I feel self-conscious speaking in front of a crowd?Is "speaking in front of a crowd" participial or gerund phrase in this sentence?

Answer 1

In this sentence, the phrase functions as a participial phrase. The phrase functions essentially as an adverb, describing when the speaker feels this way. While it changes the meaning, notice how the entire phrase could be replaced with an adverb: "I feel self-conscious frequently."

A gerund is a verb form that functions as a noun. Consider the following:

Speaking in front of a crowd is one thing I will never do.

In this example, the phrase is a gerund, and the subject of the sentence.

Because we can use the same form of a word for different syntactical (and semantic) purposes, in order to classify it, we have to pay close attention to how the word, phrase, or clause is functioning in the sentence, usually in relation to the other parts of the sentence.

Answer 2

In the sentence "I feel self-conscious speaking in front of a crowd," the phrase "speaking in front of a crowd" is a participial phrase.

Let's break it down:

A gerund is a verb form ending in "-ing" that functions as a noun. If "speaking in front of a crowd" was a gerund phrase, it would serve as the subject, the direct object, or the object of a preposition in the sentence. However, in this sentence, it isn’t serving as any of those.

A participial phrase is derived from a verb and acts as an adjective, modifying a noun or pronoun. In this case, "speaking in front of a crowd" is modifying the pronoun "I." It tells us more about the state or action of the subject, providing context to why the subject feels self-conscious.

Thus, "speaking in front of a crowd" is a participial phrase in the sentence.