Uses Of The Ing Form example essay topic

Why I chose this topic As used as it is, students still find it difficult to understand most of the uses of the -ing form. I do not believe there is any other member of all parts of speech that has such a wide range of functions and as much influence on our daily talks and writings as the -ing form. It is interesting to note that, standing alone, the gerund can function as noun, as verbs in non-finite noun clauses, as the complement of to be, as object of a preposition. Moreover, the difficulty that the -ing form posses regarding its translation into Spanish is also a matter to be considered. These are the reasons why I decided to focus my essay on this topic. To begin with, the gerund is a noun in the form of the present participle of a verb (that is ending in -ing) which not only may be qualified by adjectives and adverbs but also it can be used with an article and can have a plural form, while the participles either function as verbal adjectives or operate as verbs in non-finite clauses.

In my opinion, the most commonly known function of the -ing form from the student viewpoint is that used in continuous tenses. Sentences including this form are intended to express simultaneity between the action and the time of speaking or between two or more actions which have not yet been finished, -as in the case of the Present Continuous and the Past Continuous- or which have just stopped -as in the case of the Present Perfect Continuous. However, being able to determine when to use the -ing form is not that simple. To begin with, there are several verbs that are followed by -ing, such as: enjoy, mind, suggest, stop, delay, imagine, consider, admit, miss, involve. Enclosed as annex "A" I listed most of the verbs I could find fitting within this classification. But studying this complete list will not be sufficient to know when to use -ing.

In fact, there are also some phrasal verbs when after which we should also use the -ing form, such as: give up; put off; carry on; go on and keep on. When one verb follows another verb, it is not easy for foreign learners to determine whether they have to use the structure: verb + -ing or the structure verb + to... It may be helpful to mention two guidelines to distinguish which form of the verb should be used: a) the distinction general (for using -ing) vs. particular (when using the infinitive; and b) that we often use -ing for an action that takes place before the first verb or at the same time, i.e. : "She admitted stealing the money". On the contrary, we frequently use the structure verb + to... for an action that follows the first verb, i.e. : "She decided to steal the money".

Needless to say, this difference does not apply to all uses of -ing and to... In fact, some verbs can be followed by -ing or to... with differences of meaning in all sentences including, as an example, the verbs remember, regret, try, need, etc. If a preposition is followed by a verb, such verb should carry the -ing form. In this connection, students should bear in mind that "to" is also a preposition and therefore they cannot assume that the word "to" is always a part of the infinitive. An example of this misleading appearance of the "to" word is that of the structure "to be / get used to", after which we cannot use the infinitive. In fact the word "to" in said structure is a preposition, after which an -ing verb must follow.

Finally, there are also several expressions which, when followed by a verb, the verb ends in -ing, such as those mentioned in the attached annex "B". (Page 124/5 - Murphy). But the gerund is not only used when a verb follows a preposition, but also when a verb follows a prepositional verb or a phrasal verb. So far I have only explained some of the features of the -ing form when used in verbs. However, there are may adjectives ending in -ing, such as boring, interesting, tiring, satisfying, depressing, amusing; exciting, etc. It is interesting to note, and student almost find it easy to learn that the ending in -ing adjectives are not used to describe people, but to describe situations or objects.

When we are describing the way people feel about different situations, we use the -ed form, as opposed to the -ing. Therefore, we would find the following adjectives: bored; interested; tired; satisfied; depressed; amused; excited, etc..