Gerund, Present and Past Participle

Definition

 A gerund is the–ing form of a verb used as a noun. A gerund phrase will begin with a gerund, an -ing word, and will include other modifiers or objects.

Function

Gerund phrases always function as nouns, so they will be subjects, subject complement, or objects in the sentence.  When a verb ends in -ing, it may be a gerund or a present participle. It is important to understand that they are not the same.

There are three common gerunds:

•Gerund as subject

•Gerund as object

•Gerund after preposition

Gerund as Subject

Gerund as subject is placed in beginning of sentences.

Examples :

ØStudying English is more fun

ØReading a novel is my hobby

ØWatching a romantic movie is so touch

ØCooking is her hobby

Gerund as Object
Gerund as object placed at the end or after V1
Examples :

• You like singing a pop

• They enjoy playing a guitar

• I love studying English so much

• He quit smoking 

Gerund After Preposition

Preposition such as: at, in, on, for, before, after, without, by, of, with, about, etc.

 

Examples :

§Alice’s interested in looking for a new job

§Thank you for helping me

§She is very good at dancing

§The team should be hard at exercising     

PARTICIPLE

What is Participle?

  Language makes participle with verb form. Participle has form of adjective.

There are 2 common of participles, which are present participle and past participle.

Present Participle
Verb + ing

§Present participle is used for the progressive form or adjective for noun. Present participles are formed by adding –ing to the verb stem. As an adjective, a present participle modifies a noun that affects someone or something else.

§Function  : to modify  a noun that affects someone or something else

Present Participle as Adjective

Examples  :

1.She is a very depressing person.

2.The plot of the movie is boring

3.The journey was really exciting

4.The new song is interesting.

5.The fans are interesting in the new song.

Past Participle

Verb + ed

§Past participle is past form of verb, as an adjective. Past participles are formed by adding –ed, to the verb stem, but some of the irregular forms may end in –d, –en, –n, or –t.

§Function  : to modify a noun that is affected by someone or something else.

Examples:

1.I am rather bored with the plot of the movie

2.I was really excited after the journey

3.The fans were interested in the new song.

4.The new song was interested.

The Difference :

     The difference is that a gerund phrase will always function as a noun while a present participle phrase describes another word in the sentence.

  When we use a verb in -ing form more like a noun, it is usually a gerund, for example :

1) Fishing is fun.

  The word of fishing in the sentence is an example of gerund, because it used as a noun.

  When we use a verb in -ing form more like a verb or an adjective, it is usually a present participle, for example:

2) I have a boring teacher.

  This is example of present participle, fishing and boring used as adjective and verb.