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English verbs
have five basic forms:
the base form, the - S form,
the - ing
form, the past
form, and the past participle form. The
-
ing ending for English verbs is used in several
different
situations:
| 1. |
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The -ing ending is used to show the
progressive
aspect (progressive / continuous verb tenses).
The progressive aspect shows that an
action is / was /
has been / had been / will be
(etc.) in progress at a
particular time or during
a particular period of time.
It often suggests
that the action is / was / has been /
had been
/ will be (etc.) long or uninterrupted.
All of the English tenses can use the
progressive aspect--
and in both active and passive
sentences. Progressive
aspect always has at least
two parts: the verb be (which
is often contracted)
and an - ing
verb:
He's studying.
They were going home when
I saw them.
You've been working too
hard!
We'd
been talking about you
before you called.
At 1:00 AM, I'll be
sleeping.
John might be working. I'm not sure
The operation is being performed
right now.
The
letters were being typed when
I left.
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| 2. |
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The -ing form is also used for gerunds
(verbs which
are used as nouns).
Gerunds can be used as nouns for
subjects and
subject
complements:
Learning a language
isn't easy.
Talking to Bill was
a lot of fun.
Communicating by e-mail
has become
very common.
His hobby is collecting
stamps.
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Gerunds can also be
used as nouns for objects
of verbs and
prepositions:
They dislike studying.
For exercise, he recommends
swimming.
He doesn't care about being
on time.
They're tired of listening
to you.
Did he succeed in solving
the problem?
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| 3. |
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The -ing form is also seen in participles
(verb forms
which are used as
adjectives).
Participles are commonly used as adjectives
which
modify nouns:
The movie was boring.
That was an exciting
game.
His explanation was
confusing.
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Participles are also
used in phrases which modify
parts of sentences
or entire sentences:
Whistling happily, he
began to work.
He entered the room, whistling
happily,
and
began to work.
Holding his hands
in the air, he surrendered.
He surrendered reluctantly, knowing
that
he had no
other choice.
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The -ing form is also used after
go in
many expressions
showing leisure-time
activities--including
go bowling, go dancing, go diving,
go drinking, go
fishing, go hiking,
go horseback
riding, go
jogging, go skating,
go swimming, go
shopping, go skiing
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Special Notes:
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After to, base forms
are generally used, but when
to
is part of a phrasal verb
and when to
is used as
a preposition, it is followed by an - ing form:
I want to see you. /
I look forward to
seeing
you.
Are you
able to do
it
by
yourself? /
Are you up to doing
it by yourself?
He used to smoke. /
He's used to smoking.
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If phrases
with participles are at the
beginning of
a sentence, they should modify /
describe the first
noun
or
pronoun in the
sentence:
Whistling happily, he began to
work.
("Whistling happily" modifies
"he.")
Holding his hands in the air,
he surrendered.
("Holding his hands in the
air" modifies "he.")
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If a phrase with a
participle
is at the beginning of
a
sentence and doesn't
modify /
describe the first
noun or pronoun, the
meaning will not be clear.
In this situation,
rewrite the sentence.
wrong--needs to be rewritten:
*Whistling happily, the work
was
easy for him.
wrong--needs to be
rewritten:
*Holding his hands in the air,
the policeman knew
that the criminal wanted to
surrender.
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Both
present participles (- ing forms) and past
participles can be used as adjectives, but they have
different meanings:
The movie bored me. --->
The
movie was boring. / I was bored.
That game excited me. --->
That
was an exciting game /
I was excited by that game.
His explanation confused me. --->
His explanation was confusing. /
I
was confused by his explanation.
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The
combination go +
an - ing form is
not used for
all leisure-time
activities:
wrong:
*I go watching TV on weekends.
*I go playing tennis on
weekends.
*I
go sleeping late on weekends.
*I go relaxing with my friends on weekends.
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Some verbs which combine with other
words are
followed by an -ing form (gerund), not
to and
a base form:
I regret saying that.
He admitted stealing the
money.
I
recommend seeing a
doctor.
He
considered taking a
vacation.
They
proposed taking a
break.
Did she
suggest cheating?
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