The GF’s Guide to CMOS 5.110-5.113
Do gerunds make you grumpy? Do your participles dangle at precarious angles? Not even sure of the difference between gerunds and participles?
You’re not alone.
Defining Gerunds and Participles
To aid us on our Grammar Journey, let’s look at the definitions per Merriam-Webster,:
A gerund is a “verbal noun ending in -ing that has the function of a substantive and at the same time shows the verbal features of tense, voice, and capacity to take adverbial qualifiers and to govern objects” and “expresses generalized or uncompleted action.”
So now we’re totally clear on gerunds.
A participle is “a word having the characteristics of both verb and adjective.” It has “the function of the adjective and at the same time shows such verbal tense and voice and capacity to take an object.”
Makes sense.
There we have it.
Go forth, writer-friends, wielding this new-found knowledge. Use it well.
Just kidding.
ELI5 (Explain Like I’m Five) Definitions
Unless we already have a firm grasp on these slippery parts of speech (or, let’s face it, even if we do), reading the above definitions is less than helpful.
Participles and gerunds have long been a thorn in my side. Mixing up these two caused my single “C” test grade in tenth grade English. Does it still bug me, almost thirty years later? Of course not. That would be ridiculous. And neurotic.
I’m totally over it. Really.
Here’s my ELI5 explanation:
I have a wrench. A wrench is what it is, and—so far as I know—no one questions its identity.
Sometimes, my hammer wanders off right before I need to pound a nail.
My wrench is still a wrench (what it is), but I can use it effectively as a hammer(how we use it).“Participle” is just a fancy name for a past or present tense nonfinite verb (what it is). A participle is still a verb, but it does the job of an adjective or modifier, describing a noun (how we use it).“Gerund” is just a fancy name for a present tense nonfinite verb (what it is). A gerund does the job of a noun (how we use it). So, basically, participles are a subset of verbs (present or past tense) which can be used as adjectives. Gerunds are a subset of verbs (present tense only) which can be used as nouns.
What They Do
Mini-mnemonic to help us remember which-does-what:
–Participle and adjective both include “a” as in adjective.
A participle is a verb form used as an adjective. -Gerund and noun both include “n” as in noun.
A gerund is a verb form used as a noun.
Participles in present tense describe action as it happens. The action is ongoing, not complete. Present participles almost always end in -ing. Participles in past tense describe completed action. Past participles usually end in -ed. Participles may use a helping verb.A participial phrase (the participle/verb plus the words that finish the phrase) is generally used as an adjective(which modifies—describes—a noun), but it can also be used as a verb phrase.A gerund is a present-tense participle used in place of a noun.
Examples:
Verb: to dance
Present participle used as a verb phrase: The bear is dancing.
Is dancing = the main verb of the sentence, and it’s used to describe the noun.
Present participle used as a modifier/adjective: The dancing bear is cute.
Dancing = a verb, used as a modifier of the noun, not as the main verb of the sentence.
Gerund (present participle used as a noun): Dancing is unusual for a bear.
Dancing = a verb, used as the noun/subject of the sentence.
Past participle used as a verb phrase: The author’s protagonist was trapped in an abandoned hotel.
Was trapped = the main verb of the sentence, used to describe the noun.
Past participle used as a modifier/adjective: Trapped in an abandoned hotel, the protagonist searched for an exit.
Trapped = verb used as a modifier of the noun, not as the main verb of the sentence.
If we want to get technical, Trapped in an abandoned hotel is the entire participial phrase (the verb plus the words attached to it which finish the description) used to describe the noun.
Ready, Set, Learn
Letting all the fancy words muddle our heads can confuse us. If overwhelmed, remember: participles are just past or present tense nonfinite verbs, and gerunds are just a subset (present tense verbs only) of those participles.
Also, see what I did there? (The odd bolding above was no accident.) Letting all the fancy words muddle our heads.Letting = present tense participle. Entire phrase = participial phrase. Yep, there’s your gerund phrase—a verb phrase used as the subject of the sentence.
Gerunds may substitute for a noun in any way a noun is used (subject of the sentence, object of a verb, predicate nominative, or the object of a preposition).
Still about as clear as chocolate pudding? Can’t remember the definition of predicate nominative?
We all know what that means: we have to research until we’ve got it!
Look, here—I’ve opened a rabbit hole. Just step a little to the left…
