Distinction Between Gerunds and Present Participles
Gerunds and present participles are two types of non-finite verb; the difference is that gerunds are used to produce noun phrases, and participles to produce adjectival or adverbial phrases. This is illustrated in the following examples:
- I like eating cakes.
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- Here eating is a gerund; the verb phrase eating cakes serves as a noun, being the object of the main verb like.
- I saw him eating a cake.
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- Here eating is a present participle; the verb phrase eating a cake serves as an adjective, modifying him.
- Trying to succeed makes success more likely.
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- Here trying is a gerund; the verb phrase trying to succeed serves as a noun, the subject of the main verb makes.
- Trying to get over the fence, he hurt his knee.
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- Here trying is a present participle; the verb phrase trying to get over the fence has the function of an adverb in the main clause.
Confusion is most likely to arise when the -ing word follows a verb, in which case it may be a predicate adjective and hence a participle, or a direct object (or predicate nominative) and hence a gerund. There are certain transformations that can help distinguish these two cases. In the table that follows, the transformations produce grammatical sentences with similar meanings when applied to sentences with gerunds (since the transformations are based on the assumption that the phrase with the -ing word is a noun phrase). When applied to sentences with participles, they produce ungrammatical sentences or sentences with completely different meanings. (These cases are marked with asterisks.)
| Transformation | Gerund use | Participle use |
|---|---|---|
| (none) | John suggested asking Bill. | John kept asking Bill. |
| Passivization | Asking Bill was suggested. | *Asking Bill was kept. |
| Pronoun substitution | John suggested it. | *John kept it. |
| Substitution of pure noun | John suggested the asking of Bill. | *John kept the asking of Bill. |
| Replacement with finite clause | John suggested that Bill be asked. | *John kept that Bill be asked. |
| Subject marking with possessive | John suggested our asking Bill. | *John kept his asking Bill. |
| Clefting | Asking Bill is what John suggested. | *Asking Bill is what John kept. |
| Left dislocation | Asking Bill John suggested. | *Asking Bill John kept. |
For more details of the usage of English gerunds and present participles, see Uses of non-finite verbs in English.
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