Present participles

Formation

The present participle is formed by adding the ending"--ing" to the infinitive (dropping any silent "e"at the end of the infinitive):

Use

A. The present participle may often function as an adjective:

B. The present participle can be used as a noun denoting an activity (this form is also called a gerund):

C. The present participle can indicate an action that is taking place, although it cannot stand by itself as a verb. In these cases it generally modifies a noun (or pronoun), an adverb, or a past participle:

D. The present participle is used in progressive verb tenses, which indicate continuing actions or actions in progress (the present progressive, the future progressive, the present perfect progressive) :

E. The present participle may be used with "while"or "by" to express an idea of simultaneity ("while") or causality ("by") :

F. The present participle of the auxiliary "have"may be used with the past participle to describe a past condition resulting in another action:

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