The Description Of Gerund Used In Veronica Roth’s Novel “Four”

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Language is the ability to acquire and use complex system of
communication, particularly the human ability to do so, and a language is any
specific example of such a system. Language is more than the apparently simple
stream of sound that flows from the tongue of the native speaker; it is more than
the native speaker thinks it is. It is a complex system of communication with
various levels of complexity involving intricate selection and ordering of
meanings, sounds, and larger units and arrangement. The scientific study of
language is called linguistics. Human use language in order to communicate with
each other, to express their personal reactions toward the situations, and how to
convey other person about what they mean. Language is closely related to
descriptive analysis, the study of a gerund its mean that we study in structuring.
Stork (1982 : 9) says, “ Language, however, is not a natural phenomenon;
it is a creation of man’s social needs. Like all other living creatures we depend on
the air, water and earth around us, and in the same way society depends upon
language for its very existence.”
Stork’s opinion about language is different with Burgess’s opinion.
Burgess (1980 : 66) says, “We all know about language, because we all use
language. No similar conclusion is drawn from the fact that we all use kidneys,
nerves and intestines.”

There are many languages in the world. English is one of them as
International language and it has a complicated structure or grammar. Grammar

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describes the kinds of words in language and the ways the word are fitted together
into meaningful groups. On the other hand, grammar is description of language.
However, there are so many parts of grammar. Gerund is included in English
Grammar.
Schmidt (1995:322) gerund is used when abstract noun phrases exist or
to express movement and activity in some kind of process. Gerunds have stonger
verbal force than noun clauses, infinitives, or abstract noun phrases. That means
they put an emphasis on some kind of action.
While, Wisthon and Burks (1980:268), a gerund is the –form of the verb
used as a noun. The gerund has the same form as the present participle. However,
if functions defferently in the sentence. It is always a noun and it can in any noun
position.
From the meaning of gerund above according to experts can be explained
that gerund is a verb + ing form that is used as a noun. Gerund is also found in
writings, for example; letter, poem, magazine, novel, etc.

Gerund is also often called noun verbal. Gerund is almost like present
participle, and both of them are part of verb. The difference of them is that gerund
is kind of noun, but present participle is kind of adjective. The gerund and present
participle has defferent character each other. There is a case history from this
form. In ancient English, Noun Verbal form and Adjective Verbal is very
different: writung (gerund), writende (present participle). Then the two endings –
ung and –ende, both of them are slowly using the form –ing, and because of it,
now we have only one form as alternate two form for the both of Part of Speech.

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Writing (Gerund), writing (Present Participle). Gerund is double part of speech –
noun and verb are amalgamated. Not only the character of gerund is as a kind of
noun but also gerund is a part of verb. As part of verb, the characteristics of the
verb can be still seen from some examples who will be described by writer. Then,
there is the patterns of gerund and there are some functions like gerund is as a
subject, as an object of the sentence, as an object of certain verb, as an object of
preposition, as a predicate complement, as a modifier of noun, gerund with their
subjects, and gerund with “it...ing”. They will be described in this paper clearly.
The writer chooses novel “Four” who is written by Veronica Roth as an

object of study of gerund. Writer chooses this novel because this novel has
interesting story. Besides, gerund is one of the grammatical case which is difficult
to study. Many people are confused about what the gerund is. Gerund is almost
like infinitive or present participle. Whereas gerund sees very different than them.
If we can know definition and function with its examples, we can find difference
between gerund with other grammar forms.
1.2 Problem of the Study
The problem of this study are as the following:
1) Functions of gerunds used in the novel.
2) The precentage of the gerund used in Veronica Roth’s novel “Four”.
1.3 Scope of the Study
This study is focused on gerund description used in Veronica Roth’s
novel “Four”. But especially the functions and the most dominant of precentage

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gerund used in Veronica Roth’s novel “Four” which will be described in this
paper.
1.4 Purpose of the Study
1) Give the descriptions of gerunds.

2) To find out the precentage of the gerund usage.
1.5 Significance of the Study
There are some significances of the study:
1) To let the reader understand about the usage of gerunds in the novel.
2) It can be made by the junior students as reference to a writing of english
grammar.
1.6 Method of Study
The writer used Library Research in writing this paper. Library research
is the technique of data collection by research to gather as much information
relevant to the topic. Sourced can be gotten from literature : scientific books,
journals, and other sources of suitable like internet.
The data is sentences used gerunds found in a Veronica Roth’s novel
“Four”. There are about 89 gerunds found in Four novel as the data source.
The writer used descriptive method in analyzing the data. Descriptive
method of research is where the person doing the research presents it in a
descriptive manner. The descriptive research designs enable researchers to
describe or present the picture of a phenomenon or phenomena under
investigation.
The step or procedure in analyzing the data :

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1. Reading Four novel.
2. Identifying the sentences contain gerunds.
3. Classifying the gerunds.
4. Analyzing the data by counting the dominant gerunds and the frequency of
each variable of gerunds into percentages of their usage in the articles.
To get the precentage the writer applies this formula.
The Formula :

X = Y/N x 100%

X = The percentage of each kind of the gerund
Y = The total number of each kind of gerund
N = The total of kind of gerund

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