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I would say it is, in the sense that you could write it as "Seeing you is nice", so that "seeing you" is a noun phrase. Am I wrong in thinking this?

Would the same principle apply to:

Thank you for having us.

Well thanks for staying.

It's lovely seeing you again

Thanks so much for coming.

Finally what time are these phrases referring to. I'm planning to teach them as referring to a past event that is still ongoing at the time of speaking.

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Yes, the gerund serves as a noun in all of these phrases. You can test it by substituting another noun like "apple pie." "Apple pie is nice." "Thank you for the apple pie." "Well thanks for the apple pie." "Thanks so much for the apple pie." "It [the apple pie] is lovely."

The event could either be happening in the present ("It's nice seeing you!") or it could refer to a continuing past event ("Thanks for coming!") similar in meaning to the present perfect tense ("Thanks for having come!") although that sounds a bit awkward.

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  • Thanks Sarah that's really helpful. I reversed the phrases, so that 'it's nice seeing you' becomes 'seeing you is nice', with 'seeing you' being the noun phrase. Would you agree with that?
    – Shiver me zithers
    Commented Apr 23, 2020 at 20:51
  • Yes, you can reverse it, although it is more idiomatic to say, "Nice seeing you!"
    – SarahT
    Commented Apr 23, 2020 at 23:59
  • Thank you again :-) The reversal is just a teaching tool, to make the noun phrase clearer. I really appreciate the input. Be safe and stay well :-)
    – Shiver me zithers
    Commented Apr 24, 2020 at 0:15

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