Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Marrion]

a working holiday program


At this word, is "working" the Gerund or the Present Participle?

[alan.es]

You might find this link useful

http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/writcent/hypergrammar/verbals.html


For me I've spent more than 60 years speaking and writing English to quite a high standard. Now after reading this I now know the difference between a gerund and a present participle.

I don't think it's going to change my life much.

As a newcomer to this forum I can't help but ask whether discussions such as this on very fine points of grammar do help you speak and write English better.

[Marrion]

I have known what the difference between the gerund and the present participle.

But "a working holiday program", at this word, I don't know whether "working" is a gerund or not.

So I wonder.....



Anyway thank you very much.^^

[Mister Micawber]

.
A gerund is a participle functioning as a noun. In your noun phrase, working is not a noun; it is an adjective for the compound noun working holiday (which itself is used as an adjective modifying program).

Therefore, working is a 'participle'. It is better to forget the two words and refer to such forms simply as -ing verb forms with a stated function:

I am working all day today. -- -ing form as main, finite verb
Working is fun. -- -ing form as noun subject
This is a working holiday. -- -ing form as adjective
Working hard, I forgot the time. -- -ing form as nonfinite verb
etc.
.

[Marrion]