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Chalk ‘n’ Talk 03 – ING Forms and Gerunds

A. Adjectives
Usually these adjectives are in front of the noun and can be changed as follows:

Example:
✔ He is an interesting fellow
 He is a fellow (person) who is interesting.

B. Nouns
These look like adjectives. However, they don't work in the same way:

Example:
✔ A swimming pool
 A pool which is used for swimming.

C. Continuous Verb Tense

These -ing verbs always have the verb tense with them.

Examples:
✔ I am waiting for you.
 Present progressive,
✔ I have been waiting for you for five minutes.
 Present perfect progressive.

D. Gerund following a verb

These look like verbs but they act like nouns.

Examples:
✔ I enjoy skiing.
✔ I am looking forward to finishing my final exams.

E. Gerunds as Subjects
Notice that the two subjects have -ing and are gerunds but are singular.

Examples:
✔ Skiing is very expensive in Japan.
✔ Having two dogs is a lot of work.

F. Reduced Relative Clause

In this example, the –ing talking really means who is talking…

Example:
✔ The man talking to my sister is her boss.

G. Verbs of Perception

Example:
✔ I heard the birds singing and I watched the worms turning.

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CT 03 – English Grammar – ING For ms & Gerunds

H. Participial Phrases

Examples:
✔ Listening to the songs on the radio, I began thinking of what the lyrics
meant.
 The example above has the same meaning as: While I was listening…

✔ Having read that book, I thought perhaps of getting another.

 The example above has the same meaning as: After I read that book, I
thought perhaps of getting (buying) another.

Transcript

As I’m sure you are well aware, there are many ing-words in English. Sometimes
they take the form of a gerund or a participle of some sort. Let’s take a look at all
the examples I can think of that you might want to know about for these -ings, so
you can recognize them and perhaps use them in your English.

Screen

1. I saw an interesting movie.

The other film was not exciting.
2. My swimming pool is near a parking lot.
3. I have been living here for 10 years.

Number one: “I saw an interest movie.” or “The other film was not exciting.” I have
two -ings here, and both of them are simply adjectives. ‘The movie was interesting.
I saw it.’ ‘The other film was not exciting.’ Those two, you notice the form there,
“interesting” + noun and then you have your verb “was” and your complement,
“not exciting”. So, example number one: adjectives -ings.

Number two is compound nouns, and I’m sure you are familiar with these. “My
swimming pool is near a parking lot”. One -ing there and another here. There are
many compound nouns like this. A pool which you use for swimming and a lot
which you use for parking. So, “swimming pool” and “parking lot” compound nouns.

And number three, “I have been living here for 10 years.” There’s the -ing; in this
case, that’s the present participle and that’s part of a verb tense. Continuous or
progressive verb tenses will have the –ing. “I have been living here for 10 years.”
Verb tenses.

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CT 03 – English Grammar – ING For ms & Gerunds

Screen
4. Skiing is fun, but I enjoy snowboarding too.

5. Do you see that man running across the road?

6. Yes, I see him running.

Number four, “Skiing is fun, but I enjoy snowboarding too”, -ing –ing. This
construction is called the gerund. It can be the subject of a verb or the subject of a
sentence, “skiing is fun”, and it can follow certain verbs after for example “enjoy”.
There’s your –ing –ing. So, number four, the gerund.

Number five, “Do you see that man running across the road?” There’s your –ing,
right there, “running”. What construction is that? I’ve been calling that in my other
lecture reduced relative clause, reduced adjective clause. Do you see that man who
is running? In here, you are missing the ‘who is’ that is just the reduction of the
relative clause into a relative or adjective phrase. Do you see that man ‘who is
running’ becomes ‘running’.

Number six, “Yes, I see him running”. Another –ing right there. Example number
six is after a verb of perception, a verb, a sense verb. We have ‘see’, ‘ look’, ‘hear’
plus something or someone and then your –ing. It’s a little bit like this one, but it’s
usually followed by (it’s a verb of perception) which is followed by an –ing. So,
number four gerunds, number five reduced relative clauses into a phrase, and
number six a sense verb or a verb of perception followed by something or
somebody and then an –ing.

Screen
7. I became quite tired watching the movie.
(Having already seen the TV movie, I changed
the channel.)

And finally, we come to example number seven, participial phrases. “I became

quite tired watching the movie”. In this first example, here’s your –ing, and you
might be wondering how this fits in. This is just a shortened participial phrase. “I
became quire tired” while I was “watching the movie”. Usually this has an idea of
‘while I was’. So, you could do it this way, ‘watching the movie, I became quite
tired’.

So, you can have a reversal like I’ve done in this one for the past idea. This has a
past idea for the same thing here. “Having already seen the TV movie, I changed
the channel.” There’s your –ing. You see this verb ‘having’ plus the past participle
that acts like a present perfect of the past concept of what you were doing. So, it
already has taken place. So, “I changed the channel, having already seen the TV
movie”. You can switch those around as well. So, in number seven, you have the
participial phrase “while I was watching” or “(while I) or I had already seen the TV

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CT 03 – English Grammar – ING For ms & Gerunds

movie, so I changed the channel”. These two examples are participial phrases.

So, as you can see, there are many (many) –ing words in English, and it’s kind of
handy to know which ones they are and how they work.

Part 2 - Gerunds

Transcript

Let’s have a little lesson on the gerund.

Screen

7. Snowboarding is fun.
8. I enjoy skiing.
9. I am looking forward to going up to the ski hill.

The gerund looks like a verb and acts like a noun. Let me give you an example.
Number one ‘snowboard’. That ends in –ing which a lot of verbs do. But in this case,
this is a gerund and acts like a noun because in this case, number one, it can be the
subject of the sentence. [Let me give you] Let’s continue this idea. “Snowboarding is
fun” but it’s expensive. ‘It’ is the pronoun of the gerund ‘snowboarding’. Ok, a gerund
can be the subject of a sentence like a noun.

Number two. Quite often the gerund is followed by certain verbs. “I enjoy skiing.”
Now here is another gerund ending in –ing, right there. Now, this verb is from a list
of many (many) verbs that can be followed by the gerund. “I enjoy skiing”, “I love
skiing”, just it goes on and on. To understand which verbs to use correctly, which
verbs go with the gerund you just have to memorize them. Get a list and memorize.

Number three. In this case, the gerund is preceded by a phrase [in this case] “I’m
looking forward to going up”. And here’s the gerund right there “going up to the ski
hill”. It’s preceded by “I’m looking forward to”. And so, what you should know about
this type of phrase and followed by a gerund. Don’t get too confused when you have
a ‘to’ plus an –ing together. Quite often that just means there’s a phrase followed by
the gerund, such as this example.

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CT 03 – English Grammar – ING For ms & Gerunds

Review Exercises

A. ING Review
Fill in all the gaps with appropriate words from the box below.

having being understanding interesting

keeping confusing learning

Knowing and _______ all the ING forms in English has been an _______
experience for me. _______ already studied English for many years, I have seen
many _______ forms of this structure, and _______ confused is not my idea of
ideal _______. So, I am keeping with my program of studying only one ING
structure per day while _______ my sanity!

B. Which ING Form?

Match the various forms of ING to the sentences on the right.

1. gerund or gerund phrase A. I smelled the bread burning.

B. While complaining a lot, I also understand

2. participial phrase
a great deal.

3. adjective C. I talked to a man going to Cardiff.

D. I am really annoyed with your

4. reduced relative clause
complaining.
E. The drinking fountain went dry last
5. verb of perception + participle
summer in the drought.

6. compound noun F. The burning barn ended up as ashes only.

C. Gerunds Review
Fill in all the gaps with appropriate words from the box below.

snowboarding speeding being driving

going having skiing trying

I really enjoy _______, because I like _______ fast down a hill on the snow.
_______ is fun too, and I am looking forward to _______ it this winter. I haven't
really appreciated _______ so close to such a wonderful ski hill, and it's time I did!

_______ can get you into trouble with the traffic police. I got caught for _______
too fast last week. I received a ticket, and I hate _______ to pay so much money!

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CT 03 – English Grammar – ING For ms & Gerunds

Answers

A. ING Review

Knowing and understanding all the ING forms in English has been an
interesting experience for me. Having already studied English for many years, I
have seen many interesting forms of this structure, and being confused is not
my idea of ideal learning. So, I am keeping with my program of studying only one
ING structure per day while keeping my sanity!

B. Which ING Form?

1. gerund or gerund phrase D. I am really annoyed with your complaining.

B. While complaining a lot, I also understand

2. participial phrase
a great deal.

3. adjective F. The burning barn ended up as ashes only.

4. reduced relative clause C. I talked to a man going to Cardiff.

5. verb of perception + participle A. I smelled the bread burning.

E. The drinking fountain went dry last summer

6. compound noun
in the drought.

C. Gerunds Review

I really enjoy skiing, because I like going fast down a hill on the snow.
Snowboarding is fun too, and I am looking forward to trying it this winter. I
haven't really appreciated being so close to such a wonderful ski hill, and it's time
I did!

Speeding can get you into trouble with the traffic police. I got caught for driving
too fast last week. I received a ticket, and I hate having to pay so much money!

Online Practice

Click the “Launch” button to open the FLASH version:

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