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Questions tagged [present-participles]

The Present Participle is a Verb used as an Adjective. It is formed by adding the suffix -ing to the infinitive form of the Verb.

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Being washed two weeks ago

Is "being" okay in the following? What difference does it make if it is removed? (Being) washed two weeks ago, the car still looks spotlessly clean.
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went away, singing the national anthem?

Can "singing a song" be moved to the front in the following? The students went away, singing the national anthem. Singing a song, the students went away. What about the following? ...
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Present Perfect Participle - Why Present?

Consider this example Having switched off the lights, I went to bed. It implies that I went to bed after I had switched off the lights. The action of switching off the lights happened prior to going ...
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Why is "allowing" used instead of "allows" in "allowing teams to detect problems early"?

I have read an article and noticed a sentence: Each check-in is then verified by an automated build, allowing teams to detect problems early. Why do they use allowing instead of allows?
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determining present participle

Look at this example below You kept me waiting. Why 'waiting' is an example of a present participle? I have found a very decent explanation of participles and how to determine them here. But I am ...
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Selling or sold?

Selling for $40, the gadget will give you great value. Selling for $40, the gadget may seem expensive at first sight. In the context of the sentences, there is no particular item that has been ...
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his being only eight [duplicate]

Kristin: I just wanted to give you a call and ask how your Chattanooga trip was. Susan: Oh, it was great. It was great. It was more fun than a barrel of monkeys. Susan: You know, we took ...
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Use of to-infinitives/present participles that describe a noun

My colleague at work keeps using to-infinitives and present participles that describe a noun in ways that I think are wrong. But I am not 100% sure if they are wrong and why. He says, "PFC converting ...
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"each light deserting her" or "each light was deserting her"?

Her voice compelled me forward breathlessly as I listened -- then the glow faded, each light deserting her with lingering regret like children leaving a pleasant street at dusk". (The Great Gatsby, ...
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Identify piece of grammar?

I had this sentence in my English exercise book: "Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system, being eleven times the size of the earth." So exactly what kind of grammar is it? (with one ...
Flower Power's user avatar
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To see vs Seeing

It felt really nice seeing all the things fall together into place. Vs It felt really nice to see all the things fall together into place. Is this just an infinite- gerund thing? Or are the ...
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That last one being most important

Vog (volcanic fog) is a form of air pollution. It`s made of carbon dioxide, water vapor and sulfur dioxide. That last one being most important. Why did the author use "being" instead of "is"? http:...
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present tense or present participle?

I created the following sentences: Measure the speed of the uncoiled spring returning to its original length. Measure the speed at which the uncoiled spring returns(is returning) to its ...
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Sentence condensers

I got an assignment for my linguistics class, but I don´t understand what it means. Search through the text and find examples of present and past participles, infinitives and gerunds used as ...
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present participle use in different ways

I saw a speeding sedan down the road. The sedan was speeding down the road. The first one is an example of the present participle (as the word speeding is linked with the car acting like an ...
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Why are these participles not gerunds?

Hearing a noise,he woke up. here hearing is said to be a participle. But how it acts as an adjective? Again, By working hard, you can prosper. Is working a participle or gerund?
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Replacing "that" with a present participle

Which makes more sense, or is more correct? one of the three fountains standing in the center of the garden Or one of the three fountains that stand in the center of the garden. I am trying ...
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Difference between following phrase

Many people living in that area are farmers vs Many people who live in that area are farmers And The man standing there is a driver vs The man who is standing there is a driver
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"Go to the next step" or "go on to the next step"?

Go to the next step has more Google hits than go on to the next step. However, a native speaker (from Britain) told me that I should use go on. Maybe this is a case of American vs British English?
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done / having been done + once

Having been chased by street dogs once, he doesn't dare to take that path. An example relating to "___ (tell) many times, he still made the same mistakes" form http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/...
Zhang Jian's user avatar
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what is in it for him to back you

Can one write: 1) What is in it for him backing you against Tom? 2) What is in it for him, backing you against Tom? 3) What is in it for his backing you against Tom? 4) What is in it ...
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Participle clauses

Studying participles with adverbial meaning, I got to know how to shorten complex sentences with the help of V-ing. The topic is quite clear, but I'm wondering about the difference in meaning if we ...
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"My X is to be Y-ing Z" Is this gramatically correct?

For example: "My goal is to be leading a team of people that are skilled in construction." Is this gramatically correct or not? edit: I know "My goal is to lead a team" is better, but is the above ...
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"...than recognize faces" or "... than recognizing faces"

Our brains are incredibly agile machines, and it’s hard to think of anything they do more efficiently than recognize faces. In this sentence, is the word "recognize" grammatically correct, or should ...
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How is "grading exams" understood?

In an application letter, I'm having a bulleted list of educational tasks I performed in the past. One of them is setting up exam texts and grading exams How is "grading exams" understood? Does ...
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Should "risk rape" instead of "risk raping" be used in the sentence?

She had once risked rape herself, when militiamen stopped her car on the road to Kigali at night. The sentence is from an article.I'm confused about the bold part, I think "risked raping herself" ...
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Why is there a comma after "growing up" in the sentence?

He gave the music away for nothing because he believed it should be as freely available as the air you breathed, or as the wild blackberries and raspberries he used to gorge on, growing up, in the ...
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Participle clause as sentence without conjugated verb?

I've recently come across a sentence in an essay I proofread that went something like "Focusing on these experimental and statistical strategies." I thought it wasn't really a sentence and suggested ...
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Why do we say "English-speaking world" rather "spoken-English world", while "spoken English" rather than "speaking English"?

Why do we say "spoken English" rather than "speaking English", while "English-speaking world" rather "spoken-English world"? Since "English in writing" is right, how about "writing English"?
Zhang Jian's user avatar
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What's the difference between "person who waits for..." and "person waiting for..."?

Which one is right? Just an ordinary person who waits for an idiot. Just an ordinary person waiting for an idiot. I've been confused about this thing. I need someone help me to answer this or ...
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Present participle of 'feel' and change in meaning

"I feel lucky" "I am feeling lucky." Do both sentences convey same meaning?I have read that emotive verbs are not used in participle form on account of their meaning?
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Is 'of' needed in 'his playing (of) cards'?

"I saw him playing cards." When this line is transformed, which of two following is correct and why? "I saw his playing cards". "I saw his playing of cards."
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Gerund vs Participle

"I saw the storm approaching." In above line approaching is describing storm. Gerund is used as objective complement to describe object. Participle like an adjective describes a noun or pronoun. ...
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My question is about usage of tenses

While writing an essay on "My Book" We write " I bought it from the market" Why don't we write " I have bought it from the market" or " I had bought it from the market"? Asked 1m ago
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using V-ing after When

Actually I'm doing a Grammar exercise that require me to identify mistake in a sentence. Here's the sentence: (A)When hearing the weather forecast, we decide (B)not to go camping (C)in the (D) ...
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The Rules of using the "ing" verb?

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, ...
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What do Highlighted words indicate?

I don't understand why the writer highlights the following words in the given sentence: "despite having to use an interpreter I was able to find out." The highlighted words are as follows: ...
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Is this participle correctly used?

Usually when a present participle is modifying a noun, that noun is the subject of the sentence. In this sentence, the modified noun, however, isn't the subject. The sentence sounds a little ...
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"I've been loving you" is not a formal English

The phrase I've been loving you is not formal English. Or so I'm told. I can't figure out what is wrong, though, please someone kindly explain. I did google and found on WordReference the thread: ...
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difference between "looking" and "looked" here-

It left the German Embassy looking as though it had been racked by an earthquake. It left the German Embassy looked as though it had been racked by an earthquake. Is the #2 a correct ...
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I am teaching him English

I teach him English. I teaching him English. I am teaching him English. Are these sentences above grammatically correct?
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A Problem with Present Participle

Waiting for John, I made some tea. [1] I have a participle clause above and I want to find the original clause. The sentence is from this link. I have two choices presented as follows: While I was ...
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1 answer
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Thank you for fix/fixing the pending items.

Which form should I use after thank you? Which one is correct? Is there third option? Thank you for fix the pending items. Thank you for fixing the pending items
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Usage of “being” in “as not being …”

Why the word being is included in this sentence “she eliminated her without a second thought as not being to her husband's taste”?
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Can I use 'having' in a noun clause?

Let's say there is a person in a room who has a blue pen in his hand. Can I say something like this: Whom should I ask from? The one having a blue pen Or I only have to answer like this The one who ...
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How to tell whether ing forms are gerunds or participles

So I looked up the meanings of the word "former" and the descriptions were as follows : Having previously been a particular thing. Denoting the first or first mentioned of two people or things....
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What does it mean when the sentence take the form of '~ , meaning ~'?

I often see sentences that take the form of ". . . , doing . . . ". I'm not sure what exactly it means. I want to do some research for this sentence pattern, but I even don't know the keyword to ...
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Possessive gerund [duplicate]

After watching this video with the following examples: I appreciate your coming here. He resents Marry's being promoted. I am tired of Migel's complaining. I do not understand why in this exercise (...
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travel: travelling / feel: feeling [duplicate]

If the verb ends with a vowel plus -l (as in travel or equal), then you need to double the l before adding -ed and -ing in British English. Oxford Dictionaries Is it a general rule in British English?...
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When describing an action in a picture should I use present progressive or simple tense?

When describing an action in a picture should I use present progressive tense or present simple tense? For example if I want to write a title for the following picture, it should be: "This ...
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