Though gerunds and present participles share the same -ing form, their grammatical roles differ: gerunds act as nouns, while participles act as verbs or adjectives. For example, 'Reading helps me ...

Gerunds are the -ing form of a verb, and infinitives are the to + base form. These words can be confusing; they combine the meaning of a verb with the grammar of a noun. My father asked me to phone ...