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Tommyensr Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

Spend time working

We use -ing form with the verb 'spend' as in
He spent 29% of his time working.

Is working a gerund or a present participle?
  

Top answer

Hello Tommyyensr, "working" here as a gerund, because it is an object of the verb "spend". H2K.

— Hanuman_2000

  • Hello Tommyyensr, "working" here as a gerund, because it is an object of the verb "spend".
  • H2K.
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15 Answers
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Hello Tommyyensr,

"working" here as a gerund, because it is an object of the verb "spend".

H2K.
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0it's obvious that we know as following05002br
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00gerund = form of a verb which acts as a noun 02br
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00and 02br
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00present participle = verb in the present tense which functions as a noun or adjective 02br
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00so, now i am understanding that "working" in the sentence is both gerund and present part
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0 In this sentence it is used as a gerund, not a present participle. 02br
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00"Working" is acting as a noun 02br
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00e.g. Working is good for you. (A job is good for you) 02br
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00Smoking is bad for you (a cigarette is bad for you) 02br
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00Children like playing (childre
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0 at last, i understand the difference between "Gerund" and "Present Participle". 02br
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00Working is good for you. 02br
00working = gerund 02br
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00Tom working in the library is my friend. 02br
00working = present participle 02br
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00right? 02br
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00Thank you very much 0-
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0 Hi, Abbie, 02br
01blockquote
00In this sentence it is used as a gerund, not a present participle. 12blockquote
12br
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00Can we assume that by "this" sentence, you mean the one below? 02br
01blockquote
00He spent 29% of his time working. 12blockquote
12br
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00If so
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0 Help! Backed into a corner by JTT! 02br
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00"What do we call an "ing" word that acts neither as a noun nor as an adjective, but as an adverb? " An abbie-ism? A mistake? Object complement? [:^)] 0-
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0 (1) He spent 29 % of his time working. 02br
00(2) He spent 29 % of his time in/on working. 02br
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00I too feel we have to take 'working' in (1) as a subject-modifying adjective [i.e., present participle], though (1) may be a degenerated form of (2) where 'working' is clearly a gerund. 02br
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00paco 0-
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0 There you go, Paco! 02br
00Your second interpretation is where I thought this discussion was going to go - although I thought the preferred preposition might have been "by". "at" also works. 02br
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00He fixed the faucet by [using a wrench / calling a plumber / ...] 02br
00He spent his time ?by/?at [working / playing / ...] 02br
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0 01blockquote
00 by JTT! 12blockquote
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00????? 0-
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0 Maybe there could be the beginning of an answer when you ask the question? 02br
00"How do you spend your time?" > "I spend my time reading" 02br
00So maybe "by" could be implied here. 0-
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