male gerendō negōtiō in aere aliēnō vacillant, C. 2, 21, owing to bad business-managing they are staggering under debts. studium agrī colendī, CM. 59, the occupation of land-tilling. vir regendae rē̆ī pūblicae scientissimus, DO. 1, 214, a man of great experience in state-managing.
[(2.) The Gerund.]
[2241.] The gerund expresses, in a substantive form, the uncompleted action of a verb which has no direct object.
ars vīvendī, Fin. 1, 42, the art of living. nōn est locus ad tergiversandum, Att. 7, 1, 4, ’tis no time for shill-I-shall-I-ing. sum dēfessus quaeritandō, Pl. Am. 1014, I’m all worn out with hunting. sē experiendō didicisse, Ta. 1, 11, he had learned by experience.
[2242.] Gerunds of verbs of transitive use are exceptionally found with a substantive object (2255, 2259, [2265]), and regularly with neuter pronouns and neuter plural adjectives to avoid ambiguity ([1106]). See also [2247].
agendī aliquid discendīque causā, Fin. 5, 54, for the sake of doing or learning something. faciendī aliquid vel nōn faciendī vēra ratiō, Plin. Ep. 6, 27, 4, the true ground for doing or not doing a thing. artem sē trādere vēra ac falsa dīiūdicandī, DO. 2, 157, that he passed along the art of distinguishing between the true and the false. regendī cūncta onus, Ta. 1, 11, the burden of governing the world.
[Cases of Gerunds and Gerundives.]
[Nominative.]
[2243.] The nominative of the gerundive construction, as the subject of sum, denotes action which is to be done.