Questions about the present-participle form of verbs.
2
votes
2answers
48 views
I've been seeing good movies or I've been watching good movies? [duplicate]
what would you rather say? Which one is correct?
Thanks,Herman.
0
votes
0answers
42 views
“All that is needing” vs. “all that is needed”
I've read the following quote from Game of Thrones:
Opening your eyes is all that is needing. The heart lies and the head plays tricks with us, but the eyes see true.
English is not my mother ...
3
votes
1answer
271 views
Is using past participle instead of present one more polite?
On christianity.stackexchange.com I asked this question:
"Is it true that John Paul the Second restored the practice of selling indulgences in 2000?"
and one supporter suggested that I replace ...
0
votes
2answers
90 views
“Wanting” or “want”?
Lately I have noticed that a lot of people use "wanting" in sentences, or in books, but I don't get it because my English teachers have always said to me that with verbs like "love", "like", "want" ...
-1
votes
1answer
46 views
Meaning of “originating” in the context
In the computer science, the program is processed as a sequence of commands which is called "control flow". At some point, it branches and a different branch of code is processed.
In an article I ...
4
votes
3answers
340 views
Can the word “deceiving” stand for “positive”?
I was puzzled with the line “(President Lyndon Johnson’s) appearances can be deceiving,” in the Washington Post’s (April 2) article titled “President Lyndon Johnson did indeed attend an Easter Egg ...
-1
votes
1answer
110 views
Can we use “from” after “stop”?
I want to know the difference between these two items:
She couldn't stop herself laughing.
She couldn't stop herself from laughing.
I assume that No. 2 is wrong, but it seems right!
1
vote
2answers
88 views
When should I use “by” in present participle?
I often encounter a problem when writing sentences in mathematical contexts, where one "does something" in order to "obtain something." These sentences typically have the form "using X, one can do Y," ...
2
votes
1answer
969 views
Comma before “including”?
Does this sentence require a comma before including?
He has written on a range of moral issues including poverty, globalization, and euthanasia.
-1
votes
2answers
68 views
Correct use of comma?
Should there be a comma after 1975?
Peter Singer wrote Animal Liberation in 1975, igniting the modern animal movement.
2
votes
1answer
498 views
Present participle vs. past participle
How to distinguish the difference between the two of them?
For example, in the following sentence:
Local times, originating from X and perpetuated by Y, have been abolished.
Why can I not use ...
-1
votes
1answer
47 views
What is the difference between “Distribution Worker” and “Distributing Worker”?
I cannot differentiate when I should use a noun like "distribution" as an adjective to another noun, or when should I use an "-ing" participle as an adjective. Could you please clarify the differences ...
1
vote
2answers
147 views
Noun phrase after “show”
The following sentences all involve the verb "show" followed by a noun phrase. Number 6 sounds a bit weird, and the last one is just wrong — but why is that?
The video shows the ...
0
votes
2answers
136 views
Why is “writing” spelled with only one T? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Is there any rhyme or reason to when one should double the last consonant when adding -ed or -ing?
It has always been a word that intuitively I wish to spell with two ...
0
votes
1answer
104 views
Difference between “hypnotic” and “hypnotizing”
Is there a difference between hypnotic and hypnotizing? I believe they are synonyms but I think of hypnotic as being more metaphorical, and hypnotizing as being used, at least sometimes, as a clinical ...
2
votes
1answer
133 views
Can we use to-infinitive after 'have trouble'?
Given the example:
I have trouble speaking English.
Can we use both present participle (speaking) and to-infinitive (to speak) after have trouble?
If both are allowed, do the two have the same ...
-2
votes
1answer
73 views
Meaning of “self-priming” in specific example
I don't understand the term self-priming in the following sentence:
Illustrators may have a self-priming function, helping people put
words together into reasonably coherent speech.
Just for ...
3
votes
4answers
213 views
Analysing clause elements and their function
I have a problem analysing this sentence from the point of finite/nonfinite clauses, clause elements and their functions:
He does not want to destroy his parents' dream of him achieving a ...
5
votes
3answers
172 views
Why is it “rough-looking” instead of “roughly looking”?
I’ve noticed recently that certain constructions with present active participles (meaning, -ing forms acting adjectivally) prefer to be modified by adjectives rather than by adverbs.
For example, ...
3
votes
1answer
141 views
What is the present participle of “stop, drop, and roll”?
In a verb phrase, such as stop, drop, and roll, how do I conjugate this in the present participle? Stopping, dropping, and rolling? Stop, drop, and rolling?
0
votes
2answers
335 views
Is this present participle or gerund? [closed]
Given the sentence:
Most people who live and work near Washington, DC, would have trouble
imagining dinosaurs walking around the area.
Grammatically, what do they call it, ‘imaging’ in this case? ...
1
vote
1answer
155 views
Is this past participle to be changed to present participle?
In this sentence, is the past participle of ‘clasped’ in ‘with his hands clasped over his fat bottom’ to be changed to ‘clasping’?
He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at ...
1
vote
1answer
185 views
“There's a missing page” vs. “there's a page missing”
Sometimes we see the adjective "missing" used before nouns and sometimes after nouns. What is the difference in usage in this regard? For example:
There is a missing page in the book.
There ...
2
votes
3answers
501 views
On the difference between “noun + infinitive” and “noun + present participle”
Infinitive and present participle can be used to modify the noun:
Infinitive:
I had no time to read those books.
Present participle:
There should be a law banning abortion.
In (1), ...
7
votes
3answers
494 views
Help identifying an error type “tried to help me learning”
I have a friend from Russia who is trying to learn English and recently used the sentence "He tried to help me learning..." (implied: the English language)
It is obviously wrong and I corrected it ...
0
votes
4answers
771 views
“Appealing for” or “appealing to”?
Are there guidelines for when to use to or for with appealing?
I was writing this sentence: '... choose a time that is appealing to you', and then thought it was likely for, but either seems to make ...
2
votes
2answers
134 views
Which tense should I use in this situation? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Using the gerund two times in a row
Here is the sentence:
Just as on smoking, voices now come from many quarters (insisting
or insist) that the science about ...
6
votes
2answers
286 views
“It is fun to write letters” vs. “It is fun writing letters”
Grammatically, "It is fun to write English letters." is correct. But is the following also grammatically correct?
It is fun writing English letters.
1
vote
3answers
187 views
Is “X supposing to be” proper English?
The whole point that him pretending to be rich is to get a date.
The whole point of this supposing to be a big wall is to hold off the
barbarians.
The first one seems correct, the second ...
4
votes
5answers
530 views
Why are present participle and infinitive equally acceptable for some verbs, but not others
This question about "started teaching/to teach" made me realise that even though the present participle and infinitive are both acceptable after "started", that's not the case with other superficially ...
2
votes
2answers
3k views
Verb+ing as a verb beginning a sentence
Is this good English?
Falling into the ocean, the drop dies as a drop, but not as water.
Or should I say:
When it falls into the ocean, the drop dies...
4
votes
2answers
210 views
'Should've seen it glow' or 'should've seen it glowing'?
Which one of the following is the correct one?
I should have seen it glow.
I should have seen it glowing.
Or are both correct? Would you parse them please?
0
votes
3answers
918 views
Why use 'being' in this sentence?
I came across this sentence in my programming book:
There are a number of differences that need to be explained though,
the most important one being that read or write accesses to the file
...
0
votes
2answers
2k views
Which is correct, “summiting” or “summitting”?
This form of the word is not very common but does see some use as the present participle/gerund of "to summit" as in "Upon summit(t)ing the mountain we took photos but had to begin our descent ...
2
votes
1answer
12k views
'Seen as' or 'seeing as'
Look at these examples:
You should clean the milk seen as you spilt it.
You should clean the milk seeing as you spilt it.
Which one is correct, and how is it grammatically defined/termed?
3
votes
3answers
2k views
Is 'quiescing' a valid word? What does it mean?
What does quiescing mean in the following context?
Quiescing a Database
http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/B19306_01/server.102/b14231/start.htm
0
votes
1answer
430 views
Meaning of “intriguing” in the following sentence
Reading comprehension is one of the most important parts of any management entrance examination and a bit intriguing as well.
Does it mean:
Challenging?
Interesting?
Provocative?
All these ...
7
votes
5answers
1k views
“I am thinking to invest” or “I am thinking investing”?
Which of the following sentences is correct?
I am thinking to invest in stocks.
I am thinking investing into stocks.
7
votes
3answers
753 views
Why do non-native English speakers get the present participle wrong?
I see people saying things like this:
With a new infusion of cash it allows
to make the film.
...instead of...
With a new infusion of cash it allows
making the film.
I can't find a ...
2
votes
5answers
2k views
What is the grammatical difference behind “is interesting” and “is interested”?
I am a native English speaker, yet I cannot explain to a non-native speaker why I say:
I am interested in history.
as well as
History is interesting to me.
Why is it "is interesting" when ...
4
votes
3answers
489 views
Is this use of present participle grammatically correct?
We are a Zhongguancun-based English training school looking for native English speakers from the US and Canada. If you are interested in this position. Please send your CV and photo to [email ...
3
votes
3answers
381 views
Why are the present and the past participles of “submit” spelled with double t?
Why are the present and the past participles of submit spelled with two t's?
3
votes
2answers
2k views
Gut-wrenching or -retching?
It was the most gut-retching thing I have ever heard.
Wrenching sounds like it would make sense, but so does retching.
4
votes
2answers
473 views
Is there any rhyme or reason to when one should double the last consonant when adding -ed or -ing? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
focussed or focused? The double consonant
Sometimes, final consonants are doubled when adding -ed or -ing to the end of a verb whose penultimate letter is a vowel.
...
