ING COMPLEMENTS

1.The Participle

1.1.Participial Constructions

1.2.Characteristics of Participial Constructions

2.The Gerund

2.1.A Classification of Gerundial Forms

2.2.Characteristics of Gerunds

2.3.Differences between Participles and Gerunds

3.The Verbal Noun

4.ING Forms and Infinitives

5.Key Concepts

The last section of this course concerns itself with the remaining non-finite forms: Participial and Gerundial structures. The characteristic these forms share with the infinitival ones is the fact that they have no temporal features. Like in the case of infinitival constructions they exhibit aspectual features and cannot assign case to their logical subject.

One of the problems always present when discussing the Participle and the Gerund is the fact that both of these moods have the same ending: -ing. This makes it sometimes difficult for us to differentiate between them. Due to this situation, we shall have to point out the specific features of each construction. Let us start with the Participle:

1. The Participle

The first distinction to be made here is that between present participle and past participle. These are the tenses of this mood and they differ in point of ending: the present participle ends in -ing and makes the object of our discussion. The past participle ends in -en (or -ed) and will be marginally tackled in this section. Let us now see the main contexts where we can identify participial forms:

1.1. Participial Constructions

The main context in which the present participle appears is when it is part of a continuous tense form:

Susan is sleeping.

(Susan doarme.)

In (1) the ing form that appears within the Present Continuous VP (verb phrase) is a present participle.

This fact is also true of past participle forms and perfect or passive verb phrases:

a. Susan has come.

(A venit Susan)

b. Susan has been killed.

In (2) the forms come, been and killed are past participle forms.

A context where the present participle frequently appears is when it is combined with a noun phrase and has a modifying function, i.e. it functions attributively. Here we have two situations:

a) when it appears before the noun in question:

The running man is my boss.

(Omul care alearga este seful meu.)

b) when it appears after the noun in question:

The man running on the track is my boss.

(Omul care alearga pe pista este seful meu.)

As you can see in this second case, the participle may be accompanied by additional complements (on the track).

This situation is also characteristic for past participles, especially when they are placed in front of the nominal and appear in compounds:

His clean-shaved face was shining in the moonlight.

(Fata lui bine barbierita stralucea in lumina lunii.)

More infrequently, the past participle can appear after a noun, too:

Her eye-lids, blood-shot and painted, were closing.

(I se inchideau ochii, cu pleoape injectate si fardate.)

The participle can also frequently appear as an adverbial and here we can notice two situations:

a) when it has no expressed logical subject

a. Arriving here, they started singing.  (adverbial of time)

(Sosind aici, incepura sa cinte.)

b. Knowing who the guy was, she ran away. (adverbial of reason)

(Stiind cine era el, ea o lua la fuga.)

c. When singing, people should pay attention to high notes.   (adverbial of time + time conjunction)

(Atunci cind cinta, oamenii trebuie sa fie atenti la notele inalte.)

d. If provoked, a lion can attack. (adverbial of condition + conditional conjunction)

(Daca este provocat, leul poate sa atace.)

b) when it has an expressed logical subject : the Absolute Participle

a. God willing, I will arrive there on time.  (adverbial of condition)

(Cu voia lui Dumnezeu, o sa ajung la timp.)

b. Weather permitting, I will arrive there on time. (adverbial of condition)

(Daca vremea imi permite, o sa ajung la timp.)

The logical subjects in (8) are God and weather, respectively. This construction is called the Absolute Participle after the model of Latin where there is the Absolute Ablative - an elliptical construction made up of nouns and non-finite forms in the Ablative, which stands for an adverbial clause.

The participle may also appear in the so-called independent participial constructions:

a) Nominative + Present / Past Participle

a. He was found stealing.

(L-au descoperit ca fura.)

b. He was found killed by a bullet.

(L-au gasit ucis de un glonte.)

b) Accusative + Present / Past Participle

a. I found him stealing.

(L-am descoperit furind.)

b. They found him killed by a bullet.

(L-au gasit ucis de un glonte.)

Let us make up a list of verbs and adjectives that require the presence of the independent participial constructions:

a) Verbs requiring Nominative and Accusative + Present Participle

Verbs of physical perception: see, hear, smell, watch, behold, notice, perceive

I felt her trembling.

(Am simtit-o tremurind.)

He was noticed crying.

(A fost vazut plingind.)

Causative verbs: get, have, set, start, keep, send, leave,etc

a. I'll have you all speaking fluent English soon.

(O sa va fac sa vorbiti toti curind o engleza buna.)

b. He'll soon get things going.

(O sa puna repede lucrurile in miscare.)

c. He was sent rolling by the heavy blow.

(Lovitura l-a trimis invirtindu-se.)

mental perception verbs: remember, recollect, find, etc.:

Imagine him saying a thing like that.

(Inchipuieste-ti-l spunind una ca asta.)

b) Verbs requiring Nominative and Accusative + Past Participle

Verbs of physical perception: see, hear, feel, etc.:

a. I heard it said that men are a bore.

(Am auzit spunindu-se ca barbatii sint plicticosi.)

b. He was seen covered in mud from head to toe.

(L-au vazut acoperit de noroi din cap pina in picioare.)

verbs of mental perception: imagine, confess, know, recollect,etc.:

When she heard his words, she knew herself dismissed.

(Cind i-a auzit cuvintele si-a dat seama ca a concediat-o.)

Causative verbs: get , have, make

a. I must get my hair cut.

(Trebuie sa ma duc sa ma tund.)

b. You must get get that leg of yours taken care of.

(Trebuie sa te duci la doctor sa iti ingrijesti piciorul.)

verbs of permission, command

I ordered my bill made out.

(I-am spus chelnerului sa-mi aduca nota.)

Verbs of liking and disliking

a. Men like shopping made easy.

(Barbatilor le place sa termine repede cu cumparaturile.)

b. He wanted his car fixed immediately.

Activity 1

Translate the following sentences into English, using the types of participial structures discussed above:

1.2. Characteristics of Participial Forms

The main property participles have - in opposition to gerundial forms - is the verbal quality of these structures. Unlike the gerund, the participle has no nominal properties whatsoever. We shall enlarge upon this point in the section on gerunds.

A second differentiating feature is the frequency with which the participle appears as a modifier or as an adverbial. The only contexts in which the participle functions as an object is when it is part of the independent participial constructions (i.e. Nominative or Accusative + Participle).

The participle lacks tense but exhibits:

aspectual features:

Having seen this, I left.

(Vazind acestea, am plecat.)

Voice (can appear in the passive)

Having been noticed by the teacher, I left.

(Dupa ce m-a remarcat profesorul, am plecat.)

A nominative subject (in absolute participial constructions)

God willing, the rain will stop.

(Cu voia lui Dumnezeu, se va opri si ploaia.)

A conjunction to precede it optionally

Although not knowing the language, she enjoyed her trip to Spain.

(Desi nu stia limba, a avut parte de o excursie placuta in Spania.)

Activity 2

Join each of the following pairs of sentences, using either a present participle, or a past participle:

1.She didn't want to hear the story again. She had heard it all before. 2. I turned on the light. I was astonished at what I saw. 3. I have looked through the fashion magazine. I realize that my clothes are hopelessly out of date. 4. In this chapter the characters have an unintelligible conversation. They are lying face downwards in a sea of mud. 5. The tree had fallen across the road. It had been uprooted by the gale. 6. People were sleeping in the next room. They were wakened by the sound of breaking glass. 7. I knew that the murderer was still at large. I was extremely reluctant to open the door. Mother punished me for my mistake. I slammed the door of my room. 9. He fed the dog. He sat down to his own dinner. 10. They found the treasure. They began quarreling about how to divide it.

Activity 3

The following sentences contain misrelated participles. Read the sentences and try to correct them. How do you account for the term misrelated?

2. The Gerund

2.1. A Classification of Gerundial Forms

We classify gerunds, function of the presence or absence of a logical subject within the gerundial structure. According to this criterion, one can distinguish between:

a) gerunds without an expressed logical subject:

PRO seeing is PRO believing.

(Daca vezi, crezi.)

b) gerunds with an expressed logical subject:

This class of gerunds can be further split into two subclasses:

the full gerund (or the possessive ING)

John's coming here was a mistake.

(Venirea lui John aici a fost o greseala.)

the half gerund (or the Accusative ING)

It all depends on him coming here.

(Totul depinde de venirea lui aici.)

We call the first subclass of b) possessive ING because of the genitive form in which the logical subject appears. Likewise, the second subclass bears the name Accusative + ING due to the case of the logical subject within the gerund.

If there are two possibilities with class b) it means that there must be some differences between them. The main difference lies in the fact that the accusative + ing is more like a clause whereas the possessive ing looks more like a nominal.

How do we know that?

By looking at the way these constructions agree with the main clause verbs when coordinated:

The possessive ing in a compound subject agrees with the verb in the plural, just as it happens with any normal compound subject made up of two nominal phrases:

a. His winning and your losing were both surprising.

(M-a surprins faptul ca el a cistigat si tu ai pierdut.)

b. His victory and your defeat were both surprising.

(M-au surprins in egala masura victoria lui si infringerea ta.)

Coordinated accusative + ing requires a singular verb, just as it happens with coordinated Subject that clauses:

a. Him winning and you losing was surprising.

(M-a surprins faptul ca el a cistigat si tu ai pierdut.)

b. That he won and you lost was surprising.

(M-a surprins faptul ca el a cistigat si tu ai pierdut.)

2.2. Characteristics of Gerunds

In the previous subsection on participles I was saying that participles have [+ verbal] features, whereas gerunds have [ + verbal ] and [ + nominal ] features. In that, gerunds differ from participles.

Participles look more like clauses and more often than not are translated by means of a clause:

I saw him smiling and was surprised.

(L-am vazut ca zimbeste si am fost surprins.)

Gerunds look more like noun phrases and are often translatable by means of a noun phrase:

His slapping Susan terrified the audience.

(Faptul ca a palmuit-o pe Susan a ingrozit publicul.)

An important characteristic of gerunds is that they do not normally extrapose:

a. It was illegal to grow a beard.

(Nu era legal sa-ti lasi barba.)

b. *It was illegal growing a beard.

In (31) extraposition is possible with infinitives but not with gerunds. (31 b) is ungrammatical because we get a double subject construction. This behaviour of gerunds concerning extraposition resembles that of relative clauses which are themselves very similar in behaviour to noun phrases:

*It was illegal what she said.

Again we are faced with an ungrammatical double subject construction.

There are very few exceptions to this situation, and they normally happen with idiomatic phrases:

a. It's no use crying over spilt milk. (proverb)

(Mortul de la groapa nu se mai intoarce.)

b. It's no good talking to her.

(N-are sens sa vorbesti cu ea.)

gerunds can be combined with Prepositions:

a. She was surprised at his knowing the business so well.

(Era uimita de cit de bine stia el dedesubturile afacerii.)

b. He looked at their wrestling on the muddy floor.

(S-a uitat cum se lupta pe podeaua innoroiata.)

2.3. After discussing the characteristics of gerunds, it would be very useful for us to have a look at differences between participles and gerunds:

1. Participles can appear in tense forms:   Gerunds do not make up tense forms.

continuous , perfect, passive ones

She was crying.

2. Participles may be preceded by conjunctions:  Gerunds may be preceded by prepositions:

While sleeping, babies suck their thumb.  She waited for his coming home.

3. Participles may function as adverbials:    Gerunds do not function as adverbials with

Coming here, he built himself a house. few exceptions:

(adverbial of time)   She angered him by stealing his project.

4. Participles do not function as objects    Gerunds function as direct and prepositional

unless they appear in dependent constructions objects:

I saw her crying. (Accusative + Participle) She started crying. (direct object clause)

She was interested in him marrying her.

(prepositional object clause)

Participles may function as attributes and are    Gerunds may function as attributes but are

paraphrasable by who/that/which is . Verb + ing:    paraphrasable by means of the preposition

for:

the walking man = the man who is walking  the walking stick = stick used for walking

the flying fish = the fish which is flying    the flying saucer = saucer used for flying

Activity 8

Translate into English, remembering that the gerund is always used of a preposition, a prepositional verb or a phrasal verb:

Nu este nici o speranta sa se gaseasca supravietuitori dupa prabusirea avionului. / Te-ai scuzat pentru ca l-ai deranjat? / Am renuntat sa joc / la jocul de fotbal cind am terminat scoala. / Te-ai saturat probabil sa faci acelasi lucru zi de zi. / John a fost sever mustrat pentru ca "teroriza" baietii mai mici decit el. / Publicul a fost avertizat de pericolul de a se plimba prin parc noaptea. / Nu-l intereseaza deloc sa-si creasca copiii. / Se pare ca-ti place foarte mult sa subliniezi defectele altora. / Minerii sint intotdeauna avertizati sa nu duca chibrituri in mine. / Cine raspunde de incuiatul usilor si paza cladirii noaptea? / Ar trebui sa te gindesti sa economisesti bani in loc sa speri ca vei cistiga la carti. / Raspunsul la problema locuintelor pare sa rezide in construirea de noi blocuri. / Nu vedeau nici un motiv pentru c ei sa nu faca asa cum planuisera initial. / Doctorul m-a sfatuit sa renunt la fumat si grasimi. / A trebuit sa aminam plecarea in vacanta. / Compania aceea este specializata in fabricarea mobilei de birou. / Ar trebui sa se impuna tuturor si sa se abtina de la a fuma in restaurante si alte locuri publice. / Trebuie sa-mi cer scuze ca am intirziat asa de mult. / Judecatorul a fost acuzat de a nu fi dat juriului obiective clare. / Se mindreste ca e totdeauna bine imbracat. / I-am spus sa nu-si bata capul sa puna lucrurile la loc. / A trebuit sa suportam mojicia tot timpul calatoriei. / Am cerut sfatul unui avocat inainte de a ne decide sa actionam in justitie. / Dupa ce a hartuit-o bine pe vinzatoare, a plecat din magazin fara sa cumpere nimic. / In ciuda faptului ca a trebuit sa lupte cu o mare agitata, inotatoarea a reusit sa traverseze canalul in timp record.

Activity 10

Identify the gerundial and participial constructions and state their function:

1. A stranger sharing the trip with us was bad enough. 2. He smiled to hear her talking in that way. 3. Gambling is his favourite pastime. 4. It was worth trying to continue the efforts. 5. What I don't understand is you suddenly turning against me. 6. The only reason for selling was the owner's getting a new car. 7. He said he favoured people having decent haircuts. I can excuse his being rude to me but I cannot forgive his being rude to my mother. 9. He admitted driving the lorry recklessly. 10. They were interested in a true vote being expressed by the people. 11. The house is accustomed to reports being presented orally. 12. The ceremony ended with his having to receive a trophy. 12. He was spotted talking to her. 13. I was afraid that my answer might lead to him being charged for the offence. 14. She's looking forward to having lots of children. 15. The idea of him/his going to Paris appalled her.

Activity 11

Discriminate between gerunds and participles by means of paraphrase:

3. The Verbal Noun

The verbal noun is here placed in opposition with the gerund. The verbal noun is an ING form but is not part of non-finite forms: it is part of the nominal system, as it is a noun phrase which just happens to look like a gerund or participle.

But how can we tell when an ING form is a verbal noun?

Compare:

The shooting of the attacker was an ugly episode.

(Uciderea  celui care ii atacase era un episod urit.)

to

Shooting the attacker was an ugly episode.

(Uciderea  celui care ii atacase era un episod urit.)

Although the meaning of the two underlined structures is similar, they differ formally:

The first sentence contains a verbal noun, which can be identified by:

The presence of the (i.e. the determiner)

The presence of the of phrase (i.e. of the attacker)

The fact that it can be combined with an adjective:

The cruel shooting of the attacker

The second sentence contains a gerund due to :

The absence of a determiner like the, a

The absence of an of phrase, but the presence of a direct object (i.e. the attacker)

The possibility of its combination with an adverb:

Shooting the attacker cruelly

The problem with verbal nouns and gerunds is that they are both ended in ING and can take a possessive

George's shooting of the attacker vs. George's shooting the attacker.

The test that always helps you out of trouble is that of combining these constructions with an adjective or an adverbial:

The first construction takes an adjective: George's cruel shooting of the attacker, whereas the second structures takes an adverb: George's shooting the attacker cruelly. This means that the first structure is a verbal noun while the second is a gerund.

Sometimes the verbal noun can appear without its 'of' phrase:

His beautiful singing was a blessing to everyone.

In (37) there are two verbal nouns: his beautiful singing and a blessing. How can we tell? In the first case, we can identify the verbal noun by means of the adjective that accompanies it. In the second situation, the verbal noun blessing is accompanied by a determiner which is an indefinite article. These are features that normally characterize any noun.

Activity 12

Identify the verbal nouns in the following:

4. ING Forms and Infinitives.

The aim of this subsection is mainly to help you better understand why those verbs or adjectives that can be combined both with gerunds and with infinitives have a different meaning in each case.

It has been noticed that, whenever a verb can appear both with an infinitive and with a gerund, the meaning is different. However, we can trace a common feature for all these special verbs. All of them change their meaning according to the grammatical information offered by the construction they are followed by.

For instance, whenever we meet an -ing form, we expect it to have something to do with an event that has already happened (and then we are dealing with a gerund) or is happening (and we are looking at a participle). With the infinitive, we expect it it to refer to something potential, that is going to take place.

Look, for example, at the following:

He saw Susan crossing the street.

(A vazut-o pe Susan traversind strada.)

as opposed to

He saw Susan cross the street.

(A vazut cum Susan a traversat strada.)

The difference in meaning is well expressed by the Romanian translation and is motivated by what each form means: - the -ing form ( a participle) expresses something still happening ( so the guy in the example is watching Susan as she advances across the street).

- the infinitival form (a bare infinitive) - by opposition with the participle - suggests that we are watching the whole event of the crossing of the street (so the guy in the example has watched the entire crossing)

Another example, and the most well-known one, is that of the verb stop:

Compare:

She stopped to eat a sandwich.

(S-a oprit sa manince un sandwich.)

to

She stopped eating a sandwich.

(S-a oprit din mincat.)

The first example, containing an infinitive, suggests the fact that the eating of the sandwich is going to take place (the potential, future-oriented value of the infinitive). The second example - containing a gerund - suggests the fact that the eating of the sandwich had already commenced and was then interrupted (the gerund expresses an event happening in the past, prior to the one expressed by the main clause verb.)

After looking at this example, we can notice that the gerund expresses something that has already happened, anterior to the verb in the main clause, whereas the infinitive expresses something that is yet to happen, posterior to the verb in the main clause: the gerund is past-oriented, the infinitive is future-oriented.

Let us examine other verbs like these, that require both a gerund and an infinitive:

a) Remember ,recollect, forget

She remembers filling the tank with petrol.

(Si-aduce aminte ca a umplut rezervorul cu benzina.)

versus

Remember to fill the tank with petrol.

(Adu-ti aminte sa umpli rezervorul cu benzina.)

The example with the gerund suggests that the filling of the tank has already happened; the example with the infinitive suggests that the filling of the tank is going to happen.

b) regret

I regret filling the tank with petrol.

(Imi pare rau ca am umplut rezervorul cu benzina.)

versus

I regret to fill the tank with petrol, but that's it.

(Imi pare rau ca o sa umplu rezervorul cu benzina, dar asta este.)

The example with the gerund suggests that the filling of the tank has already happened; the example with the infinitive suggests that the filling of the tank is going to happen.

c) try

I tried filling the tank with petrol and then I did some car washing.

(Intii am incercat sa ma ocup cu umplerea rezervorului cu benzina, apoi m-am ocupat de spalarea masinilor.)

versus

I tried to fill the tank with petrol but found it no easy job.

(Am incercat sa umplu rezervorul cu benzina, insa nu mi s-a parut treaba usoara.)

The first example implies the fact that the guy there has already filled the tank with petrol several times. In the second example, the petrol tank is not filled yet , the action is not completed.

d) mean

I mean to tell her the truth.

(Am de gind sa-i spun adevarul.)

versus

This means revealing her all my secrets.

(Asta inseamna sa-i dezvalui toate secretele mele.)

In the first example, the event has not happened yet, it is bound to happen as a result of the subject's intentions. In the second example, mean has the sense signify.

e) need, want

With [+ human] objects, these verbs are used in combination with the infinitive:

He wants / needs to learn English.

(Vrea / trebuie sa invete engleza.)

With [- human] objects, they can be combined with the gerund and acquire the same interpretation as when they are followed by a passive infinitive:

(51) a.The house needs repairing.

(Casa trebuie reparata.)

b. The house needs to be repaired.

(Casa trebuie reparata.)

f)  go on

He goes on reading from that cheap novel.

(Continua sa citeasca din romanul acela ieftin.)

versus

After he studied for four years, he went on to become a lawyer.

(Dupa ce a invatat patru ani, s-a dus sa se faca avocat.)

In the first case we understand that the event of reading has already begun, whereas in the second case, the event of becoming a lawyer is yet to happen.

Activity 13

Complete the following dialogue by putting the verbs in backets into the correct form, gerund or infinitive, as required:

A: You complain about feeling lonely but you've only yourself to blame, you know. You don't even try (make) new friends. Why don't you join a club of some sort and stop (feel) so sorry for yourself?

B: Look, John, I know you mean (be) kind, but I'd prefer (do) things my own way. I've tried (join) clubs in the past but I absolutely hate (have) to meet a lot of new people and I used to dread (go) to meetings so much that I stopped (attend) altogether after a few weeks, I regret (say).

A: But if you don't go on (attend) , how can you expect to make friends? You need (persevere) more. Friendship doesn't just happen. It means (spend) time with people and (share) experiences with them. If you only stopped (think) about it for a moment, you'd see I was right.

B: But I've so little time for a social life. There's always work that needs (do) in the house and then there's the novel I'm writing. I dread (think) what will happen if that's not finished by the deadline. And that's not all.

A: OK, OK, before you go on (give) me any more reasons why you can't go out, let me make a final suggestion. Do you remember (meet) an American friend of mine at my house recently? Well, he's trying (make) up a paarty to go to the theatre to see "Private Lives" next week. He told me not to forget (invite) you. I know you prefer (go) to concerts to (see) plays, on the whole, but this production has had rave notices and I'm sure you'd enjoy it. What do you say?

5. Key Concepts

In this subsection we have dealt with ING forms. These appear either as Present Participles or as Gerunds. The main difference between these two forms lies in their special features. Participles mainly function as adverbials, whereas gerunds function mainly as objects. The common function these two structures share is that of attribute but the similarity is deceptive, since paraphrase can correctly identify which is which.

Another special feature is which elements these two structures can be preceded by: a preposition for gerunds and a conjunction for participles.

There are also important differences between gerunds and verbal nouns, although one can mistake them due to the fact that both forms can combine with a possessive nominal. The main test of disambiguation is that of combining the two forms with either an adverb (for the gerund) or an adjective (for the verbal noun).

Activity 14

In the following texts, identify the ING forms and analyse them syntactically:

a) He remembered entering the village and then the ground, the very earth opening up. First the crack snaking its jagged way along the concrete, then the noise and the cracking stone, and then the incredible sound of the ground opening up, the enormous split in the earth. The two sides were moving apart, their edges crashing inwards, down, down into God knows where. The sight of the two children, the man and his bike disappearing in the hole. The collapsing shops - he remembered seeing the shops on one side collapsing - and then the ragged mouth reaching towards him.

b) The people above heard the cry for help coming from the huge hole that had wrecked the burning village. He looked up towards the daylight, hoping he would see somebody up there, someone looking for survivors. Then he saw movement at his feet. At first, he thought it was dust caused by the disturbance, but then he saw it billowing up from below. It was like a mist, slowly rising in a swirling motion, slightly yellowish although he couldn't be sure in the gloom. It seemed to be spreading along the length of the split, moving up towards his chest, covering the girl's head. She started coughing.

Activity 15 (Optional exercise)

Translate into English, making use of the information supplied in this section:

1.Asa ca vrind-nevrind, eram toti adunati in camera aceea, mama mea, cei doi Mamona, Vaucher si cu mine, si asteptind ca tot ce avea sa se intimple sa se intimple cu adevarat si nu numai in inchipuirea mea sau a lor. Si ca la un semnal care anunta un inceput, se deschise o usa si venind o sluga, totul se anima deodata. Ridicindu-se, Mamona cel Tinar parasi incaperea fara sa spuna un cuvint, dar lasind in urma lui citiva stropi de singe, inveselind privirea cu rosul lor fierbinte si prevestitor. In urma slugii, impiedicindu-se de Mamona cel Tinar plecind, venira alte doua si carind fiecare cite un cufar.

2.Intrind in casa noastra in anul 1812, intr-o joi, Vaucher a inceput prin a-l bate pe Mamona cel Tinar sub privirile mele si aale mamei mele nepasatoare si a sfirsit in anul 1821, ( . ) omorit fiind de catre Mamona cel Tinar, ucenicul sau necredincios. Numai ca toate astea sint departe si inca de neinchipuit. Dar nu atit de neinchipuit incit, iesind din baltoaca lui si apropiindu-se de Mamona cel Tinar pentru a-l lovi, sa nu-mi inchipui ca peste putina vreme ma va lovi si pe mine si atunci, inchizind ochii, apasindu-mi pleoapele peste privirea din ei, frica si nepasarea m-au cuprins precum si gindul ca intr-o zi cineva il va omori pe Vaucher si stiind ca nu eu o voi face, am stiut si cine. Si poate ca stind in baltoaca lui, Vaucher a stiut si el, arata in orice caz ca cineva care stie, dar sperind ca totul va fi altfel pina la urma.

3.Asa ca atunci cind a intrat Mamona cel Batrin, cu un sac ud pe umeri si mirosind tare a ploaie si a sudoare, ne-a gasit pe fiecare la locul lui, pe mama mea parind absenta, dar stiutoare, asezata cu spatele la noi, la mine, care stateam cu ochii aproape inchisi, pe Vaucher, asezat in baltoaca pe care o facuse apa scursa din hainele lui, si pe Mamona cel Tinar, stind cu capul in tavan si cu o mina ridicata in sus, dupa cum ii spusese mama, parind insa ca ne saluta sau ca vrea sa-si ia ramas bun de la cineva. Ne-a privit o clipa si, fara sa-si lepede sacul de pe umeri, neostenindu-se sa fac nici asta, nicidecum sa ne salute sau sa spuna ceva, se duse linga mama si, aplecindu-se putin, o saruta pe frunte. Neclintiti, continuam sa stam si sa asteptam.

(Stefan Agopian - Tache de catifea)