Questions tagged [present-participles]
Questions about the present-participle form of verbs.
41
questions
4
votes
4answers
2k views
“…his parents' dream of *him* achieving a Cambridge degree.” What is the function of “him” here? [duplicate]
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 Cambridge ...
5
votes
2answers
3k views
“Heard me [infinitive]” vs. “heard me [present participle]”
"Heard me [infinitive]" vs. "heard me [present participle]"
At that time, you wouldn't have heard me talk about it.
At that time, you wouldn't have heard me talking about it.
At ...
15
votes
7answers
10k views
Is “running” a gerund or a participial adjective?
An enlightening experiment
Google Books yields only 39 results, and instead asks me if I wanted to say “an enlightening experience”, and eagerly shows an impressive 10,000 results when I click on ...
7
votes
1answer
25k views
“I saw him crossing” vs. “I saw him cross” [duplicate]
I saw him crossing the road.
I saw him cross the road.
Which one is correct and why?
40
votes
1answer
5k views
Origin of “-ing”
What is the origin of the suffix -ing used to form gerunds and present participles?
Why is the suffix the same in both cases?
10
votes
5answers
2k views
progressive forms: participle or gerund?
Progressive forms of verbs consist of the form to be + participle. At least that is what most English grammars say or they are imprecise and speak of the -ing form. My question is what follows after ...
1
vote
2answers
2k views
“…would have trouble imagining…”: Is this present participle or gerund?
Given the sentence:
Most people who live and work near Washington, DC, would have trouble
imagining dinosaurs walking around the area.
Grammatically, what would ‘imaging’ be called in this ...
4
votes
8answers
70k views
“Wanting” or “want”? (Stative verbs: participial clauses; present continuous usages?)
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" ...
5
votes
2answers
2k 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.
stop → ...
2
votes
3answers
7k views
Is it correct to use two present participles sequentially?
We are currently in the process of finishing planning for the outage.
It the preceding sentence grammatically correct?
Is the preceding sentence ideally structured?
If not, what would be a ...
5
votes
1answer
643 views
Is “programming” not a noun?
Recently, I was told that the word "programming" in the phrase "programming thoughts" is a verb in the gerund-participle form and that the term "gerund" by itself is obsolete in modern grammar. I was ...
6
votes
6answers
2k 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 ...
9
votes
3answers
5k 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 ...
4
votes
4answers
938 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 address]....
6
votes
2answers
2k 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.
2
votes
2answers
2k views
Difference between gerund and present participle [duplicate]
What is the difference between a gerund and present participle? When should we use a gerund and when should we use a present participle ?
15
votes
8answers
2k views
“What I'm doing is watching TV.” — Why does it have to be the gerund-participle ('watching')?
What I do is watch TV.
What I did was watch TV.
What I had done was watch TV.
...
But,
What I am doing is watching TV.
The only possible form of watch in the last sentence is ...
2
votes
5answers
4k 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 ...
1
vote
1answer
500 views
Subject of gerund phrase [duplicate]
Me getting a hangover is nothing like her getting a hangover.
-
I'd rather contemplate you singing than him singing.
Is this grammatically correct?
6
votes
5answers
10k 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.
5
votes
3answers
454 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?
2
votes
2answers
1k views
Compelled and compeled - American English
As for the British English it's always taught - compel, compelled, compelling
Some of the books/dictionaries say that in American English you say compel, compeled, compeling instead, you simply don't ...
11
votes
3answers
4k 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 specific ...
8
votes
2answers
13k views
Participle of “center/centre” in UK English — “centring”? Seriously? [closed]
As an American, I was never shocked to see the word "center" spelled as "centre." It didn't bother me at all. Honestly.
But then I saw the participle of it spelled as "centring" as opposed to "...
7
votes
4answers
939 views
In “Lucifer Rising” - grammatical explanation for use of -ing form instead of “Rises”?
How does that work grammatically? I guess it's primarily used for titles (movies, songs etc.) but why?
3
votes
3answers
22k views
“The use of” vs. “using”
I am unsure if I can use this two forms interchangeably (simplified sentences):
We did that, hence using the object is the only way.
We did that, hence the use of the object is the only way.
...
4
votes
3answers
37k views
When is it acceptable to start a sentence with an “-ing” word?
Here's my example. It is a sentence that begins in the middle of a paragraph and I'm using it as a transition.
"Living in Costa Rica also gave me the opportunity to interact with the local ...
3
votes
1answer
840 views
Participial Phrases
Is the sentence below grammatically correct?
I repeatedly punched his face until I passed out, my arms sliced a few times by his blade."
I know what participial phrases are; I read about them ...
3
votes
2answers
6k 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 Ts.
So ...
2
votes
4answers
212 views
Why is “bales” the 3rd person singular of “bail”?
Today I come across a video where I heard "But each time God bails Abraham out ...", however, looking at the subtitle, it is "bales Abraham...".
I thought the subtitle maker made a typo, but upon ...
0
votes
1answer
202 views
Which clauses with phrases
Can which clause modify participle phrases?
Which clause is usually used for summarizing or explaining the clause before it.
1 His wife was stunning, which was always his pride.
2 I left the ...
3
votes
3answers
6k 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
3
votes
3answers
3k views
Administrating vs Admining
I get the sense that the word "Admining", like the word "Admin" from which it derives, is used to refer to computer administration, while "Administrating", like "Administrator", is used more when it ...
2
votes
2answers
1k 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
1k views
What is the difference between a Whiz deletion and using the present participle as an adjective?
The sleeping babies are adorable.
and
The babies sleeping are adorable.
To me, the two sentences are identical in meaning. However, this doesn't seem to be the case in the following sentence:
...
1
vote
3answers
345 views
Postmodification using participle: Is it grammatical?
I am a Japanese teacher of English who is making a teaching material for my students. I would like to know whether the following usage would be totally accepted in school grammar. To put my question ...
1
vote
3answers
571 views
“It takes” + infinitive vs. present participle
Is it grammatically correct to say "It took me five hours travelling to the US"?
Most people would say "It took me five hours to travel to the US." I wonder if the infinitive is always the only ...
0
votes
0answers
45 views
Present participle as a modifier
Suppose A and B are friends and B has only one brother.
During a conversation between A and B:
A: you know, yesterday I met your brother at the supermarket buying some stuff for his children.
Can ...
0
votes
0answers
35 views
Adverb as a modifier 2
This post is related to a question I asked earlier, link to which is below
Present participle as a modifier
Actually I had this doubt after visiting a website, the link to which I have given below. ...
0
votes
1answer
2k views
Is it correct to use 'being' after a noun? [duplicate]
I found the following sentence in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (5th Edition):
You can’t expect them to sit still for that long, children being
what they are.
For me it sounds weirdly ...
0
votes
2answers
562 views
Participles? Present participles? Are they nouns too? [duplicate]
A participle is just a infinitive verb + ing right?
A participle is also used as an adjective a lot of the time right? For ex:
"She looks at the rising sun". The present participle here is an ...
