The gerund in Spanish and the -ing form in English: their meanings of link and consequence as textual cohesive devices

Abstract

This research seeks to account for the density of use of the gerundio ‘no perifrástico’ ('non

periphrastic' gerund) and the -ing form by Spanish and English users in order to determine

their functionality as a resource for textual cohesion. The aim is to explore descriptively and

through contrast (Valenzuela, 2002) the semantic values of consequence and the link (Lenz,

1925; Nesfield, 1956; Gili Gaya, 1961; RAE, 1973; Hernández, 1984; Quirk y otros, 1989; Biber et

al., 1999; Fernández, 1999; Huddleston & Pullum, 2002; Miller, 2002; Wardhaugh, 2003; Dontcheva-

Navratilova, 2005; RAE y ASALE, 2009) in authentic texts in interaction, in order to demonstrate

its cohesive role in the textual construction (Halliday & Hasan, 1976; Hartmann, 1980;

Bolinguer; 1990; Halliday & Hasan, 1990; Holland & Lewis, 1996; De Beaugrande & Dressler, 1997;

Biber & otros, 2002; Miller, 2002; Carter & McCarthy, 2006). The samples correspond to a probabilistic

selection of texts from the written press. The analysis relies on, first, the identification

of these non-personal forms and, then, on their description considering their meanings of link

and consequence through conjunctive cohesive resources. The results showed that the users

of Spanish and English, although in different degree, use these forms as linking resources.

These forms become additive or consequence conjunctions that connect propositions bringing

meanings depending on their relationship with the independent clause or with a different

one. These hybrid forms conform a functional element that explicitly joins ideas and is, at the

same time, an element that carries meaning, but without the syntactic freedom that lexical

classes enjoy