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Originating 200 years ago, modern fencing is a close-quarter combat sport where two opponents face off each other in a contest of skill, speed and agility.
Is the word 'originating' used as a gerund? i understand that gerunds can be used as the subject or the object of a sentence but it doesn't seem to be the case here. Can the word be 'originated'?
Thanks.
Actually, as StoneyB mentions, it's what some linguists call the "present participle" since "originating 200 years ago" is an adjective phrase that modifies "modern fencing".
Don't mistake a gerund for a participle
However, user178049 counters that modern grammar doesn't distinguish between these, and groups them together as "gerund-participles". I suggest they fence to determine who is correct.
A simple solution to understand whether there's a gerund phrase or a participle phrase is to know that "gerund phrases" are always either the object or the subject in a sentence (or even both). "Participle phrases" always act like adjectives that modify the object or the subject in a sentence.
