Question

Identify whether the underlined word is a gerund or a present participle:
His parents forbid dancing at their parties.
A. None
B. Present participle
C. Past participle
D. Gerund

Answer 1

Hint: Gerund is an ‘ing’ form of a verb which can be used as a noun. A present participle is a verb with an ‘ing’ form of verb which is used as a noun.

Complete step by step answer:
Option A – The underlined word is a part of speech; hence this is not the right option.
Option B – This option does not describe any nouns from the sentence and hence is not used in an adjectival sense. So the given word cannot be considered a present participle. This is not the right option.
Option C – The given word is in ‘ing’ form and not in ‘ed’ form, so this option is not valid. This is not the right option.
Option D – The given word is used in a noun form. It is denoting that the action of ‘dance’ is forbidden from being performed at their parties. Hence this is the right option.

Thus, the correct option is D.

Additional Information: Past participle is a verb that ends with an ‘ed’ which is used as an adjective. Example: The used car is in perfect condition. The word ‘used’ here is an adjective because it describes the state of the car.

Note:
It is important to see how the ‘ing’ form of the verb is acting in the given sentence. Based on its nature, the answer can be arrived at.