Question

Puzzle 3: The Tricky Participle vs. Gerund
Both present participles and gerunds end in -ing. Can you tell them apart? Sort the phrases
below into the correct column.
Phrase Bank:
● Dancing is fun
● The dancing bear
● I love cooking
● The cooking show
● Falling leaves
● Afraid of falling
Gerunds (Nouns) Participles (Adjectives)

Answer 1

Gerunds (Nouns)
- Dancing is fun — "Dancing" is the subject (a noun).
- I love cooking — "cooking" is the object of love (a noun/gerund).
- Afraid of falling — "falling" is the object of the preposition "of" (a noun/gerund).

Participles (Adjectives)
- The dancing bear — "dancing" modifies "bear" (present participle acting as adjective).
- The cooking show — "cooking" modifies "show" (present participle acting as adjective).
- Falling leaves — "falling" describes the leaves ("leaves that are falling") — participle.