What worried the child most was ____ to visit his mother in the hospital. A. his not allowing B. his not being allowed C. his being not allowed D. having not been allowed(上海高考,98-8)
《英语高考题型解析》(华东理工大学出版社, p.243) 对上题作了如下分析:
“his not being allowed to do ... 是现在分词的被动否定式,在本句中作表语。”
但是,我觉得,his not being allowed to do 并不是现在分词,而是动名词。
我同意您的说法。看来，确定一个动词的-ing形式到底是现在分词还是动名词，对于中国学生和教师确实是一个难点。就用作表语的v-ing而论，我们可以这样来区分现在分词和动名词：
现在分词作表语,意在表示主语的性质或特征,具有形容词的特征,故不能用物主代词(如 my, his...)或名词所有格(如 John's 等)来作定语:
The situation is encouraging. 形势是令人鼓舞的。
而动名词作表语,兼有动词和名词的特征,可以用物主代词或名词所有格来作定语(或称语义上的逻辑主语):
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One of his bad habits is not speaking clearly. 他的不良习惯之一是说话不清楚。
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What we expected is Tom's coming. 我们所期待的是汤姆的到来。
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What I'm doing is teaching him a lesson. 我要做的事情是给他一个教训。
此外，动名词作表语时通常可以和主语更换位置，而基本含义不变：
What worried the child most was his not being allowed to visit his mother in the hospital. →His
not being allowed to visit his mother in the hospital was what worried the child most.
[试题句意]最使这孩子焦急的，是不让他去看住院的妈妈。
(参见infinitive , passive )