Past and present participle adjectives

Question

Hi,Please can you help me in trying to understand the ed/ing form of the adjective, in the simplest terms? What is the difference between an adjective,gerunds and verbs in the above context?Many thanksHelen

Avangi · Accepted Answer

Hi, Helen,
When you look up an adjective in your dictionary, and it has "adj." after it, you may be confident it's an adjective. It may end in "-ed" or "-ing" or almost anything else:
creepy, glamorous, foolish, massive.

We also have adjectives which are derived from verbs. Some of them are in the dictionary, and some are not.
These are based on the "present participle" (-ing) and the "past participle" (-ed, when regular).

These participles have many many uses other than as adjectives, and it's sometimes debatable what they actually are.

Consider the irregular verb, "to go." The present participle is "going" and the past participle is "gone."
Sometimes you have to think hard to come up with a good adjectival use:

The going rate for marijuana is five bucks for a nickle bag.

"Going" is clearly an adjective, modifying the noun "rate."

This guy is a gone goose! (Pardon the alliteration.)
"Gone" is clearly an adjective, modifying the noun "goose."

The past participle of the verb "to damage" is "damaged."
The damaged car was towed away by the wrecker.
"Damaged" is clearly an adjective, modifying the noun "car."

Gerunds are present participles which function as nouns, not adjectives or verbs:
Swimming is great exercise for the heart.
"Swimming" clearly functions as a noun, because it's the subject of the sentence.
(It may also be listed in the dictionary as a noun. I'm too lazy to look it up.)

I really hate practicing! (direrct object of the verb)

Past and present participle adjectives

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