Gerund and Present Participle worksheet - Free Printable

Actually, there is no box or multiple-choice selection visible in the image you uploaded. The worksheet simply presents 10 sentences with certain words underlined — these are all examples of gerunds (verbs ending in -ing that function as nouns) or present participles (verbs ending in -ing that function as adjectives or part of continuous verb tenses).

Since there’s no “box” to choose from, and no explicit question like “Which word is a gerund?” or “Which is a present participle?”, it seems the task is likely to identify or understand the function of each underlined -ing word.

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✔ Let’s solve this by classifying each underlined word as either a Gerund or a Present Participle, and explain why.

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🔍 Definitions:

- Gerund: An -ing verb acting as a noun (subject, object, or object of preposition).
- Present Participle: An -ing verb acting as an adjective or part of a continuous verb tense (e.g., “is playing”).

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## 📝 Sentence-by-Sentence Analysis:

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1. That is an exciting movie.

→ Present Participle
*Why?* “Exciting” describes the noun “movie” → it’s an adjective. It tells us what kind of movie it is.

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2. This book was very boring.

→ Present Participle
*Why?* “Boring” describes “book” → adjective. It tells us the effect the book has.

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3. Tom is good at playing football.

→ Gerund
*Why?* “Playing” is the object of the preposition “at”. Gerunds often follow prepositions.

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4. We are looking forward to going to Italy.

→ Gerund
*Why?* “Going” is the object of the preposition “to” (in “looking forward to”). Again, gerund after preposition.

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5. The woman standing at the gate is my wife.

→ Present Participle
*Why?* “Standing” modifies “woman” → it’s an adjective describing which woman. (It’s a reduced relative clause: “who is standing…”)

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6. Watching TV, he heard the door open.

→ Present Participle
*Why?* “Watching TV” is a participial phrase modifying “he” — it tells us what he was doing when he heard the door. It’s not the subject; it’s an adverbial modifier.

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7. Eating vegetables and fruits is good for your health.

→ Gerund
*Why?* “Eating vegetables and fruits” is the subject of the sentence → gerunds can be subjects.

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8. He enjoys reading.

→ Gerund
*Why?* “Reading” is the object of the verb “enjoys”. Verbs like “enjoy”, “like”, “hate” are followed by gerunds.

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9. I heard my sister singing in the bathroom.

→ Present Participle
*Why?* “Singing” describes what my sister was doing — it’s part of the object complement. You hear someone *doing* something → present participle used after perception verbs (“hear”, “see”, “feel”).

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10. They are afraid of losing the match.

→ Gerund
*Why?* “Losing” is the object of the preposition “of”. Gerunds follow prepositions.

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## ✔ Final Answer Summary:

| Sentence | Underlined Word | Type | Reason |
|----------|------------------|------------------|--------|
| 1 | exciting | Present Participle | Adjective describing "movie" |
| 2 | boring | Present Participle | Adjective describing "book" |
| 3 | playing | Gerund | Object of preposition "at" |
| 4 | going | Gerund | Object of preposition "to" |
| 5 | standing | Present Participle | Adjective describing "woman" |
| 6 | Watching | Present Participle | Adverbial phrase modifying "he" |
| 7 | Eating | Gerund | Subject of the sentence |
| 8 | reading | Gerund | Object of verb "enjoys" |
| 9 | singing | Present Participle | Complement after perception verb "heard" |
| 10 | losing | Gerund | Object of preposition "of" |

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📌 Note for Students:
The key to telling them apart is to ask:
➡️ Is the -ing word acting as a noun? → Gerund
➡️ Is it acting as an adjective or part of a verb phrase? → Present Participle

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✔ So, if the original task was to identify whether each underlined word is a gerund or present participle, this is the complete solution!

Let me know if you’d like a printable version or quiz format!