Functions of the ing form

The ing form, i.e. when the suffix ing is added to a verb, may have two
functions. On the one hand, it can be a present participle and on the
other hand it can be a gerund.

1) Gerund: Here the ing form may have the force of a noun or the
force of a verb. It always takes the roles of subject or object in the
sentence structure.

a) Force of a noun: The gerunds can function as nouns standing alone

(non-count nouns) and they usually represent the name of an
activity derived from the verb.

(1) Climbing can be dangerous. (The activity of the verb

climb)
(2) Thanks goodness the hammering has stopped (the activity
related to the verb to hammer).

b) Force of a verb: The gerund can operate as the verb in non-finite

noun clauses.

(3) Closing the factory means putting people out of work.

(4) Climbing mountains can be dangerous. (Contrast with 1.
This is a clause, in which the verb is climbing and mountains is
the noun within the nominal clause. In 1, the gerund is on its own)
(5) Choosing the prettiest girl in the competition proved
difficult.

Remember that a noun clause contains a verb like all clauses,

which in this case is the gerund and that verb refers to a noun,
subject of the noun clause.

2) Present participle: They can have the force of an adjective or the

force of a verb.

a) Force of an adjective: They function as verbal or participial

adjectives. That is to say, they pre or postmodify a noun (and in
some form, they make the noun definite).

(6) Two men were trapped in the blazing house. (Not any
house, but the one which was blazing)
b) Force of a verb: They operate as the verbs in non-finite clauses (they
are the equivalent of adjectival clauses or adverbial clauses of time)
When they resemble adjectival clauses, these non-finite clauses
seem to postmodify the subject or the immediate antecedent.

(7) The thieves took two mail-bags containing registered

letters. (Not any mail-bags, but the ones containing the
registered letters. It resembles an adjectival clause: that
contained registered letters).
(8) Have you seen the children playing peacefully in the
backyard? (Not any children, but the ones who were playing
peacefully in the backyard. The distinction here is not clear-cut as
this could also be interpreted as a being a gerund, if we refer to
the activity of playing, the thing is that when the ing form is not
acting as a present participle, or lets say, when its acting like a
noun it doesnt have the properties of a verb, i.e. it cannot be
modified as in playing peacefully and again, in this case the
clause follows the object as if modifying it, whereas this would
never be the case with a gerund).
(9) Having received their final medical check, the
astronauts boarded their spacecraft. (Adverbial clause of time
When they had received their final medical check)
(10) Having picked the team to meet India in the final test
match, the selectors now have to wait till Tuesday to discover
whether or not their choice was wise.

In some cases, this participle is the equivalent of a coordinate clause

with a coordinating conjunction.

(11) Parts of an aircraft fell on to a Somerset village today,

narrowly missing a group of children. (and narrowly missed
a group of children).