Gerunds and Participle

Gerunds and Participle

Every gerund, without exception, ends in ing. Gerunds are not, however, all that easy to identify. The problem is that all present participles also end in ing. What is the difference?

Both gerunds and participles are verbal; that is, they are both formed by adding +ing to a verb and both express action or a state of being. The difference between the two lies in their function within the sentence.

Gerund has the same functions as Nouns in sentences. They can be single words or gerund phrases.

Unlike Gerunds, which function as nouns in sentences, Participle can function as Adjective in sentences. The examples and exercises in this activity focus on present participles, which suggest action and come from active verbs. As adjectives, participles modify nouns or pronouns.

Examples of Gerund:

Since Francisco was five years old, swimming has been his passion.

Francisco's first love is swimming.

Francisco enjoys swimming more than spending time with his girlfriend Diana.

Francisco gives swimming all of his energy and time.

When Francisco wore dive fins to class, everyone knew that he was devoted to swimming.

Note: Swimming in all the above examples functions as a noun that’s why   Swimming is a Gerund

Examples of Participles:

One day last summer, Francisco and his coach were swimming at Daytona Beach.

A Great White shark ate Francisco's swimming coach.

Now Francisco practices his sport in safe swimming pools.

Note: Swimming in all the above examples functions as Modifiers that’s why swimming is a present participle Modifiers are words, phrases, or clauses that provide description in sentences.

More Examples of Gerund:

Subject Gerunds:
     1. Learning is a lifelong process. .
     2. Learning to speak and write English well takes a lot of practice.

Direct object Gerunds:
     1. Bertha hates shopping. She'd rather save her money.
     2. She prefers putting her money in a savings account.

Gerunds as objects of prepositions:.
     1. James is not known for studying
     2. He failed his last exam on identifying the parts of speech.

Subject complement Gerunds after linking verbs:

     1. All summer long, Lisa's favorite pastime has been  surfing.
     2. Meanwhile, her younger brother's favorite activity has been surfing the                internet.

More Examples of Participle:

·        Adjective + Noun: I was awakened by the screaming child. (The participle modifies child.)

·        Subject + Linking Verb + Adjective complement:  The horror film was extremely frightening. (The participle modifies  horror film).

·        Participial Phrase:  The police noticed the thief  hiding on the rooftop. (The participial phrase modifies thief).

·        Introductory Participial (Adjective) Phrase: Looking for a place to hide, the thief climbed the fire escape to the rooftop.

English Grammar - The Gerund

·        A traditional grammatical term for a verbal that ends in -ing and functions as a noun.

·        A gerund with its objects, complements, and modifiers is called a gerund phrase or simply a noun phrase.

·        Etymology:

·        From the Latin, "to carry on"

·        Form

·        infinitive + -ing

·        Examples

·        Going to parties is fun

·        I enjoy reading.

·        

      Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.

·        Shooting paintballs is not an art form.

·        Humor is laughing at what you haven't got when you ought to have it.

·        Eighty percent of success is showing up.