Poll: What are we meant to be doing?

alex

This strictly speaking is none of the above. It is the present progressive/continuous.
A gerund is: Doing that is stupid.
A present participle is: Doing my homework I was thoroughly bored.
And there's no way in hell I can use it as an adjective.

Youwot?

It's a present participle- the present progressive/continuous uses the auxiliary verb 'be' + present participle.

nevar111

Yeah right---Alex. An ESL is going to know "present progressive/continuous". Get a life.

MikeC

Alex doesn't know what he is talking abut.

kristina

i was told that doing was an adjective in school

Dalriata

What's an 'ESL'..?

Leo Girard

Gerunds and participles take the same form (usually ending in -ing). If it is used as a noun (Golfing is fun) it is called a gerund; if it is used in a verb phrase (I am not golfing today because it is raing) it is called a participle.

Davey Oosterman

This is what happens when you go to a shitty new zealand south auckland school

genesis valencia

It is a participle. gerunds are only used as a subject of the sentence or an object of a verb or preposition. There's no way it is a progressive/continuous I don't see the "BE VERB". And most of the time progressive/continuous forms act as a gerund. For example: She is playing outside. It is a progressive form and the word "playing" acts as an object of the verb "is", so it is therefore a gerund.
As an object of the preposition, here is an example,
She gave up everything for singing.
The word "singing" becomes an object of the preposition "for".
I'm an ESL teacher, so I must know. I hope this helps. Take care guys!