gerund vs participle

Gerunds vs Participles

What is a participle?

Essentially participles are verbs that act as adjectives (descriptive words) to modify nouns (person, place, thing, or idea) and pronouns (he, she, they, their, etc.)

ALWAYS END IN

-ING!!!!

Present Participle

End in:

-ed, -en

-t, -d, or -n

Past Participle

Participle: Past vs Present

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:

• The children, crying and exhausted, were guided out of the collapsed mine.

• Crying and exhausted are used as adjectives to describe the children.

• Crying = present participle / exhausted = past participle

What is a gerund?

A gerund is a verb form ending in -ing that functions as a noun (person, place, thing, or idea) in a sentence.

Gerunds will ALWAYS end in

-ing but unlike participles, gerunds act as NOUNS!

EXAMPLE SENTENCE

• Crying will not get you anywhere.

• The word crying is acting as the subject of the sentence AKA the noun in the sentence.

• This makes the word crying a gerund

This means when trying to see if a verbal is a participle or a gerund, you only need to look at the words ending in -ing

Multiple Choice

Is it a gerund or a participle?

The thief arrested for the robbery shot at the security guard.

• gerund

• participle

Multiple Choice

Gerund or Participle:

Jamal's confusing message did nothing to solve the mystery.

• Gerund

• Participle

Multiple Choice

Gerund or Participle:

They are sure the extra planning will make a difference in the end.

• Gerund

• Participle

Multiple Choice

Gerund or Participle:

The politician's broken promises were all that the voters remembered.

• gerund

• participle

Multiple Choice

Gerund or Participle:

Delighted with the opportunity to learn, Christine took the internship in New York.

• gerund

• participle

Multiple Choice

Gerund or Participle:

Godzilla made a game of smashing all of the red cars parked near the lake.

• gerund

• participle

Multiple Choice

Gerund or Participle:

The flag waving in the wind is inspirational.

• gerund

• participle

Multiple Choice

Gerund or Participle:

Samuel decided that missing the lecture every day was hurting his grade.

• gerund

• participle

Multiple Choice

Gerund or Participle:

While playing the tuba, Orin felt as if his world was perfect.

• gerund

• participle

Multiple Choice

Gerund or Participle:

The kittens crouching under the bed have refused to come out.

• gerund

• participle

Multiple Choice

Gerund or Participle:

The swimmer, driven by the need to be the best in the world, made himself sick with anxiety.

• gerund

• participle

Multiple Choice

Gerund or Participle:

My friend was surprised by the lighting in the theater.

• gerund

• participle

Multiple Choice

Gerund or Participle:

Fred's arguing every call is getting frustrating

• gerund

• participle

Multiple Choice

Gerund or Participle:

The completed meal was so beautiful that the guests hesitated to eat it.

• gerund

• participle

Multiple Choice

Gerund or Participle:

Al hopes that giving the players a break will improve their attitudes.

• gerund

• participle

Multiple Choice

Gerund or Participle:

The marathon runner, pushed to the edge of endurance, collapsed at the finish line.

• gerund

• participle