Running is fun. VS. I am running now.

Question

I know the difference between present participles and gerunds.

Running is fun. VS. I am running now.

Some teachers insist that the gerund Running in Running is fun also has a meaning of being progressive like running in I am running.

I forgot to open the door. VS. I forgot opening the door.

And they also say that to open the door has a meaning of the future and opening the door has a meaning of the past and being progressive.

What do you native English speakers think? Thank you so much as usual in advance.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

Hans51What do you native English speakers think?

Hans51Some teachers insist that the gerund Running in Running is fun also has a meaning of being progressive like running in I am running.

Hans51And they also say that to open the door has a meaning of the future and opening the door has a meaning of the past and being progressive.

None of that seems very helpful. A lot of it is misleading.

Hans51Running is fun.

The gerund 'running' in this sentence is somewhat equivalent to saying 'the activity of running'. In many, if not most, cases the gerund can be paraphrased by adding 'the activity of' in front of it.

Here nobody is doing anything, so nothing is progressing. We are just talking somewhat abstractly about running as an activity that people do from time to time.

Hans51I am running now.

The participle 'running' in continuous tenses means 'in the process of running', so here you might be able to add 'in the process of' in front of the participle to get the general meaning of the sentence.

Here someone is actually moving, doing something. This is not an abstract idea to talk about; it's a real action in progress.

Hans51I forgot to open the door.

I was supposed to open the door, but I didn't because I forgot.

(I don't see anything 'future' here except that in the past your planned future was to open the door, but that plan was in the past, and your forgetting was in the past.)

Hans51I forgot opening the door.

I opened the door, but I forgot that I had done that. I temporarily had no memory that I had opened the door.

(I don't see anything progressive here, but it is definitely all in the past.)

[Bonus note: This form occurs much more with 'remembered' than with 'forgot'. Personally, I don't even use this construction with 'forgot'. I only use I forgot that I had (done something) for that meaning. ]

In catenative structures (joining of two verbs), the progressive aspect of the -ing form is usually (but not always) lost because the grammar rule may in some cases insist on the -ing form no matter whether the action was progressing or just a simple event. For example, when you say that you remember drinking a glass of water, then you remember that you drank a glass of water or that you were drinking a glass of water. The listener won't know which it is. There is no way to distinguish one from the other because the grammar says the -ing form must be used.

CJ

Running is fun. VS. I am running now.

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