Participle or Gerund..

Question

I don't like taking you out for dinner.Can someone please let me know whether 'taking', as used above, is a Gerund or participle.Thanks,Bharosey.

Futurist · Accepted Answer

In your sentence, the word 'taking' is a gerund. A gerund is a verb that is functioning like a noun. In your sentence, the gerund phrase 'taking you out for dinner' is the object of the verb 'like' in the same way that a regular noun could be the object of the verb 'like'. Therefore, 'taking' is a gerund.

By contrast, a participle is a verb that is functioning as an adjective or adverb, as in the sentence:

She pointed to the chef sweating behind the counter.

The chef is the object of the verb 'pointed'. The phrase 'sweating behind the counter' describes the object; it is, therefore, a participial phrase - it is functioning like an adjective.

Rambharosey · Answer

Thanks Futurist for the elaborate reply. This is clear now.

Dimsumexpress · Answer

Sentences constructed with verbs such as "like", "want" and "love" etc. ,a simple way to tell whether it's a present participle or a gerund is to substitute the "ing" verb with a noun. i.e. I enjoy having a few drink with my good friends on the weekends. If I ignore the rest of the sentence for a moment and just focus on " I enjoy .....". I can find out my substituting a noun "foods". Clearly, " I enjoy foods" is a complete sentence with the noun substitution. Since "foods" is a noun, then in : I don't like taking you out...", "taking" is a gerund (noun).

Rambharosey · Answer

Thanks for the great tip dimsumexpress.

Participle or Gerund..

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