Question

Locate and identify the -ing form.
The boys were going down to the lake to fish.
Verb phrase
Participle
Gerund

Answer 1

Going is the -ing form, and it is a participle, because it is used to create past continuous/progressive tense, where participles are used. Therefore it cannot be a gerund, because gerunds are used as nouns, not verbs.

Answer 2

The correct answer is verb phrase.