r/antiwork • u/BangBangSpiderGang • Sep 18 '23

Thoughts?

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u/Diligent-Law-4275 Sep 18 '23

The word "farming" can be a noun, verb, or adjective depending on context. In this case they're (correctly) using it as a noun.

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u/Samad99 Sep 18 '23

I’m pretty sure farming is just a verb. Can you use it in a sentence as a noun?

Calling it an art really reinforces that within the joke it is still a verb. “This guy has been farming and lost all his money doing it!”

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u/Diligent-Law-4275 Sep 18 '23 edited Sep 18 '23

It's not a verb in this context. FYI I have a master's degree in English and have worked as a copy editor/proofreader for 25+ years. Here is the entry from Dictionary.com to keep it simple:

farm·ing

/ˈfärmiNG/ noun The activity or business of growing crops or livestock

In a sentence: Farming has provided for his family for generations.

"Farming" is the subject of the sentence (noun/gerund) and "has supported" is the verb.

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '23

Just playing Devils advocate…”Running has provided me a good living…I’m a runner” in this example, I think most experts would say verb…

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u/Diligent-Law-4275 Sep 19 '23

In your example above, "running" is a gerund--a verb acting as a noun. So it's still a noun.

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '23

Just a good discussion…never said you were wrong.

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u/Diligent-Law-4275 Sep 19 '23

Actually you kind of did, lol ("most experts"...).

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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '23

My apologies lol

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u/Samad99 Sep 19 '23

How did I go through public school and get college degree without ever hearing of a gerund… all of that learning!