The v-ing form in English

Obama to defy Republicans with immigration speech

            President Barack Obama is ordering far-reaching changes to the U.S. immigration system that will protect nearly 5 million people from deportation, testing the limits of his presidential powers and inviting a showdown with newly emboldened Republicans.

            Republicans were united in opposing Obama's move but divided on how to respond. Lawmakers have raised options including lawsuits, a government shutdown and even impeachment. Party leaders are seeking to avoid a government shutdown, say such moves could backfire and anger voters ahead of the next presidential election in two years. Republicans are in a bind over immigration: the U.S. electorate is becoming more diverse, especially more Hispanic. Republican leaders have said the party risks its long-term future if it does not act to solve America's immigration problems. But many in the party's conservative base oppose any reform that includes a path to citizenship for those who enter the country illegally.

            The White House says the president is exercising his executive authority to tackle immigration reform unilaterally, as Republicans Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush did before him. "What I'm going to be laying out is the things that I can do with my lawful authority as president to make the system better," Obama said in a video the White House posted on Facebook.

            The president's broadest decree was expected to apply to about 4.1 million parents who are in America illegally but whose children are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. If the parents have been in the U.S. for at least five years, they could apply for protection from deportation and then for work permits, according to people briefed in advance on the president's actions. Obama was also expected to broaden a 2012 directive that deferred deportation for some young immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally. Obama will expand eligibility to people who arrived in the U.S. as minors before 2010, instead of the current cutoff of 2007, and will lift the requirement that applicants be under 31 to be eligible. The expansion is expected to affect about 300,000 people.

            Despite the sweeping scope of the president's actions, more than half of the 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally will be granted no specific protections. However, Obama's orders aim to decrease the likelihood that many of them will be deported by ordering the Department of Homeland Security to focus its enforcement on those who have criminal histories or who recently crossed the border.

            People briefed on the plan discussed the details on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to do so by name ahead of Obama's address. The president's decision to act on his own follows months of partisan rancor in Washington over more comprehensive legislation. While the Senate passed a bill last year that would have allowed nearly everyone in the U.S. illegally to pursue a pathway to citizenship, the Republican-led House of Representatives never took up the measure.

            Now that Obama is acting on his own, some on the right are pushing to use must-pass spending legislation to try to stop Obama's effort. One lawmaker has raised the specter of impeachment. Some immigrant advocates, meanwhile, worried that even though Obama's actions would make millions eligible for work permits, not all would participate out of fear that Republicans or a new president would reverse the executive orders.

Source : http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/11/21/obama-defy-republicans-with-immigration-speech.html

Discussion      :

1. In paragraph 1, first sentence :

President Barack Obama is ordering far-reaching changes to the U.S. immigration system that will protect nearly 5 million people from deportation, testing the limits of his presidential powers and inviting a showdown with newly emboldened Republicans.

Analysis           :

The -ing form of “ordering” functions as a verb. It is the main verb in the sentence that expresses an action. The sentence uses present progressive tense with pattern : Subject (President Barack Obama) + to be (is) + v-ing (ordering).

The -ing form of “reaching” functions as noun. “far-running” is a noun phrase. “far” is an adjective that has a function to modify noun “reaching”. 

The -ing form of “testing” and “inviting” functions as noun. They are gerund. As we know that gerund has the same function as a noun although it looks like a verb. 

2. In paragraph 2, third and fourth sentence :

Party leaders are seeking to avoid a government shutdown…

…the U.S. electorate is becoming more diverse…

Analysis :

The -ing form of “seeking” and “becoming” functions as a verb. They are the main verb in the sentence that expresses an action. The sentence uses present progressive tense with pattern : Subject + to be + v-ing.

3. In paragraph 3, first and third sentence :

...the president is exercising his executive authority…

"What I'm going to be laying out is the things that I can do…

Analysis :

The -ing form of “exercising” functions as a verb. It is the main verb in the sentence that expresses an action. The sentence uses present progressive tense with pattern : Subject (the president) + to be (is) + v-ing (exercising).

The -ing form of “I’m going to” functions as auxiliary verb. It expresses that something is a plan. It expresses the idea that a person intends to do something in the future. The pattern is Subject (I) + to be (am) + going to + verb (be).

The -ing form of “laying” functions as noun. It is a gerund. As we know that gerund has the same function as a noun although it looks like a verb. 

4. In paragraph 5, first and second sentence :

Despite the sweeping scope of the president's actions, more than half of the 11 million immigrants living in the U.S…

…many of them will be deported by ordering the Department of Homeland Security…

Analysis :

The -ing form of “sweeping” functions as an adjective. In the sentence above, “sweeping” is a present participle which is used as an adjective. “sweeping scope” is a noun phrase. In this case, “sweeping” functions as adjective that modifies noun “scope”. 

The –ing form of “living” has a function as an adjective. Living in here is an participle which is used to modify the entire sentence after it. We can not say that “living” is a verb because there is no to be before it. 

The -ing form of “ordering” functions as noun. It is a gerund. By + a gerund is used to express how something done. In English grammar, if there is a preposition, we need to use a gerund or a noun after it.  Therefore, there is a gerund “ordering” after the preposition “by”.

5. In paragraph 7, first paragraph :

Now that Obama is acting on his own, some on the right are pushing to use must-pass spending legislation…

Analysis :

The -ing form of “acting” functions as a verb. It is the main verb in the sentence that expresses an action. The sentence uses present progressive tense with pattern : Subject (Obama) + to be (is) + v-ing (acting).

The -ing form of “spending” functions as noun. “spending legislation” is a noun phrase.

Name   :  Mia Rusliana

NPM   :  14611454

Class    :  4SA04

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