Present Participle VS Gerund

gerund phrase

I thought about giving a present to them.

I = subject
'think about' is a transitive pv
'giving a present to them' is the object of the verb, and gerund phrase.
'giving' is a gerund
'a present' is the object of the gerund
to them is a prep phrase, them is the object of the prep.

Inchoateknowledge

I thought about giving a present to them.

I = subject
'think about' is a transitive pv
'giving a present to them' is the object of the verb, and gerund phrase.
'giving' is a gerund
'a present' is the object of the gerund
to them is a prep phrase, them is the object of the prep.

Hi GM

"I like swimming- swimming is a gerund. Compare: I like movies. In this structure, swimming and movies are both nouns."

(Even one word can be a phrase.)
We do not disagree because I am of the opinion that 'giving' is a gerund, too.

swimming in the lake is not an adjunct, let alone a locative one.

All the mumbo-jumbo's don't mean a thing. One word can not make a phrase. I am not a grammamrian and fancy terms don't stick too well to me. But allow me to assure you, fancy terms and phrases can not create writing skills, if you catch my drift.

Do you mean that empty vessels make the most sound by saying mumbo j?

 Gerund, it is acting as the object of preposition.

"Giving a present" is a gerund phrase, acting as a noun - the object of the preposition "about."

The entire prepositional phrase "about giving a present" is an adverb phrase - mdifying the verb"thought" - telling "how" I thought

"Giving" is a gerund; it is an -ing verb functioning as a noun. In this case, it answers the question "what" after the preposition "about" and is its object. "A present" is the object of the gerund (aka an object complement), so yes, "about giving a present" is a prepositional phrase.