Consulting Journal: Writing

This article is reprinted from The Consulting Journal
http://www.consultingjournal.com

Writing: Gerunds

by David Blakey

Gerunds are really simple, but you might not be able to use them.

[Monday 7 June 2004]

Examine the following statement.

The fact that you have adopted the methodology means that you have a clear, traceable path throughout your projects.

It is the kind of statement that you can read in many consultants' reports. It is flawed.

The sentence contains a major subordinate clause that you have adopted the methodology. If you remove it, you have a simpler sentence.

The fact means that you have a clear, traceable path throughout your projects.

Of course, the fact does not mean anything of the kind. A fact is simply a fact. It exists. It does not do anything. It does not cause anything. It just is. It may be a fact that the client adopted the methodology. But that fact does not cause any result. It is their adoption of the methodology that causes the result. So the statement should be

Your adopting the methodology means that you have a clear, traceable path throughout your projects.

This is probably the best form of this statement in English. Unfortunately, it uses a gerund - adopting - and many people are uncomfortable with gerunds. Often, they would prefer to use a less logical construction than use a gerund.

Gerunds are simple. They are a form of a verb used as if it were a noun. The verb adopt has the gerund adopting, which you can treat as if it were a noun. It can be the subject or the object of a sentence. It can have a verb describing its action or state. It can have adjectives, including the definite and indefinite articles.

The beauty of gerunds is that they allow linkages between themselves and other nouns as if they were verbs. So, as you can say You adopt the methodology, you can also say Your adopting the methodology ... If you try to do the same linkage using only nouns, you have to introduce conjunctions: Your adoption of the methodology ... So, using the gerund is really the best way to write this statement.

But, there may be a problem. You may recall that I have advised you to always try to write reports so that your clients can read them out loud. This means that the constructions that you use in writing your reports should be as close as possible to the constructions that your clients use when speaking. To many English speakers, a gerund is not a natural construction.

Much of this depends upon your clients' nationality and level of literacy. Gerunds may sound natural to educated English speakers. They may not sound natural to less literate speakers from English-speaking countries and to speakers whose first language is not English, that is, anyone who does not use gerunds in their everyday speech. To these readers, your reports may seem correct but patronizing. Your writing may appear academic or arrogant.

You might assume, then, that you should avoid using gerunds in case they give offence to your readers. But literate readers appreciate literacy in writers. So, if your readers are familiar with gerunds, they will be impressed with you literacy if you use them.

You need to know your readers. Every sentence of your reports should be designed and written with your readers in mind. If you can write, Your adopting the methodology, then do so. If you must write Your adoption of the methodology, then do so.

My advice to you this time is a little different from usual. First, you should replace the fact that with another construction. Second, you should make sure that your replacement is the most appropriate for your readers.