Gerund vs Present Participle

Question

I am sure this has already been discussed, but I was only able to find one thread with two posts on google.
Can someone clarify this concept for me?
This is the way I classify gerunds and present participles: I am running (gerund)
Running is good for you (gerund with the function of a noun) We have no running water (present Participle)
In other words, in the continuous tenses > verb to be + gerunds verbs in the ~ing form with the function of a noun > gerund verbs in the ~ing form with the function of an adjective > present participle
Right or wrong?
Thanks
GFC

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[nq:1]I am sure this has already been discussed, but I was only able to find one thread with two posts ... function of a noun > gerund verbs in the ~ing form with the function of an adjective > present participle[/nq]
Usually, in English grammar, "am running" is classified as a compound tense (called the present continuous or some such thing). Historically, AFAIK, "running" got into that construction as a gerund ("am a running", with "a" a preposition = "on"), but one could imagine it also arising out of a predication of the participle, and getting that right or wrong will not help you in using the present continuous tense correctly.
In the other examples, you have the idea right: the gerund functions (within limits) like a noun, and the participle like an adjective. It might be added, tho, that which way to parse an -ing word is often open to question, especially when an -ing phrase stands outside the clause. In "Being an engineer, he could see that was nonsense" it is natural to parse "being" as a participle modifying "he". In "Speaking of idiots, are we going to invite Joe?" there is no word in sight for "speaking" to modify, and it makes sense to treat it as a gerund with the archaic "a" missing ("a speaking of idiots" = "while idiots are being spoken of"). Obviously there are many borderline cases, which give rise to arguments about "dangling modifiers".
Joe Fineman (Email Removed)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]This is the way I classify gerunds and present participles: I am running (gerund) Running is good for you (gerund ... function of a noun > gerund verbs in the ~ing form with the function of an adjective > present participle[/nq]
A gerund functions as a verb within a phrase; the whole phrase functions as a noun withing the larger sentence; sometimes the one-word gerund is the whole phrase. Thus:
"Raising lions is difficult."
In the phrase "raising lions", "raising" functions as a transitive verb, so that it has an object, "lions". The whole phrase "Raising lions" is a noun phrase within the whole sentence. By contrast, in the phrase "The raising of lions", the word "raising" is not functioning as a verb, so it's not a gerund.
In "no running water", "running" is an adjective, so that's a present participle. In "I am running", it seems to me to be a predicate adjective , so I'd have been inclined to call it a present participle. But I'm also noticing that it can have an object and in other ways behave like a verb e.g., "I am reading a book". In that respect it behaves like a gerund. I remember getting into an argument about this with an intelligent poster when we had this discussion maybe 18 months or so ago, so now I hesitate. Mike Hardy

Gerund vs Present Participle

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