點解可以咁樣? 1句咁多動詞?

首先，我想指出，上面 第一位說是 NOUN PHRASE，第 2 第 3 位說 是 GERUND，其實都不對。其實這裏的只是 PRESENT PARTICIPLE，肯定不是 GERUND，因句子本身的 S ＋ V ＋ O 結構十分明顯，後面只是 COMPLEMENT。 很多人都把 VERB ＋ ING PRESENT PARTICIPLE 等同於 GERUND，混淆了。看看這句的句子結構： " i spent 3 weeks designing and completing it。 " SUB ＋ VERB ＋ ADJ ＋ NOUN ＋ PRESENT PARTICIPLE ＋ CONJUNCTION ＋ PRESENT PARTICIPLE ＋ OBJ。 這句的主要SUBJ 是 I ， 動詞是 SPENT， OBJ 是 3 WEEKS， 後面是形容前面的 COMPLEMENT，怎會是 GERUND （NOUN PHRASE）？ " designing and completing it " 這句是由 PRESENT PARTICIPLE ＋ OBJ 組成，是典形 VERBS OF PERCEPTION 的 SENTENCE STRUCTURE，下面有個網頁便有清楚說明。請留意 C 那部分，便是你舉的例子的用法：

'- ING' FORM THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE

The present participle of most verbs has the form base+ing and is used in the following ways:

a. as part of the continuous form of a verb

(See continuous tenses in VERB TENSES)

Example: I am working, he was singing, they have been walking.

b. after verbs of movement/position in the pattern:

verb + present participle

Example: * She went shopping

* He lay looking up at the clouds

* She came running towards me

This construction is particularly useful with the verb 'to go', as in these common expressions

: to go shopping to go ski-ing to go fishing to go surfing to go walking to go swimming to go running to go dancing


＊＊＊ c. after verbs of perception in the pattern: verb + object + present participle

Example: I heard someone singing.

He saw his friend walking along the road.

I can smell something burning!

NOTE: There is a difference in meaning when such a sentence contains a zero-infinitive rather than a participle. The infinitive refers to a complete action, but the participle refers to an incomplete action, or part of an action.

Compare: * I heard Joanna singing (= she had started before I heard her, and probably went on afterwards)

* I heard Joanna sing (= I heard her complete performance)

d. as an adjective Examples: amazing, worrying, exciting, boring.

* It was an amazing film.

* It's a bit worrying when the police stop you

* Dark billowing clouds often precede a storm.

* Racing cars can go as fast as 400kph.

* He was trapped inside the burning house.

* Many of his paintings depict the setting sun.

e. with the verbs spend and waste, in the pattern: verb + time/money expression + present participle

Example: * My boss spends two hours a day travelling to work.

* Don't waste time playing computer games!

* They've spent the whole day shopping.

f. with the verbs catch and find, in the pattern: verb + object + present participle:

With catch, the participle always refers to an action which causes annoyance or anger:

* If I catch you stealing my apples again, there'll be trouble!

* Don't let him catch you reading his letters.

This is not the case with find, which is unemotional:

* We found some money lying on the ground.

* They found their mother sitting in the garden.

http://www.edufind.com/english/grammar/ING2.cfm

上面已舉了你要的例子，網頁來還有，怕太長不能全部 POST 出來。 所以，PRESENT PARTICIPLE 的定義是 VERB ＋ ING， 可作 VERB， ADJ，GERUND， 或不是 作為 MAIN VERB ，放在 OBJECT 前面的 PRES PART。如作為 GERUND， 後面便不可能有 OBJ。 還有，除了 SIMPLE SENTENCE 只可有一個動詞，其餘的 COMPOUND 和 COMPLEX SENTENCE 可有 N 個 動詞，只需簡單加些 CONJUNCTION 便可，可作為健力士世界紀錄大全呢。 e.g. He ate and ate and ate......and died. 你喜歡幾多個動詞都得。 我個答案太長了， 怕無位補充。

只要語法正確, 一個句子同時表達多個「資訊」是沒有問題的. 你的例句譯為中文會是「我花了三個星期去設計及完成它.」 中文的角度也是沒有問題的, 不是嗎?
至於你奇怪怎麼可以那麼多動詞, 其實這只不過是表達方式的問題. 同一個句子亦可寫成 "I designed and completed it in 3 weeks." 少了一個動詞, 不是嗎?
早過我的其中一位回答者已經向你指出了, 你例句中的 designing 及 completing 雖然本身是「動詞」, 但在這裡是當 gerund 來用. 不過, 一個句子中包含多個"真正"的「動詞」並非不可以的, 但多數會用標點符號來分隔開, 例如: "We swam, dived, and fished during the weekend." 「我們在週末裏曾經遊水, 潛水, 以及釣魚.」同一句亦可寫成 "We spent the whole weekend swimming, diving, and fishing.", 最重要的是基本語法沒有錯.
"I think I must have spent 5 minutes reading and then answering your question." 「我諗我大概用o左五分鐘去睇同埋答你的問題.」

2006-12-01 17:03:29 補充：
多謝「風 (跟住太長, 唔記得...)」的指正. 看了你的解釋, 我也搞不清楚究竟是否 gerund 了, 但看 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerund 內 ”gerund 和 pp 的分別” 又好像... 唔, 橫掂我已答了發問者的主要疑問, 所以不願花時間去研究句子組件的”詞類”了, 但也很感謝你的分享!

在這句中用了”動名詞(Gerund)”作為修辭法

所謂動名詞，是以原形動詞+ing之形態做為名詞用者，而使該詞具有動詞和名詞的作用
e.g. He is very fond of (reading) novels
(Lying) late in the morning is a great loss in life.(早晨遲起是人生的一大損失）
(Working) so hard will produce good results(如此努力工作必將獲得好成果）

既然那動詞已經成了名詞，所以就可以用作subject，也可以用作object。

所以，你所舉的例句中，只有一個動詞”spent”；而”designing and completing it”是一句名詞片語(noun phrase)


動名詞甚至可跟my, his, her, their用
e.g.He insisted on my going there.(他堅持要我去那兒）
e.g. I feel very sorry about his being murdered.（對於他被人謀殺，我感到難

2006-11-30 16:39:28 補充：
你可以在英文文法書的，找動名詞的篇章看就會明白

2006-11-30 16:48:02 補充：
讓我補充樓上一點，他說句子應為”I spent 3 weeks on designing and completing it”，其實有沒有on都是正確的。e.g. yahoo 字典對spend的第二解釋2. 花(時間,精力)[( on)][O4]They spent three months touring Europe.他們花了三個月時間周遊歐洲。