What is the gerund phrase and does it act as a direct object, subject, or etc. in the following sentence: This means time spent working was wasted.

The gerund is working and it's the direct object of the verb "spent."

The gerund phrase in the given sentence is "time spent working." To determine how the gerund phrase acts in the sentence, we need to identify its function. In this case, "time spent working" functions as the subject of the sentence.

To identify the gerund phrase, we first locate the gerund, which is "working." Then we include any modifiers or complements that are associated with the gerund, resulting in the complete gerund phrase "time spent working."

In the sentence, the gerund phrase "time spent working" acts as the subject, as it is the part of the sentence that performs the action of being wasted. It answers the question "What was wasted?" by providing the subject that satisfies the verb "was wasted."