The –ing suffix can be one of the most confusing parts of English.  By adding –ing to the end of a verb, you create the present participle.  However, the present participle can be used in several different parts of speech which will be addressed in this handout

The Present Participle

The –ing ending is added to the root of a verb to create a present participle (i.e., run becomes running).  However, a present participle can not stand alone as a verb—it must be combined with a form of to be.  Using the present participle in a compound verb indicates that a verbal action is continuous or progressive. 

The Present Participle as a Progressive Verb

In English, each tense has two forms, simple or progressive.  For example, let’s look at the present tense of the word run:

Simple Present:                         I run.

Present Progressive:                  I am running.

Present Perfect:                        I have run.

Present Perfect Progressive:      I have been running.

Note that in the progressive tenses above, the present participle must be preceded by a helping (auxiliary) verb in order to create a verb.  This makes progressive verbs easy to distinguish from the other parts of speech that use the present participle.  Be careful though—unnecessary use of progressive verbs can make writing sound weak. 

The Present Participle as a Verbal

The present participle is not only used as a verb—it can also be used as a unique part of speech called a verbal.  Verbals are words derived from verbs, but used as nouns or adjectives.    As a result, they convey a sense of action or being like a verb while sharing the properties of an adjective or noun. The two types of verbals, participles and gerunds, are covered below.

Participles

Without a form of to be, the present participle is often just that—a present participle.  A participle is a verbal used as an adjective.  Like relative clauses, participial phrases can sometimes be set off by commas if they are nonrestrictive (nonessential) to the meaning of the sentence (see Relative Clause handout).  For example:

                        The boy, throwing the ball, tripped on a stick. 

In this sentence, “throwing the ball” is a participial phrase, with throwing as the participle.  Note how it conveys a sense of time and action (“throwing”) and takes an object (“the ball”) like a verb, but also modifies (answers the questions which one, what kind, or how many) the subject of the sentence (“The boy”) like an adjective.

Because present participles are combined with to be to create progressive verbs, it is easy to confuse a participle with a verb.  To distinguish between the two, remember that participles will always modify another word in the sentence while progressive verbs will always be preceded by a form of the verb to be.  Note the differences in the following examples:

            Tim, sleeping, was at his desk.             Participle

            Tim was sleeping at his desk.                           Progressive Verb

Gerunds

The present participle is also used as a gerund, a verbal used as a noun.  For example:

Running is easier with friends.

The subject of this sentence, running, is a gerund—it is being used as a noun subject of the sentence.  Because gerunds act as nouns, they can take any role a noun takes in a sentence.  This makes them easy to distinguish from participles and progressive verb forms.  Note the differences in the following examples:

            Tim enjoys sleeping at his desk.                        Gerund

            Tim, sleeping, was at his desk.             Participle

            Tim was sleeping at his desk.                           Progressive Verb

We mentioned earlier that progressive verbs are always preceded by a form of to be.  However, gerunds can also be preceded by a form of to be when they are acting as a subject compliment, so watch out!  Always examine what role the present participle plays in the sentence.  For example:

Joey is throwing the ball.                                 Progressive Verb

Joey’s favorite part is throwing the ball.            Gerund

In the first sentence, is throwing is a compound verb.  We know this because Joey (the subject) is doing the throwing.  In the second sentence, however, is and throwing do not go together.  We know this because “Joey’s favorite part” (the subject) is not the thing doing the throwing.  Instead, throwing is a gerund renaming what “Joey’s favorite part” is.

Tips

Use this chart to help visualize how the –ing ending is used in each part of speech: