 5
And the lightning kept whimpering. 6
The whooping went on.
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7 Stealing cattleand such things aint robbery.
8 Living in a house and sleeping in a bed pulled on me pretty tight mostly.
b Gerund as the object of verb
There are 62 gerunds used as object of preposition: 1
And getting all ready to quit rafting. 2
We went drifting down into a big bend. 3
They stopped pulling. 4
And the cussing he done then laid over anything he had ever done previous. 5
You stop that putting on frills. 6
He hoped I wouldnt mind being searched for arms. 7
She comes smashing straight through the raft. 8
.., didnt seem to want ever stop talking about him; and kept asking me every now and then.
9 I went pooking along over rough ground for a quarter of a mile or more.
10 We never stopped running.
11 I dont like that shooting from behind a bush.
12 I could read writing.
13 It aint good sense to go courting around after a halter.
14 They started riding towards the store.
15 We cant resk being as long as we ought to.
16 I dont mind letting on we was at it a hundred and fifty year.
17 We stopped navigating.
18 We come bothering around her again.
19 Then the nice breeze springs up, and comes fanning you from over there.
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20 The thunder would go grumbling and grumbling away.
21 Well, you do need skinning.
22 In about half an hour AuntSally comes gliding in.
23 And it keeps running on, and getting worse and worse all the time.
24 She was setting thinking about something.
25 I could hear the booming now and men.
26 We got a licking everytime one of our snakes come in her way.
27 I didnt mind the lickings.
28 I reckon the world coming to an end.
29 She kept a-raging right along.
30 Then the genies come tearing in.
31 Another time a man comes a-prowling down round here.
32 It warnt likely anybody would go fooling around.
33 . . . and go browsing down the creek.
34 It kept coming.
35 Nobody else would come a-hunting after me.
36 I went fooling along in the deep of woods.
37 When the woman stopped talking I looked up.
38 Jim come tumbling after me.
39 ... and the raft come booming down.
40 I went tearing after it, listening sharp to hear it again.
41 It kept coming.
42 It kept changing its place.
43 I kept answering.
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44 A spider went crawling up my shoulder.
45 We went tiptoeing along a path.
46 Then he come tiptoeing down.
47 I told Jim all about the time I had jabbering with that woman.
48 We used to hop out of the woods and go charging down on hog-drivers
taking ngarden stuff to market. 49
He kept looking at me all over. 50
Pap took it and got drunk, and went a-blowing around and cussing and whooping and carrying on.
51 I come a-booming down on a cut bank with smoky ghosts of big trees on it.
52 We went winding in and out amongst the trees.
53 I must quit pulling up my gown to get at my britches-pocket.
54 Next day, back comes old Finn, and went boo-hooing to Judge Thatcer toget
money to hunt for that nigger all over Illinois with. 55
Has everybody quit thinking the nigger done it? 56
The woman kept looking at me pretty curious. 57
We went sneaking down the slope of it to labboard, in the dark, feeling our way slow with our feet.
58 Feeling our way slow with our feet,and spreading our hands out to fend off
theguys. 59
This one kept pointing the pistol at the mans head on the floor. 60
We went gliding swift along, dead silent, past the tip of the paddle-box. 61
...and keep it burning till I come. 62
...and go rumbling, grumbling, tumbling, down the sky towards theunderside ofthe world.
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c Gerund as the object of preposition
There are 91 gerunds used as object of preposition: 1
There warnt nothing to do now but to look out sharp for the town, and not pass it without seeing it.
2 I really dont know, sally he says, kind of apologizing.
3 And kept on putting it back and stealing it again for a couple of days.
4 It was worse than chasing a Jacko-lantern.
5 And with the work and bother of raising the Mullen.
6 It might answer for you to dig Jim out with a pick, without any letting on.
7 They wouldnt think of hurting a person that pets them.
8 He made me go and give the niggers a dime without telling them what it was
for. 9
We couldnt keep her from falling over. 10
And your wits gets to addling, and you get to doing all sort o wild things. 11
She stopped,looking kind of wondering. 12
It got to troubling me so I couldnt rest. 13
I got to feeling so mean and so miserable. 14
He would go to saving up money. 15
My conscience got to stirring me up hotter than ever. 16
I went to looking out sharp for a light. 17
. . . and short of singing to myself. 18
. . . and kept on saying it. 19
I just give up trying. 20
. . . —kind of grinding him into the earth. 21
Jim was mighty particular about hiding the raft good.
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22 . . . and keep on fetching it.
23 They can come without touching.
24 He looked at me steady without ever smiling.
25 A powwow of cussing.
26 But he done us a good turn with the spoon, anyway,without knowing it.
27 And so he went on a-mumbling up stairs.
28 And then Tom went to counting the spoons.
29 The child snatches her claws out of the sugar-bowl without fooling around
any. 30
So I was a good long time in getting over. 31
But a lot of dogs went to howling and barking at me. 32
Somebody spoke out of a window without putting his head out. 33
He came in gaping and digging one fist into his eyes. 34
The brick was kept clean and red by pouring water on them and scrubbing them with another brick.
35 Theyve got to do it by rubbing it on the wall.
36 Whats the sense in wasting the plates?
37 But she come up smiling on the last one.
38 His soul did from this cold world fly by falling down a well.
39 Buck went off without waking me up.
40 He went on a-wiping.
41 . . . says the old man, still sort of sobbing.
42 Jim and me set to majestying him.
43 So the duke and the King went to overhauling our wigwam.
44 . . . stead of fretting over what was past and done.
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45 I wont let tomorrow go bywithout stopping up them holes.
46 Then he went to studying.
47 He was so glad to see us he most cried; and called us honey, and all the pet
names he could think of; and was for having us hunt up a cold-chisel to cut the chain off of his leg with right away, and clearing out without losing
anytime. 48
There is excuse for picks and letting on in a case like this. 49
And they kept on piling in till there was eleven of them. 50
It can take a hold of powling, thieving, and infernal. 51
If I could fix up some way to keep Pap and the widow from trying to follow me.
52 I lit a pipe and had a good long smoke, and went on watching.
53 She said the thing a body could get by praying for it was spiritual gifts.
54 They dont think nothing of pulling a shot-tower up by the roots.
55 I think they are a pack of flat-heads for not keeping the palace themselves
instead of fooling them away like that. 56
Its something they give me for learning my lesson good 57
You couldnt go right to eating. 58
I would know without asking. 59
They went to crying. 60
. . . instead of taking to the woods. 61
I got to thinking. 62
I reckon that was sort of pilling it on. 63
He has had all the trouble and all the anxiety and all the expense of raising. 64
. . . and went to ripping again. 65
He got to going away so much, too, and locking me in.
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66 He got to hanging away.
67 He got to hanging around.
68 He went for me, too, for not stopping school.
69 So nobody wont think of following me.
70 . . . and started off towing the raft.
71 So by the talk I got to know about the killing.
72 She went on talking.
73 To keep from getting run over.
74 We didnt feel like talking loud.
75 Im for killing him.
76 . . . says the man on the floor, sort of blubbering.
77 I am favorable to killing a man.
78 So I went to talking about other kings.
79 Thats a Frenchmans way of saying it.
80 . . . instead of nailing it up over the door.
81 He put his head again, and cussed me for putting on frills and trying to be
better than him. 82
So I fixed that as good as I could from the outside by scattering dust on the place.
83 You see, if I kept on trying to get away afoot, the dog would track me.
84 The river went on raising and raising for ten or twelve days.
85 I couldnt keep from studying over it and wishing I knowed who shot the
man. 86
It all come of looking at the moon that way. 87
Then hed get Hucks money without having to bother a long time with lawsuit.
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88 Im for putting him out of his troubles.
89 I had to claw away from the bank pretty lively four or five times, to keep
from knocking the islands out of the river. 90
Im for going and getting in the cabin first and right now, and catching them when they come.
91 Tom give Jim forty dollarsfor being prisoner for us so patient.
d Gerund ascomplement
There are 29 gerunds used as complement: 1
Because it was sent for a warning. 2
. . . and tell them Pap was behind, coming along with a trading-scow. 3
The whoops was warnings thatwould come to us every now and then. 4
It was pretty ornery preaching. 5
. . . and has to go about that way every night grieving. 6
It was rough living in the house all the time,consideringhow dismal regular anddecent the widow was in all her ways.
7 I set down again, shaking all over.
8 We had a rough time getting to the top.
9 And about the first thing we done was to bait one of the big hooks with a
skinnedrabbit and catch a catfish that was as big as a man, being six foot two inches long.
10 ... and not have such a rough tune tramping on foot.
11 Then we got out the raft and slipped along down in the shade, past the foot of
the island dead still—never saying a word. 12
I had made a mistake coming to her to find out what was going on in the town.
13 Theyd made mistakes coming to our town
14 It was kind of solemn, drifting down the big, still river, laying on our backs
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looking up the stars. 15
And a body aint got no business doing wrong when he aint ignorant. 16
And the old warming-pan. 17
Ive done considerable in the doctoring way in my tune. 18
You see before you, in blue jeans and misery, the wanderin, exiled, trampled-on, and suffering rightful King of French.
19 We slid the raft into hiding quarters for the day.
20 As we was passing through the setting-room.
21 The duke said what he was after was a printing-office.
22 We reckoned the dukes work inthe printing office.
23 . . . and dance off tothe dressing —room.
24 Aunt Sally she was one of themixed-upest-looking persons I ever see.
25 The doctor was an old man; a very nice, kind-looking old man.
26 I wish wed a had the handling of Louis XVI.
27 And when she got done counting, she says,....
28 And he got done fooling around.
29 Well, she was in a tearing way.
e Gerund as apposition
There are 8 gerunds used as apposition: 1
Pretty soon I found a man out in the river with a skiff, setting a trot-line. 2
I gets up, a-wondering, and goes down stairs. 3
I reckon I put it in there,not noticing, meaning to put my Testament in, and it must be so.
4 So we put in the day, lazying around.
5 So the duke got out his book and read the parts over in the most splendid
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spread-eagle way, prancing aroundand acting at the same time, to show how it had got to be done.
6 Juliets in a balcony, enjoying the moonlight.
7 And every little while the prettiest kind of girls,with the tears running down
theircheeks, would up t and ask him would he let them kiss him for to remember him by.
8 Then what on earth did you want set him free for, seeing he was already
free?
f Gerund after possessive case
There are 18 gerunds used after possessive case: 1
Thinks I, this is what comes of my not thinking. 2
I couldnt see no advantage in my representing a prisoner. 3
And know it by a better way than your wool-gathering memory. 4
She was a-giving us our sailing orders. 5
We give hera rummaging 6
But on account of them being relicts. 7
I warnt afraid of him telling the people where I was. 8
It wouldnt go well with the story of us being so poor. 9
In their thrilling tragedy of The Kings Cameleopard. 10
They lost their steering-oar. 11
All full of tears and flapdoodle about its being a sore trial for him and his poorbrother to lose the diseased.
12 And if my building the fire never fooled them it warnt no fault of mine.
13 But I reckon Ive thought of her a many and a many a million times, and of
hersaying she would pray for me. 14
How? Why, haint you been talking about my coming back, and all theat stuff,as if Id gone away?
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15 That all comes of my being such a fool.
16 And tell him about his being free.
17 I couldnt understand before, until that minute and that talk, how he could
help abody set nigger free with his bringing-up. 18
She judged she better put in her time being grateful we was alive.
g Gerund after certain idiomatic expression
There are 17 gerunds used after certain idiom: 1
But she didnt seem to be sheering off a bit. 2
I was used to being where I was. 3
Whats the use you learning to do right when its troublesome to do right and aintno trouble to do wrong?
4 We might borrow something worth having out of the captains stateroom.
5 He said it warnt no use talking.
6 He got stuck up on account of having seen the devil.
7 They got so tame, on account of being hungry.
8 There wouldnt be no use trying to travel with a ten-foot chain on his leg.
9 I couldnt see no advantage in my representing a prisoner.
10 And a body got no business doing wrong when he aint ignorant and knows
better. 11
There couldnt be no trouble about running daytimes. 12
It aint no time for fooling around an moaning. 13
It warnt no time to be sentimentering. 14
I see it warnt no use wasting words. 15
What is the use of making up the camp fire to cook strawberries? 16
I couldnt see no advantage in going where she was going.
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17 I was feeling ruther comfortable on accounts of taking all this trouble for that
gang. h
To Show Short Prohibition
There is no gerund to show short prohibition used in the novel.
To determine the most dominantgerund in the novel, the writer uses descriptive quantitative method. Sugiono 2012:32 says, “Metode kuantitatif
adalah pendekatan ilmiah yang memandang suatu realitas itu dapat diklasifikasikan, konkrit, teramati dan terukur hubungan variabelnya bersifat
sebab akibat dimana data penelitiannya berupa angka-angka dan analisisnya mengunakan statistik.” Quantitative method is a scientific approach which sees a
reality classifyable, concrete, observeable, and measurable, and the variable is cause-effect where the data is number and the analysis is statistic.
This method applies the formula below:
X = the percentage of the gerund Y = the number of the gerund
N = total gerund
X =
100 x
n y
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The percentage of each gerund found in the novel are presented in the following table:
No. Kind of gerund
Number Percentage
1 As subject
8 3,4
2 As object of verb
62 26,6
3 As object of preposition
91 39,1
4 As complement
29 12,4
5 As apposition
8 3,4
6 After possessive case
18 7,7
7 After certain idiomatic expression
17 7,3
8 To show short prohibition
Total 233
100
From the table above, it is shown that the most dominant gerund in novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is gerund as object of
preposition to the amount of 91, which is equal to 39,1.
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4. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION 4.1 Conclusion
