Gerund Nouns Vs Participle Adjective?

AnonymousCan a word be a gerund noun and a participle adjective ?

While I was idly thinking about this, "testing" came to mind as an example. E.g.:

"We haven't completed our testing." (noun)

"These are testing times." (adjective)

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much. Nice reply.

Look at this, (melting ice) melting here is adjective according to Longman.

But can I use it as a gerund. For Example, the melting of the ice at the poles.

If this is right, how would Longman say it is adjective !!

Anonymous
Can a word be a gerund noun and a participle adjective ? For example, if we add to the verb (read)

(ing) it will be (reading) which is a gerund noun and can not be a participle adjective ! Is this right ? Is there some classification, maybe according to if the word transitive or not or something ?

Yes is the simple answer, though not at the same time! The -ing form of many verbs such as read can certainly function as a noun as well as a participial adjective, though there's no 'classification' in the sense that you mean. Gerund and participle are terms from traditional grammar in which 'gerund' is a verb-form that is functionally like that of a noun, and 'participle' is one that is functionally similar to an adjective. The term participle, for example, was used because grammarians wanted to draw attention to the way one word-class could become another (i.e. participate in the function of another). But modern approaches to linguistics don't usually worry about where a word-class came from. The important point is how a word is functioning now. The -ing form of a verb often functions as an adjective, but just because a word is participial in form says nothing about what its syntactic function is. So, if you look at how the word reading is being used in a variety of sentences its function becomes clear:

She likes reading. Here, it's a noun because it's functioning as a noun, specifically the direct object of likes.

I like reading books. Here, it's a verb because it's functioning as a verb. Note that it has books as its direct object.

Reading at the dinner table is considered bad manners. Here, it's also a verb, this time with the adverbial phrase 'at the dinner table' modifying it. Together they form the subject of the sentence.

I need my reading glasses. This time it's an adjective (sometimes called a participial adjective) because it's functioning that way. Specifically, it modifies the noun glasses.

I am reading a good book. Here, it's a verb, but it's combined with the verb 'be' to form the progressive aspect. Note that am reading has a good book as its direct object.

BillJ

Thank you people. Nice replies and you are nice.