Confusing "ing" form

Question

could you help me to explain how to differe betwen gerund and present participlesample : washing machineis it gerund or present participle?

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

'washing machine' is a compound noun. I assume you want to know what the first component is, not the whole thing.

washing occurs before the noun machine, where an adjective normally occurs, so I'd call it a participle.

CJ

Michael Scotfield · Answer

thank you for your reply. but from what i know about compound word there is a form "gerund + noun", . so can we call it adj.? so what do you think about, hunting dog, and walking stick?. thanks be 4

CalifJim · Answer

Yes. There are also arguments for calling it a gerund.

A washing machine is a machine that washes.
A hunting dog is a dog that hunts.
But a walking stick is not a stick that walks. (not the insect by that name)

A walking stick is a stick for walking.

So in the case of the walking stick, you could argue that walking is a gerund.

But if you argue that walking is a gerund because a walking stick is a stick for walking, then you can say that washing and hunting are also gerunds because they occur thus:

A washing machine is a machine for washing.
A hunting dog is a dog for hunting.

I don't think I have a definitive answer on this, though I'm inclined to call all of them participles.

If walking is a gerund in walking stick, then it is an unusual kind of gerund. It is a verb used as a noun used as an adjective (in the same sense that a noun is used as an adjective in town house or water wheel.) If you skip all that complexity, you can say that in the end walking is an adjective and an -ing form of a verb, so it's a participle. The question is whether being an adjective and an -ing form of a verb is sufficient for labeling a word a participle. Some people seem to require that the adjective have a specific relationship with the noun it modifies in addition to these other criteria. The noun, apparently, must be capable of performing the action of the verb from which the -ing form is derived. Thus, the machine must be capable of washing and the stick must be capable of walking and the pool must be capable of swimming. I don't see why, but there you have it.

There is a very long thread on this, and I don't believe the issue was resolved there, but you might want to browse through it anyway:

Gerund vs Present Participle

CJ

Confusing "ing" form

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