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I am a little confused with the way "ing" verbs are used. As English is my second language I can't seem to quite understand how it's used.

For example:

"...doing lots of outdoor activities, assisting them to grow up as healthy children."

"Assisting them to grow up as healthy children."

Are both of them right? If not which one is? If the second one is right, which word is subject and verb in the sentence?

I don't quite understand what I don't understand, but wasn't there some words required before an "ing" word?

EDIT FULL SENTENCE:

"As a result, living in (location) gives benefits to children because the parks offer a safe location for them to play outside, moreover doing lots of outdoor activities, assisting them to grow up as health children."

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  • This might be more of a question for the ELL SE. By the way, are these sentences ones you've written yourself, or did you read them somewhere? It might help to provide a bit more context by completing the first sentence and explaining whether the second one appears within an article or whether it's a title or heading or an answer to a question (as part of a dialogue). Different rules apply in different cases. – rjpond Sep 15 '17 at 22:47
  • Those are my own sentences, and also may I ask what ELL SE is? – Frost Zone Sep 15 '17 at 22:55
  • ell.se is the StackExchange site for English Language Learners. – StoneyB on hiatus Sep 15 '17 at 23:30
  • assisting is a noun here not a verb and both of your examples are incomplete. – user61367 Sep 16 '17 at 0:18
  • This question cannot be answered without the context which @rjpond asks about: at the very least the entire sentence in which these phrases occur. – StoneyB on hiatus Sep 16 '17 at 0:25
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This sentence is a little confusing because it is itself gramatically wrong in some areas. I will try to address the three bolded verbs:

As a result, **living** in (location) gives benefits to children because the parks offer a safe location for them to play outside

"Living" is a gerund in this case, meaning it is a verb used as a noun. You could replace "living" with "the decision to live" ("the decision" being the noun), or "life". This part of the sentence is fine.

moreover doing lots of outdoor activities

"Moreover" is not necessary here. Also, "doing" is not the correct word choice, although that is subtle. Most importantly, there is no reason for the -ing ending here. If I were writing this sentence, I would say "and participate in lots of outdoor activities" (or "and do lots of outdoor activities", using the verb "do").

assisting them to grow up as health children.
  1. Health should be "healthy".
  2. Here, "assisting" is not correct word choice--most native speakers would say "allowing" or "encouraging".
  3. The reason "assisting" is in the -ing form, is that it is the present participle verb form, and "living" is the subject. Note the difference from the 2nd verb: "children" are the subject of "doing", while "living" is the subject of "assisting".

If I were writing this sentence, I would say:

As a result, living in [location] benefits children because the parks offer a safe place for them to play outside and participate in lots of outdoor activities, allowing them to grow up as healthy children.

I hope this helps. I know that -ing verbs are one of the most confusing parts of English.

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