Question

Look at the word in italics and say whether it is a Gerund or Participle:
                Start doing the exercise now.
(a)Gerund
(b)Present participle
(c)Past participle
(d)None

Answer 1

Hint: Read the sentence and figure out what tense it is in. Now go through each option and check if the italicized word fits their definition. Although the word ‘doing’ is a noun but with context to this sentence, we are not considering ‘doing’ as a noun.

Complete answer: A gerund is any of various non-finite verb forms in various languages; most often, but not exclusively, one that functions as a noun. Whereas, on the other hand, a participle is a word formed from a verb (e.g. going, gone, being, been) and used as an adjective (e.g. working woman, burnt toast) or a noun (e.g. good breeding). In the given question, we have to find out if the italicized word is a gerund or a participle.
Now, let us examine all the given options to find out the correct answer :
Option ‘a’ is Gerund. A gerund is a form of a verb used as a noun, whereas a participle is a form of the verb used as an adjective or as a verb in conjunction with an auxiliary verb. For example:: Traveling is fun. So, this is not the required answer.
Option ‘b’ is Present Participle. It is correct as the word ‘exercise’ is acting as a noun here and ‘doing’ is a verb used as an adjective which describes and clarifies the noun.
Option ‘c’ is Past participle. It cannot be the correct answer as the sentence is not in the past tense.
Option ‘d’ is None. It cannot be chosen as we have option ‘b’ is an answer.
Hence, option ‘b’ is the correct option.

Note: Gerund cannot be the answer because – here ‘doing’ isn’t used as a noun. Always try to understand the word with context to the sentence for deciding whether they are functioning as a noun, adjective or verb.