Final answer:
Gerunds function as nouns and are formed with -ing, while participles can function as adjectives or adverbs and appear in -ing or past participle forms. The sentences provided include examples of gerunds, participles, infinitive phrases, and prepositional phrases, which are used to modify various parts of the sentences.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding Gerunds and Participles
To correctly identify gerunds and participles, it's crucial to understand their functions in a sentence. A gerund functions as a noun and is formed by adding -ing to a verb, while a participle can function as an adjective or adverb and is typically present in -ing or past participle (-ed for regular verbs) forms.
For the given sentences:
On Thursday I drove up north to move a couch for a friend.
The infinitive phrase 'to move a couch for a friend' acts as an adverb, explaining the purpose of 'drove.'
The prepositional phrase is 'on Thursday' and 'up north,' specifying the time and direction of the action.
If your shoes have a lot of surface area, hiking through a snow drift gets a lot easier.
'Hiking through a snow drift' is a gerund phrase acting as the subject of the sentence.
Already exhausted by the second quarter, we were no match for the division champions.
'Already exhausted by the second quarter' is a participial phrase modifying the subject 'we.'
That award, offered once a year to only one teacher in the entire state, is quite an honor to win.
'offered once a year to only one teacher in the entire state' is a participial phrase modifying 'that award.'
The infinitive phrase 'to win' functions as an adjective, modifying 'an honor.'
Hoping against all hope that the balding tires would hold and the rusting fuel pump would continue to work, I loaded up all of the possessions that would fit, discarded the rest in a dumpster behind a truck stop, and set out to cross the country.
'Hoping against all hope that the balding tires would hold and the rusting fuel pump would continue to work' is a participial phrase giving context to the action of the subject 'I.'