All About Gerund ( -ING form)

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

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
(See continuous tenses in VERB TENSES)

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. They went laughing out into the snow.

• He whistled to himself. He walked down the road. Whistling to himself, he walked down the road.

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.

• She dropped the gun and put her hands in the air. Dropping the gun, she put her hands 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

THE GERUND

This looks exactly the same as a present participle, and for this reason it is now common to call both forms 'the -ing form'. However it is useful to understand the difference between the two. The gerund always has the same function as a noun (although it looks like a verb), so it can be used:

a. as the subject of the sentence:

• Eating people is wrong.

• Hunting tigers is dangerous.

• Flying makes me nervous.

b. as the complement of the verb 'to be':

• One of his duties is attending meetings.

• The hardest thing about learning English is understanding the gerund.

• One of life's pleasures is having breakfast in bed.

c. after prepositions. The gerund must be used when a verb comes after a preposition:

• Can you sneeze without opening your mouth?

• She is good at painting.

• They're keen on windsurfing.

• She avoided him by walking on the opposite side of the road.

• We arrived in Madrid after driving all night.

• My father decided against postponing his trip to Hungary.

This is also true of certain expressions ending in a preposition, e.g. in spite of, there's no point in..:

• There's no point in waiting.

• In spite of missing the train, we arrived on time.

d. after a number of 'phrasal verbs' which are composed of a verb + preposition/adverb

Example:

to look forward to, to give up, to be for/against, to take to, to put off, to keep on:

• I look forward to hearing from you soon. (at the end of a letter)

• When are you going to give up smoking?

• She always puts off going to the dentist.

• He kept on asking for money.

NOTE: There are some phrasal verbs and other expressions that include the word 'to' as a preposition, not as part of a to-infinitive: - to look forward to, to take to, to be accustomed to, to be used to. It is important to recognise that 'to' is a preposition in these cases, as it must be followed by a gerund:

• We are looking forward to seeing you.

• I am used to waiting for buses.

• She didn't really take to studying English.

It is possible to check whether 'to� is a preposition or part of a to-infinitive: if you can put a noun or the pronoun 'it' after it, then it is a preposition and must be followed by a gerund:

• I am accustomed to it (the cold).

• I am accustomed to being cold.

e. in compound nouns

Example:

• a driving lesson, a swimming pool, bird-watching, train-spotting

It is clear that the meaning is that of a noun, not of a continuous verb.

Example:

• the pool is not swimming, it is a pool for swimming in.

f. after the expressions:

can't help, can't stand, it's no use/good, and the adjective worth:

• She couldn't help falling in love with him.

• I can't stand being stuck in traffic jams.

• It's no use/good trying to escape.

• It might be worth phoning the station to check the time of the train.

VERBS FOLLOWED BY THE GERUND

VERBS FOLLOWED BY THE GERUND

The gerund is used after certain verbs.

Example

miss: I miss living in England.

The most important of these verbs are shown below.

Those marked * can also be followed by a that-clause

Example:

VERB	GERUND
She admitted...	breaking the window
	THAT-CLAUSE
She admitted...	that she had broken the window.

acknowledge,* admit,* anticipate,* appreciate,* avoid, celebrate, consider, contemplate, defer, delay, deny,* detest, dislike, dread, enjoy, entail, escape, excuse, fancy (=imagine)*, finish, forgive, imagine,* involve,

keep, loathe, mean,(=have as result)* mention,* mind, miss, pardon, postpone, prevent, propose,* recall,* recollect,* remember, report,* resent, resist, risk, save (=prevent the wasted effort) stop, suggest,* understand,*

Notes:

Appreciate is followed by a possessive adjective and the gerund when the gerund does not refer to the subject.

Compare :

• I appreciate having some time off work. (I'm having the time...)

• I appreciate your giving me some time off work. (You're giving me the time...)

Excuse, forgive, pardon can be followed by an object and the gerund or for + object and the gerund (both common in spoken English), or a possessive adjective + gerund (more formal and less likely to be said):

• Excuse me interrupting.

• Excuse me for interrupting.

• Excuse my interrupting.

Suggest can be used in a number of ways, but BE CAREFUL.

It is important not to confuse these patterns:

suggest/suggested (+ possessive adjective) + gerund:

• He suggests going to Glastonbury

• He suggested going to Glastonbury

• He suggested/suggests my going to Glastonbury

suggest/suggested + that-clause (where both that and should may be omitted):

• He suggests that I should go to New York

• He suggested that I should go to New York

• He suggested/suggests I should go to New York

• He suggested/suggests I go to New York

• He suggested I went to New York.

suggest/suggested + question word + infinitive:

• He suggested where to go.

Propose is followed by the gerund when it means 'suggest':

• John proposed going to the debate

• but by the infinitive when it means 'intend':
  The Government proposes bringing in new laws..

Stop can be followed by a gerund or infinitive, but there is a change of meaning - see GERUND / INFINITIVE? section.

Dread is followed by the infinitive when used with 'think', in the expression 'I dread to think':

• I dread to think what she'll do next.

Prevent is followed

EITHER by a possessive adjective + gerund:

• You can't prevent my leaving.

OR by an object + from + gerund:

• You can't prevent me from leaving.

Examples

• Normally, a girl wouldn't think of marrying a man she did not love.

• Most people don't like receiving bad news.

• We can't risk getting wet - we haven't got any dry clothes.

• If you take that job it will mean getting home late every night.

• I can't imagine living in that big house.

• If you buy some petrol now, it will save you stopping on the way to London.

• She couldn't resist eating the plum she found in the fridge.

• They decided to postpone painting the house until the weather improved.

GERUND OR INFINITIVE?

GERUND OR INFINITIVE?

The two groups of verbs below can be followed either by the gerund or by the infinitive. Usually this has no effect on the meaning, but with some verbs there is a clear difference in meaning. Verbs marked * can also be followed by a that-clause.

Example: to prefer

I prefer to live in an apartment.

I prefer living in an apartment.

A. Verbs where there is little or no difference in meaning:

allow attempt begin bother cease continue

deserve fear* hate* intend* like love

neglect omit permit prefer* recommend* start

Notes:

1. Allow is used in these two patterns:

a. Allow + object + to-infinitive:

• Her parents allowed her to go to the party.

b. Allow + gerund:

• Her parents don't allow smoking in the house.

2. Deserve + gerund is not very common, but is mainly used with passive constructions or where there is a passive meaning:

• Your proposals deserve being considered in detail.

• These ideas deserve discussing. (= to be discussed).

3. The verbs hate, love, like, prefer are usually followed by a gerund when the meaning is general, and by a to-infinitive when they refer to a particular time or situation. You must always use the to-infinitive with the expressions 'would love to', 'would hate to', etc.

Compare:

• I hate to tell you, but Uncle Jim is coming this weekend.

• I hate looking after elderly relatives!

• I love dancing.

• I would love to dance with you.

GERUND OR INFINITIVE?

Part B: GERUND OR INFINITIVE?

B. Verbs where there is a clear difference in meaning:
Verbs marked with an asterisk* can also be followed by a that-clause.

come forget* go on

mean* regret* remember*

stop try

Come:

Come + gerund is like other verbs of movement followed by the gerund, and means that the subject is doing something as they move: She came running across the field. Come + to-infinitive means that something happens or develops, perhaps outside the subject's control: At first I thought he was crazy, but I've come to appreciate his sense of humour. How did you come to be outside the wrong house? This word has come to mean something quite different.

Forget, regret and remember:

When these verbs are followed by a gerund, the gerund refers to an action that happened earlier: I remember locking the door (= I remember now, I locked the door earlier) He regretted speaking so rudely. (= he regretted at some time in the past, he had spoken rudely at some earlier time in the past.) Forget is frequently used with 'never' in the simple future form: I'll never forget meeting my boss for the first time. When these verbs are followed by a to-infinitive, the infinitive refers to an action happening at the same time, or later: I remembered to lock the door (= I thought about it, then I did it.) Don't forget to buy some eggs! (= Please think about it and then do it.) We regret to announce the late arrival of the 12.45 from Paddington. (= We feel sorry before we tell you this bad news.)

Go on:

Go on + gerund means to continue with an action: He went on speaking for two hours. I can't go on working like this - I'm exhausted. Go on + to-infinitive means to do the next action, which is often the next stage in a process: After introducing her proposal, she went on to explain the benefits for the company. John Smith worked in local government for five years, then went on to become a Member of Parliament.

Mean:

Mean + gerund expresses what the result of an action will be, or what will be necessary: If you take that job in London it will mean travelling for two hours every day. We could take the ferry to France, but that will mean spending a night in a hotel. Mean + to-infinitive expresses an intention or a plan: Did you mean to dial this number? I mean to finish this job by the end of the week! Sorry - I didn't mean to hurt you.

Stop:

Stop + gerund means to finish an action in progress: I stopped working for them because the wages were so low. Stop tickling me! Stop + to-infinitive means to interrupt an activity in order to do something else, so the infinitive is used to express a purpose: I stopped to have lunch. (= I was working, or travelling, and I interrupted what I was doing in order to eat.) It's difficult to concentrate on what you are doing if you have to stop to answer the phone every five minutes.

Try:

Try + gerund means to experiment with an action that might be a solution to your problem. If you have problems sleeping, you could try doing some yoga before you go to bed, or you could try drinking some warm milk. 'I can't get in touch with Carl.' 'Have you tried e-mailing him?' Try + to-infinitive means to make an effort to do something. It may be something very difficult or even impossible: The surgeons tried to save his life but he died on the operating table. We'll try to phone at 6 o'clock, but it might be hard to find a public telephone. People have to try to live together in harmony.