Final answer:
A participle phrase can be placed before or after a noun to modify it in English grammar. Gerund phrases can be placed anywhere a noun would normally go in a sentence.
Step-by-step explanation:
In English grammar, a participle is a verb form that ends with -ing or -ed and functions as an adjective or adverb. A participle phrase is a participle with its modifiers and objects. It can be placed before or after a noun to modify it. For example, in the sentence 'Skipping along the forested path, the dwarfs whistled in a merry chorus,' the participial phrase 'skipping along the forested path' is placed before the noun 'dwarfs' and modifies it.
On the other hand, a gerund is an -ing verb that functions as a noun and can be placed anywhere a noun would normally go in a sentence. It can also have an attendant object or modifiers, forming a gerund phrase. When a gerund phrase acts as the subject of a sentence, we do not place a comma after it.
Therefore, the placement of a noun + participle or gerund phrase depends on the specific sentence structure and the intended meaning.