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I read this. I know that 'non cricketing' in various contexts such as non-cricketing nations, non-cricketing players has been used by many editors. I found this:

-ing is a gerund, a noun formed from a verb.

In this sense, cricket (as a verb) became 'cricketing'.

Now the question. Given examples like the following:

If Japan is a non-cricketing country, is there any non-soccering nation? ALSO,
Do non-chessing people have low IQ?

How do we use gerunds when talking about games/sports? Or is the game of cricket an exception?

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  • Yes, cricket as a verb is also something I'd like to have clarification on.
    – Maulik V
    Nov 25, 2013 at 5:55
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    Putting the question aside, I don't believe that playing chess has any relation to IQ score at all. PS. I also wonder that why they use the term a cricketing masterclass, not a cricket masterclass. Must be some subtleties. Nov 25, 2013 at 7:48
  • @DamkerngT. Ah, that's correct. It was just an example that came in my mind. I never meant that. :)
    – Maulik V
    Nov 25, 2013 at 8:15
  • Then I suggest that you change the wording in question No.2, I also thought you were making a sweeping statement on people who don't play chess! Ask if one could use the expression "non-chessing (players) people" in place of people who don't play or dislike playing chess
    – Mari-Lou A
    Nov 25, 2013 at 8:34
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    I had no idea that cricket was widely used as a verb. Man, this place is educational. May 27, 2014 at 2:49

2 Answers 2

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- ing

Wikipedia has this to say on the usage of -ing

-ing is a suffix used to make one of the inflected forms of English verbs. This verb form is used as a present participle, as a gerund, and sometimes as an independent noun or adjective.

Uses

The -ing form of a verb has both noun uses and adjectival (or adverbial) uses. In either case it may function as a non-finite verb (for example, by taking direct objects), or as a pure noun or adjective. When it behaves as a non-finite verb, it is called a gerund in the noun case, and a present participle in the adjectival or adverbial case. Uses as pure noun or adjective may be called deverbal uses.

Cricket is not usually considered a verb, native speakers won't normally say:"They cricket" or "he loves to cricket" but instead "they go cricketing", "he lovesto play cricket" or "he loves playing cricket". Because cricket is already a noun, it's unnecessary to use the ing form when we want to make it the subject of a sentence.

Cricket is played in 104 countries

and when it is the object

He's mad about cricket

In the OP's question, cricketing is used as an adjective, "cricketing nations / terms / shots". Each of these expressions can be searched online.

Footballing is often heard and is a word I'm familiar with in British English, it too is used as an adjective and should be placed before nouns. For example, "Christiano Ronaldo - Footballing Superstar"

In the Cambridge Dictionary it is defined as; relating to or playing football:

It was the high point of his footballing career.
A footballing country/hero

Soccering exists and has earned its place in wiktionary: verb; present participle of soccer. Hence the noun, soccer, is conveniently used as a verb. Online I found several instances of the word used to tag images of children playing soccer.

"This is my friend soccering it up!"

Golfing is a noun, verb and an adjective. "I love golfing", "I go golfing at the weekend" and "We went on a golfing holiday" are expressions widely used. Non-golfing in Google books produced a respectable 1,740 results

Chess is a board game, not a sport so I can't imagine it ever becoming a verb in its own right, or chessing even being used as an adjective. You can say someone is "a chess star" and that "he's playing chess later tonight". I can't think of any board game with -ing suffix but possibly tiddlywinking might work!

Kayaking, judoing, basketballing, baseballing, cross(-)countrying, snowboarding, hockeying, etc. all exist with the ing forms and can be used as present participles, as adjectives or non-finitive verbs.

Basically, if you want to add "ing" to any sport or team game there's nothing to stop you, native speakers have been doing exactly that for decades, likewise adding the prefix "non". Some expressions (cricketing and footballing) catch on while others don't. I have yet to hear tennising (?tennissing) or gymnasting but no doubt someone, somewhere, has coined these expressions and I have to admit, I would easily understand their meaning.

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  • But is it incorrect to say "Christiano Ronaldo is a football superstar"? Nov 26, 2013 at 8:59
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    No, of course not. Perfectly fine :)
    – Mari-Lou A
    Nov 26, 2013 at 9:00
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Cricket is a noun, not a verb. You can't create a gerund from it. However, you can make it work if you add "playing" to the context. Example: India is a cricket-playing country. The United States is not a cricket-playing country". Notice I didn't use "non-" as the prefix as it is very awkward and makes for an ugly sentence.

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  • The word cricket is an intransitive verb. And, in that context only the question came to my mind. Had it been just a noun, it was all clear. 'Non-cricketing nation/country' is used in many dailies from all across the world.
    – Maulik V
    Nov 26, 2013 at 6:53
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    At some point, the verb cricket was zero derived from the noun. Zero derivation is highly productive in English--although sometimes we pretend that it's not, at least when we're trying to speak Standard English. But for at least some speakers, the ship has sailed on the derivation of the verb cricket.
    – user230
    Nov 26, 2013 at 9:14
  • @Karen927 "It's not the verbing that weirds English, it's the renounification." -- Anon. May 27, 2014 at 2:47

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