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2. –ING NOMINALS: ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT<br />

depentents a PossP or possessive pronoun. Consider, for instance, (34a) and (34b). Both<br />

–ing nominals exhibit nominal features such as possessive determiners (his, my) as prehead<br />

dependents, or premodification by adjectives (e.g. easy in [34b]). However, they<br />

also show verbal features such as NP objects (Nelthorp and them, respectively). On the<br />

other hand, in MIX constructions, the –ing nominalizations combine verbal properties<br />

with nominal properties other than having a possessive determiner or a PossP as pre-head<br />

dependent (cf. [34c] to [34f]). Thus, though they all govern NPs as post-head dependents<br />

(the minister, children, this Waterdog, and any such Door or House, respectively), they<br />

still retain nominal properties such as the presence of definite articles and adjectives<br />

(brave in [34e]) as their pre-head dependents.<br />

(34) a. E3 1685 Lisle Trial IV, 122C2: I never knew of Nelthorp’s<br />

coming, nor any thing of his being Nelthorp;<br />

b. E3 1666-1667 Pepys Diary 416: And among other things, I to<br />

my chamber and there to ticket a good part of my books, in<br />

order to the Numbring of them -for my easy finding them to<br />

read, as I have occasion.<br />

c. E2 1599-1601 Hoby Diary 72: I went to church and, from<br />

thence returninge, I praised God both for the inableinge the<br />

minister so profettably to declare the word as he had (...)<br />

d. E3 1673 Taylor The Marriage Ring 13: but of all these the<br />

noblest End is the multiplying children,<br />

e. E3 1676 Walton Compleat Angler 211: and I can tell you there<br />

is brave hunting this Waterdog in Cornwall,<br />

f. E3 1698 Statutes VIII 458: Provided alwaies That in case upon<br />

such breaking open any such Door or House no such Private<br />

or concealed Back Still or other Vessell (...) shall be found<br />

(Fanego 1996: 133-134)<br />

Fanego shows that, although very rarely, nominals with only post-head dependents can<br />

also show hybridization. Thus, having in (35) below governs an of-PP (of eights), but is<br />

also postmodified by an adverb (unnecessarily), a typically verbal property.<br />

53

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