The Gerund and the Present Participle: 'ING' Form

INTRODUCTION
The '-ing' form of the verb may be a present participle or a gerund. The form is identical, the difference is in the function, or the job the word does in the sentence.

The present participle:

This is most commonly used: as part of the continuous form of a verb, he is painting; she has been waiting after verbs of movement/position in the pattern: verb + present participle, She sat looking at the sea after verbs of perception in the pattern: verb + object + present participle, We saw him swimming as an adjective, e.g. amazing, worrying, exciting, boring

The gerund:
This always has the same function as a noun (although it looks like a verb), so it can be used: as the subject of the sentence: Eating people is wrong. after prepositions: Can you sneeze without opening your mouth? She is good at painting after certain verbs, e.g. like, hate, admit, imagine in compound nouns, e.g. a driving lesson, a swimming pool, bird-watching, train-spotting

THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE

The present participle of most verbs has the form base+ing and is used in the following ways: a. as part of the continuous form of a verb Example: I am working he was singing they have been walking

b. after verbs of movement/position in the pattern: verb + present participle Example She went shopping He lay looking up at the clouds She came running towards me This construction is particularly useful with the verb 'to go', as in these common expressions : to go shopping to go ski-ing to go fishing to go surfing to go walking to go swimming to go running to go dancing

c. after verbs of perception in the pattern: verb + object + present participle Example I heard someone singing. He saw his friend walking along the road. I can smell something burning! NOTE: There is a difference in meaning when such a sentence contains a zero-infinitive rather than a participle. The infinitive refers to a complete action, but the participle refers to an incomplete action, or part of an action. Compare: I heard Joanna singing (= she had started before I heard her, and probably went on afterwards) I heard Joanna sing (= I heard her complete performance) d. as an adjective Examples amazing, worrying, exciting, boring. It was an amazing film. It's a bit worrying when the police stop you Dark billowing clouds often precede a storm. Racing cars can go as fast as 400kph. He was trapped inside the burning house. Many of his paintings depict the setting sun. e. with the verbs spend and waste, in the pattern: verb + time/money expression + present participle Example My boss spends two hours a day travelling to work. Don't waste time playing computer games! They've spent the whole day shopping. f. with the verbs catch and find, in the pattern: verb + object + present participle: With catch, the participle always refers to an action which causes annoyance or anger:

 If I catch you stealing my apples again, there'll be trouble! Don't let him catch you reading his letters. This is not the case with find, which is unemotional: We found some money lying on the ground. They found their mother sitting in the garden. g. to replace a sentence or part of a sentence: When two actions occur at the same time, and are done by the same person or thing, we can use a present participle to describe one of them: They went out into the snow. They laughed as they went. the snow. He whistled to himself. He walked down the road. down the road. They went laughing out into

Whistling to himself, he walked

When one action follows very quickly after another done by the same person or thing, we can express the first action with a present participle: He put on his coat and left the house. Putting on his coat, he left the house. Dropping the gun, she put her hands She dropped the gun and put her hands in the air. in the air.

The present participle can be used instead of a phrase starting as, since, because, and it explains the cause or reason for an action: Feeling hungry, he went into the kitchen and opened the fridge. (= because he felt hungry...) Being poor, he didn't spend much on clothes. Knowing that his mother was coming, he cleaned the flat.

THE GERUND
Thislooksexactlythesameasapresentparticiple,andforthisreasonitisnowcommontocallboth forms'theingform'.Howeveritisusefultounderstandthedifferencebetweenthetwo.Thegerund alwayshasthesamefunctionasanoun(althoughitlookslikeaverb),soitcanbeused: a.asthesubjectofthesentence: Eatingpeopleiswrong. Huntingtigersisdangerous. Flyingmakesmenervous. b.asthecomplementoftheverb'tobe': Oneofhisdutiesisattendingmeetings. ThehardestthingaboutlearningEnglishisunderstandingthegerund. Oneoflife'spleasuresishavingbreakfastinbed. c.afterprepositions.Thegerundmustbeusedwhenaverbcomesafterapreposition: Canyousneezewithoutopeningyourmouth? Sheisgoodatpainting.

They'rekeenonwindsurfing. Sheavoidedhimbywalkingontheoppositesideoftheroad. WearrivedinMadridafterdrivingallnight. MyfatherdecidedagainstpostponinghistriptoHungary.

Thisisalsotrueofcertainexpressionsendinginapreposition,e.g.inspiteof,there'snopointin..: There'snopointinwaiting. Inspiteofmissingthetrain,wearrivedontime. d.afteranumberof'phrasalverbs'whicharecomposedofaverb+preposition/adverb Example: tolookforwardto,togiveup,tobefor/against,totaketo,toputoff,tokeepon: Ilookforwardtohearingfromyousoon.(attheendofaletter) Whenareyougoingtogiveupsmoking? Shealwaysputsoffgoingtothedentist. Hekeptonaskingformoney.

NOTE:Therearesomephrasalverbsandotherexpressionsthatincludetheword'to'asa preposition,notaspartofatoinfinitive:tolookforwardto,totaketo,tobeaccustomedto,tobe usedto.Itisimportanttorecognisethat'to'isaprepositioninthesecases,asitmustbefollowedby agerund: Wearelookingforwardtoseeingyou. Iamusedtowaitingforbuses. Shedidn'treallytaketostudyingEnglish. Itispossibletocheckwhether'toisaprepositionorpartofatoinfinitive:ifyoucanputanoun orthepronoun'it'afterit,thenitisaprepositionandmustbefollowedbyagerund: Iamaccustomedtoit(thecold). Iamaccustomedtobeingcold. e.incompoundnouns adrivinglesson,aswimmingpool,birdwatching,trainspotting Itisclearthatthemeaningisthatofanoun,notofacontinuousverb. thepoolisnotswimming,itisapoolforswimmingin. f.aftertheexpressions: can'thelp,can'tstand,it'snouse/good,andtheadjectiveworth: Shecouldn'thelpfallinginlovewithhim. Ican'tstandbeingstuckintrafficjams. It'snouse/goodtryingtoescape. Itmightbeworthphoningthestationtocheckthetimeofthetrain.

VERBS FOLLOWED BY THE GERUND

Thegerundisusedaftercertainverbs. Example:miss:ImisslivinginEngland. Themostimportantoftheseverbsareshownbelow. Thosemarked*canalsobefollowedbyathatclause VERB Sheadmitted... GERUND breakingthewindow THATCLAUSE Sheadmitted... acknowledge,* admit,* anticipate,*appreciate,* avoid, celebrate, consider,contemplate, defer, delay, deny,* detest, dislike, dread, enjoy, entail, escape, excuse, fancy(=imagine)*, finish, forgive, imagine,* involve, thatshehadbrokenthewindow. keep, loathe, mean,(=haveasresult)* mention,* mind, miss, pardon, postpone, prevent, propose,* recall,* recollect,* remember, report,* resent, resist, risk, save(=preventthewastedeffort) stop, suggest,* understand,*

Notes:Appreciateisfollowedbyapossessiveadjectiveandthegerundwhenthegerunddoesnot refertothesubject. Compare: Iappreciatehavingsometimeoffwork.(I'mhavingthetime...) Iappreciateyourgivingmesometimeoffwork.(You'regivingmethetime...) Excuse,forgive,pardoncanbefollowedbyanobjectandthegerundorfor+objectandthegerund (bothcommoninspokenEnglish),orapossessiveadjective+gerund(moreformalandlesslikelyto besaid): Excusemeinterrupting. Excusemeforinterrupting. Excusemyinterrupting.

Suggestcanbeusedinanumberofways,butBECAREFUL. Itisimportantnottoconfusethesepatterns: suggest/suggested(+possessiveadjective)+gerund: HesuggestsgoingtoGlastonbury HesuggestedgoingtoGlastonbury Hesuggested/suggestsmygoingtoGlastonbury suggest/suggested+thatclause(whereboththatandshouldmaybeomitted): HesuggeststhatIshouldgotoNewYork HesuggestedthatIshouldgotoNewYork Hesuggested/suggestsIshouldgotoNewYork Hesuggested/suggestsIgotoNewYork HesuggestedIwenttoNewYork.

suggest/suggested+questionword+infinitive: Hesuggestedwheretogo. Proposeisfollowedbythegerundwhenitmeans'suggest': Johnproposedgoingtothedebate butbytheinfinitivewhenitmeans'intend': TheGovernmentproposesbringinginnewlaws.. Stopcanbefollowedbyagerundorinfinitive,butthereisachangeofmeaning Dreadisfollowedbytheinfinitivewhenusedwith'think',intheexpression'Idreadtothink': Idreadtothinkwhatshe'lldonext. Preventisfollowed EITHERbyapossessiveadjective+gerund: Youcan'tpreventmyleaving. ORbyanobject+from+gerund: Youcan'tpreventmefromleaving. Examples Normally,agirlwouldn'tthinkofmarryingamanshedidnotlove. Mostpeopledon'tlikereceivingbadnews. Wecan'triskgettingwetwehaven'tgotanydryclothes. Ifyoutakethatjobitwillmeangettinghomelateeverynight. Ican'timaginelivinginthatbighouse. Ifyoubuysomepetrolnow,itwillsaveyoustoppingonthewaytoLondon. Shecouldn'tresisteatingtheplumshefoundinthefridge. Theydecidedtopostponepaintingthehouseuntiltheweatherimproved

GERUNDORINFINITIVE?
Thetwogroupsofverbsbelowcanbefollowedeitherbythegerundorbytheinfinitive.Usuallythis hasnoeffectonthemeaning,butwithsomeverbsthereisacleardifferenceinmeaning.Verbs marked*canalsobefollowedbyathatclause.

Example:toprefer
Iprefertoliveinanapartment. Ipreferlivinginanapartment. A.Verbswherethereislittleornodifferenceinmeaning: allow attempt begin bother cease continue deserve fear* hate* intend* like love neglect omit permit prefer* recommend* start

Notes:
1.Allowisusedinthesetwopatterns: a.Allow+object+toinfinitive: Herparentsallowedhertogototheparty. b.Allow+gerund: Herparentsdon'tallowsmokinginthehouse. 2.Deserve+gerundisnotverycommon,butismainlyusedwithpassiveconstructionsorwhere thereisapassivemeaning: Yourproposalsdeservebeingconsideredindetail. Theseideasdeservediscussing.(=tobediscussed). 3.Theverbshate,love,like,preferareusuallyfollowedbyagerundwhenthemeaningisgeneral, andbyatoinfinitivewhentheyrefertoaparticulartimeorsituation.Youmustalwaysusetheto infinitivewiththeexpressions'wouldloveto','wouldhateto',etc. Compare: Ihatetotellyou,butUncleJimiscomingthisweekend. Ihatelookingafterelderlyrelatives! Ilovedancing. Iwouldlovetodancewithyou.

Part B: GERUND OR INFINITIVE?

B.Verbswherethereisacleardifferenceinmeaning: Verbsmarkedwithanasterisk*canalsobefollowedbyathatclause. come forget* goon Come: Come+gerundislikeotherverbsofmovementfollowedbythegerund,andmeansthatthe subjectisdoingsomethingastheymove:Shecamerunningacrossthefield.Come+to infinitivemeansthatsomethinghappensordevelops,perhapsoutsidethesubject's control:AtfirstIthoughthewascrazy,butI'vecometoappreciatehissenseofhumour. Howdidyoucometobeoutsidethewronghouse? Thiswordhascometomeansomethingquitedifferent. mean* regret* remember* stop try

Forget, regret and remember: Whentheseverbsarefollowedbyagerund,thegerundreferstoanactionthathappenedearlier: Irememberlockingthedoor(=Iremembernow,Ilockedthedoorearlier) Heregrettedspeakingsorudely.(=heregrettedatsometimeinthepast,hehadspoken rudelyatsomeearliertimeinthepast.) Forgetisfrequentlyusedwith'never'inthesimplefutureform: I'llneverforgetmeetingmybossforthefirsttime. When these verbs are followed by a to-infinitive, the infinitive refers to an action happening at the same time, or later: Irememberedtolockthedoor(=Ithoughtaboutit,thenIdidit.) Don'tforgettobuysomeeggs!(=Pleasethinkaboutitandthendoit.) Weregrettoannouncethelatearrivalofthe12.45fromPaddington.(=Wefeelsorrybefore wetellyouthisbadnews.) Go on: Goon+gerundmeanstocontinuewithanaction: Hewentonspeakingfortwohours. Ican'tgoonworkinglikethisI'mexhausted. Go on + to-infinitive means to do the next action, which is often the next stage in a process: Afterintroducingherproposal,shewentontoexplainthebenefitsforthecompany. JohnSmithworkedinlocalgovernmentforfiveyears,thenwentontobecomeaMemberof Parliament. Mean: Mean+gerundexpresseswhattheresultofanactionwillbe,orwhatwillbenecessary:

 IfyoutakethatjobinLondonitwillmeantravellingfortwohourseveryday. WecouldtaketheferrytoFrance,butthatwillmeanspendinganightinahotel. Mean+toinfinitiveexpressesanintentionoraplan: Didyoumeantodialthisnumber? Imeantofinishthisjobbytheendoftheweek! SorryIdidn'tmeantohurtyou. Stop: Stop+gerundmeanstofinishanactioninprogress: Istoppedworkingforthembecausethewagesweresolow. Stopticklingme! Stop+toinfinitivemeanstointerruptanactivityinordertodosomethingelse,sotheinfinitiveis usedtoexpressapurpose: Istoppedtohavelunch.(=Iwasworking,ortravelling,andIinterruptedwhatIwasdoing inordertoeat.) It'sdifficulttoconcentrateonwhatyouaredoingifyouhavetostoptoanswerthephone everyfiveminutes. Try: Try+gerundmeanstoexperimentwithanactionthatmightbeasolutiontoyourproblem. Ifyouhaveproblemssleeping,youcouldtrydoingsomeyogabeforeyougotobed,oryou couldtrydrinkingsomewarmmilk. 'Ican'tgetintouchwithCarl.''Haveyoutriedemailinghim?' Try+toinfinitivemeanstomakeanefforttodosomething.Itmaybesomethingverydifficultor evenimpossible: Thesurgeonstriedtosavehislifebuthediedontheoperatingtable. We'lltrytophoneat6o'clock,butitmightbehardtofindapublictelephone. Peoplehavetotrytolivetogetherinharmony.