English

The '-ing' form of a verb is called the present participle. It can act as:

• A gerund (noun)
• A participle (adjective)
• Part of a continuous tense

Examples:

Cooking is relaxing. (Gerund)

The boiling water is hot. (Present Participle)

She is cooking dinner now. (Continuous Verb)

In English, a gerund phrase is a gerund plus any object, modifier, or complement that goes with it. Just like a gerund, a gerund phrase also works as a noun. 

Example: Watching movies at night helps me relax.

Here, Gerund is “Watching” and Modifier is “movies at night”.

A gerund is a verb ending with '-ing' and functioning as a noun. Gerunds in English grammar can be used in many positions:

• As a subject
• As an object
• As a subject complement

For example, His hobby is painting.