English Present Participle

How to Form the Present Participle

To form the present participle, take the base form of the verb and add “-ing” to it:

• walk → walking

• play → playing

When a verb ends in a silent “e,” drop the “e” before adding “-ing“:

• make → making

• write → writing

When a one-syllable verb ends in a single vowel followed by a consonant, double the final consonant before adding “-ing“:

• sit → sitting

• run → running

How to Use the Present Participle

To Form the Continuous Tenses

The present participle is used with the verb “to be” to create continuous (or progressive) tenses. These tenses describe actions that are ongoing at a particular time. For example:

I am reading a book. (present continuous)

She was cooking dinner when I arrived. (past continuous)

They will be traveling to Spain next week. (future continuous)

In these sentences, the present participle (reading, cooking, traveling) indicates that the action is happening over a period of time.

To Form Participial Phrases

The present participle can start a participial phrase, which often describes an action that is happening simultaneously with the main verb. For example:

Walking through the park, I saw a beautiful sunset.

Hoping to win the race, he trained every day.

In these examples, the participial phrases “Walking through the park” and “Hoping to win the race” describe the actions associated with the subject of the sentence.

As Adjectives

The present participle can also function as an adjective, describing a noun by indicating an ongoing action or a state. For example:

It was an exciting game.

The crying baby needs attention.

In these examples, “exciting” and “crying” describe the nouns “game” and “baby,” respectively.

Present Participles vs. Gerunds

While they look identical, present participles and gerunds are technically different grammatical forms and serve different functions.

While present participles are used in forming continuous tenses and participle phrases or as adjectives, gerunds function as nouns in a sentence. For example:

Swimming is my favorite activity.

She enjoys painting in her free time.

In these sentences, “swimming” and “painting” are the subjects and act as nouns. Therefore, they are gerunds and not present participles.