Gerundio vs Presente participio: ¿Cuál es la diferencia?

¿A veces te confundes entre un gerundio y un participio presente?

La mayoría de la gente lo hace. Y la razón es simple: tanto un gerundio como un participio presente se ven iguales. Tanto un gerundio como un participio presente son una forma progresiva de un verbo (V1+ing) que funcionan de manera diferente.

What is the difference between a gerund and a present participle?

La diferencia entre un gerundio y un participio presente es simple: un gerundio es una forma ‘ing’ de un verbo que funciona como un sustantivo, y un participio presente es una forma ‘ing’ de un verbo que funciona como un verbo de acción o un adjetivo.

Solo concéntrate en las siguientes dos cosas para descubrir la diferencia entre un gerundio y un participio presente:

If an ‘ing‘ form of a verb (V1+ing) acts as a noun, call it a gerund.

If an ‘ing‘ form of a verb (V1+ing) acts as a verb or an adjective, call it a present participle.

Tomemos la forma ‘ing’ de un verbo y veamos cómo puede ser tanto un gerundio (sustantivo) como un participio presente (verbo o adjetivo).

TEACHING: it can be a gerund or a present participle.

**Examples of ‘teaching‘ as a gerund (noun)**

Teaching is my passion. (subject)
(The action is teaching is not happening in the sentence; we are just talking about it. Teaching is working as a noun.)
I love teaching. (object of the verb)
Everyone is not interested in teaching. (object of the preposition ‘in’)

Your teaching is amazing. (object of the possessive adjective ‘your’)
My love is teaching. (subject complement)

In all the above examples, ‘teaching’ is working as a noun.

**Examples of ‘teaching‘ as a present participle (adjective or verb):**

It is a teaching job.
(Teaching is working as an adjective here. It is modifying the noun job, telling us what type of job it is)
He is teaching school students right now.
(Here, the action of teaching is happening. Teaching is working as an action verb.)

More examples of present participles:

Look at the burning train. (burning = adjective, modifying the noun ‘train’)
The girl dancing on the stage is my sister. (dancing= adjective, modifying the noun ‘girl’)
This movie is exciting. (dancing= adjective, modifying the noun ‘girl’)

She is burning her bag. (action verb)
We were dancing last night. (action verb)

Positions of a gerund and a present participle

Esta es una forma más de averiguar la diferencia entre un gerundio y un participio presente. Mira la posición de una forma progresiva de un verbo para averiguar si es un gerundio o un participio presente.

Gerund positions in a sentence

Before a main verb (action or linking).
(As the subject)
After an action verb (transitive).
(As the object of a verb)

After a linking verb.
(As the subject complement)
After a preposition.
(As the object of a preposition)
After a possessive adjective.
(As the object of a possessive adjective)

Gerund examples:

Dancing makes me happy. (Before the main verb ‘makes‘)
I hate dancing. (After the main verb ‘hate‘)

I am not thinking about dancing. (After the preposition ‘about‘)
My passion is dancing. (After the linking verb ‘is‘)
Everyone loves your dancing. (After the possessive adjective your)

Position of a present participle

Just before a noun
Just after a noun

After a linking verb (main verb)

Examples:

Look at the burning train. (before the noun modified)

The girl dancing on the stage is my sister. (after the noun modified)
This movie is exciting. ((after the linking verb)

Nota: no hay ningún consejo para encontrar la diferencia entre un gerundio y un participio presente cuando van seguidos de un verbo de enlace. Solo necesita mirar su función en ese caso. Un gerundio (sustantivo) cambiará el nombre del sujeto y un participio presente (adjetivo) modificará el sujeto.

My passion is dancing. (renaming the subject ‘passion‘)
Ashish is exciting. (modifying the subject)

It can be an action verb too.

Ashish is dancing. (action verb)

Gerund vs Present participle difference chart

Difference between gerund and present participle

Basic of difference	Gerund	Present participle
Definition	A gerund in English is a progressive form (ing) of a verb that works as a noun in a sentence.	A present participle in English is a verb form that works as an adjective or as a verb in a sentence.
Types	A gerund can play the following roles: 1. The subject 2. The object of a verb 3. The object of a preposition 4. The object of a possessive adjective 5. The subject complement	A present participle does have any types.
Functions	A gerund functions only as a noun. Ex– Teaching is my passion.	A present participle can function either as a verb or as an adjective. Examples: 1. He is teaching English. (verb) 2. I hate teaching jobs. (adjective)
Position	A gerund can take the following places: 1. Before the main verb (linking or action verb) 2. After an action verb (transitive) 3. After a preposition 4. After a possessive adjective 5. After the main verb (linking verb) Examples: 1. Teaching is fun. (before the main verb) 2. I love teaching. (after an action verb) 3. He is passionate about teaching. (after a preposition) 4. Your teaching is amazing. (after a possessive adjective) 5. My passion is dancing. (after the main verb)	A present participle can take the following places: 1. Before a noun 2. After a noun 3. After a main verb (linking verb) Examples: 1. It was a motivating movie. (adjective) 2. Look at the burning train. (adjective) 3. The movie was exciting. (adjective) 4. He is motivating the class. (verb)

Another trick to find out the difference between a gerund and a present participle

Un participio presente, además de ir justo antes o justo después del sustantivo al que modifica, va junto a un verbo conector, y un gerundio va antes de un verbo principal, después de un verbo de acción, después de una preposición o después de un adjetivo posesivo.

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Gerundio vs Presente participio: ¿Cuál es la diferencia?