In the English language, word endings play a huge role, although there are not so many of them when compared with the Russian language. They change depending on what tense is used and what role this or that part of speech plays in the sentence. In this article we will look at the rules for writing the ending -ing in English.
Long time
First, let's figure out when to use the ending -ing in English? According to the rules of grammar, this ending is primarily used to form long tenses that depict an action in progress. There are present, past and future continuous tenses. All of them are formed according to the same principle: the auxiliary verb to be in the required form plus a semantic verb that ends in -ing. Examples:
- I'm walking now. I am walking now. This continuous action is presented in the present tense.
- I was walking when she returned. When she came back, I was walking. And this continuous action is presented in the past tense.
- I'll be walking tomorrow at six o'clock. I will be walking tomorrow at six o’clock. And finally, a continuous action in the future tense.
First Communion
Participle 1 has the properties of not only a verb, but also an adjective. According to the rules, the ending -ing in English is written the same way at the end of the first participle. It helps to describe an action that occurs simultaneously with another, expressed by the predicate. Examples:
Look at the woman reading this magazine. Look at the woman reading this magazine. The word “reading” appears as a participle in this sentence.
Adding the -ing ending in English. Rules.
So, it's not enough to just add that ending at the end of a word. Some conditions must be met, for example, pay attention to which letter the word ends with.
If a word ends in -e, then according to the rules, the ending -ing in English displaces the last letter:
Bite - biting, close - closing.
If a word ends with the vowel combination -ie, then the ending is added as follows:
Lie turns into lying, and die becomes dying according to the same principle. That is, -ie is replaced by y and an ending is added at the end of the word.
If the last letter is a consonant with a preceding stressed vowel, then the consonant is doubled:
If a word ends in l, then a variable spelling is possible. This is due to the peculiarities of British English and American.
These were the basic rules for using the -ing ending. They need to be learned and assimilated, because in oral speech one often has to mention any long-term actions or use participles. It is necessary to use endings correctly; this is the key to correct speech and writing.
The verb in the form of an infinitive or gerund is found very often in English and at first gives beginners a lot of difficulties. Gerund is mistaken for the present continuous, although the gerund looks like a verb with ing and is never used with be. For example, in the sentence “I go swimming to the lake in summer", swimming is a gerund. We will translate it as “I walk swim to the lake in the summer."
Infinitive with the particle to causes many difficulties in translation. Very often in Russian you need to use additional words or subordinate clauses. For example, the simple sentence “He stood up to say something" as soon as they don't translate it until they realize that the correct option would be "He got up, (in order to something say».
English verb forms
There are a total of 5 options for how an English verb can look:
- initial form of the verb (infinitive)
– verb ending –s (es) – Used for present simple
- verb ending in ing - used for continuous tenses, as a gerund, participle or adjective.
- verb ending –ed (2nd and 3rd form)
- irregular verbs (2nd and 3rd form)
The most common are the 2 forms of the verb - infinitive And verb ending in ing. These 2 forms are part of different tenses, are used in conjunction with modal verbs, and often convey only an additional action, without reference to time. We will talk about the latter case in our article.
Remember an important rule:
An infinitive or gerund is a verb that is not part of the predicate and does not carry tense.
Other names you may come across: Complex object, complex object, to-infinitive and verb -ing.
So, we already know that a verb is not always a predicate, it does not always convey time. In Russian you can often find a verb in the indefinite form (initial form):
He wanted help.
“Help” is the initial form of the verb, it is free of tense. In English grammar this topic is called " Infinitive and gerund."
Infinitive(infinitive) is a verb in the initial form, a verb without changes. The infinitive is usually preceded by the particle to.
Gerund(gerund, ing-clause, participle with -ing) is a verb with the ending ing, which is not part of the continuous tense. It is never preceded by the particle to.
When there are several verbs in a row in an English sentence, the first one is predicate (responsible for tense), and the next verb, free of tense, is in the form of an infinitive/gerund. There can be several such verbs in one sentence.
The infinitive and gerund are usually found in the second half of the sentence. But you may encounter situations where to-infinitive or ing-verb begin a sentence. The infinitive/gerund will not always appear in the second half of the sentence. But in most cases you will meet them in this position.
When in a Russian sentence you see a verb in the initial form (“do”, “play”, “worry”), then in English it will most likely be translated as an infinitive (“to do”, “worry”), or less often as a gerund. There is practically no difference in the translation of the infinitive and gerund.
The infinitive and gerund are translated in several ways:
- initial form of the verb (“to do”)
- participle (“doing”)
- subordinate clause (“to do...”).
- gerund can also be translated as a noun
Unfortunately, there are no clear rules for using these two forms. Native speakers often use these 2 forms on a whim or because it is customary in a given area. But still, there are general recommendations for choosing the desired verb form, let's study them.
Usually the infinitive or gerund is chosen based on what it stands for in front of him:
- verb
- verb + object
- adjective
- preposition
There is a list of verbs after which the next verb is usually placed in the form of an infinitive or in the form of a gerund. You need to memorize a list of such verbs.
Now let's look at the basic rules that govern the infinitive or gerund.
Infinitive
There are verbs in English that are followed by an infinitive with the particle to to indicate additional action.
List of verbs followed by an infinitive with to
want - want
need - to need
plan - plan
decide – decide, make a decision
offer - to offer
hope - to hope
promise - promise
try - try
forget – to forget
learn – study
The connective would like - would like
I promise to call you later. - I promise to call you later.
He forgot to call me. - He forgot to call me.
The infinitive usually follows immediately after the verb. But often they can be separated by the object to which the action-predicate is directed.
I asked Mike to call me. - I asked Mike call.
Between the verb asked and the infinitive to come there is an object (Mike) to which the action is directed.
Very often we indicate the object after the following verbs:
ask - to ask
tell - to speak
advice - advise
expect - expect
persuade - to convince
teach – to teach
Features of using the infinitive after make, let and help
After verbs make and let always We use the infinitive, but without the particle to.
The verb let conveys the meaning of “to allow.”
Let me go. - Let me go. (Let me go).
In the imperative mood, we went through the connective let’s, which in its full form looks like the verb let with the object us.
let’s = let us – let us (literally)
When there is another verb after make, in this case the verb make means “to force (someone to do).” After make we indicate who the action is directed to (we indicate the object).
Make John work. - Make John work.
After the verb help we can indicate the infinitive either with or without the particle to. The meaning does not change.
Help me finish my work. = Help me to finish my work. - Help me finish my work.
Infinitive after adjectives in English
If you need to put a verb after a connective verb to be + adjective, then use the infinitive with the particle to. Please note that in Russian we translate the connective to be + adjective as an adverb.
It is difficult to understand English. – It’s difficult to understand English.
difficult – difficult (adjective), but we translate it into Russian as the adverb “difficult”.
Popular revolutions:
It’s good to... - It’s good...
It’s nice (of you) to... - It’s nice...
I’m sorry to... - Sorry for...
I’m happy to... - I’m glad...
Infinitive to indicate the reason for an action
If an English speaking person wants to indicate reason for action(the purpose for which it is performed), then he will use the infinitive with the particle to. When translating into Russian, you need to use a subordinate clause that begins with the words: “in order to” or a shorter version of “in order.”
I saw Make and stopped tosay Hello. – I saw Mike and stopped, to say hello.
Gerund
A gerund is something between a verb and a noun. Because of this, it is translated differently - as a noun, a verb, and a participle, although the gerund is always formed from verbs. In English, a gerund is grammatically closer to a noun than to a verb.
Gerund after prepositions
If after the first verb (predicate) there is a preposition, then we always use the second verb with the ending –ing. This is one of the “reinforced concrete” rules that you should know well.
General scheme:
predicate + preposition + gerund
Keep on working. - Continue work.
Verbs followed by a gerund
List of popular verbs after which it is customary to use gerund.
Verbs that indicate the beginning, duration or end of a process:
start*, begin* - start
stop - stop
finish - finish
give up (= stop) - stop
continue* - continue
carry on / go on / keep (on) (= continue) - continue
*after these verbs you can use not only a gerund, but an infinitive. The meaning does not change.
I gave up smoking many years ago. - I quit smoke many years ago.
Verbs denoting attitude towards something:
love* – to love
like* – like
hate* – to hate
prefer* - to prefer
dislike - not to love
enjoy - like
*after these verbs you can use not only a gerund, but an infinitive.
Those verbs that I marked * refer to controversial cases. Don't be surprised if you find an infinitive after them in some cases, and a gerund in others. The choice of form depends on the person, and is not regulated by clear rules.
I hate getting up early. - I I hate getting up early in the morning.
Verbs of sensory perception:
see - to see
watch - watch
hear - to hear
listen to - listen
I saw him entering the cafe. - I saw, How is he came in in the cafe.
Other verbs:
suggest - suggest
mind - to keep in mind, to object
avoid - avoid
practice - practice in
The connective can’t help – I can’t help but (do this)
The link can’t stand – I can’t stand it (I hate it)
The connective look forward to - wait impatiently (always used with the particle to)
I can't help feeling responsible for what happened. - I I can't help but feel responsibility for what happened.
The predicate + gerund connective can be expanded and the object to which the action is directed can be placed between them
verb + somebody + -ing
You can't stopmedoing what I want. - You can not interfere to me do what I want.
Gerund after verbs go and like
When you want to say what kind of sport you do or are interested in, you use a linking verb for this go+ gerund. Go in this case no longer literally translates “to go”, but conveys the meaning “ engage in this sport" There may also be an action that you perform regularly. Can be used instead of go like in meaning " I like doing this».
go+ verb –ing- I am engaged in this type of activity
like+ verb –ing- I love doing this type of activity
Some popular expressions with go:
go swimming– go swimming (swim)
go jogging– go jogging
go fishing- to fish
go shopping- go shopping
go running- run
go skiing- ski
I go jogging every morning. - I I'm running every morning.
Gerund in noun position
You can often find a gerund at the beginning of a sentence, in which case it becomes a noun. We can translate it into Russian as a noun or as a verb in the initial form.
Learning English is very useful nowadays. – Study (teach) English is very useful nowadays.
Now that we have become familiar with the basic rules by which the infinitive and gerund function in English, you can watch additional detailed lessons on this topic: Unit 53 - Unit 68.
English grammar has its own characteristics.In order to speak a foreign language fluently, you need to know the rules of sentence construction and the basics of word formation. Once the basics become clear, expressing your thoughts in English will not cause difficulties. One of the important components of grammar is ending ing in English. Rules We will look at its use below.
In what cases is the ending -ing used?
There are three such cases:
- Gerund.
- Verbal noun.
- Present participle.
In order to understand in what cases ing (the ending in English) is used, the rules of use need to be thoroughly memorized. This will help you understand the essence of the above concepts.
What is a gerund?
The gerund is difficult to understand because it does not have a similar grammatical form in Russian. A gerund is a verb in impersonal form that is used to name an action. The peculiarity of the gerund is that it combines an action and an object or process. When it is formed, the ending ing in English is used. The rules for constructing sentences are quite simple. For example: I love playing different games. - I like to play different games.
When to use the gerund
The gerund is used in the following cases:
- After certain verbs such as enjoy, finish, suggest and others.
- When forming stable phrases using certain prepositions. For example, the idea of to be good at, the advantage of and so on .
- After the adjectives worth and busy.
- After the prepositions on (upon), after, before and others.
In what cases is a verbal noun used?
When forming a verbal noun, the ending ing is used in English. The rules for its translation are quite simple, since a noun is also used to denote it in Russian.
Verbal nouns are used in speech with an article or a possessive pronoun. A verbal noun can be either singular or plural. For example: Her loud talking gets on my nerves.
In what cases is the present participle used?
- A participle is used before a noun, in which there is ending ing. Rules in English The construction of a sentence can be clearly seen in the following example: The rising sun is very beautiful.
- In sentences with participle phrases:The girl standing by the door is my sister.
- In sentences that consist of a verb, an object and a participle: She saw him getting on the bus.
- When forming the tenses Present, Perfect, Future and Past Continuous. To form this group of tenses, a verb ending - ing. For example: She was watching TV when somebody knocked at the door. In this sentence the Past Continuous tense is used. He is driving to office at the moment (Present Continuous tense).He was very tired, he had been working hard all week (Past Perfect Continuous). Don"t call me tomorrow between 1 and 2, I’ll be having dinner (Future Continuous tense).
The phrase to be going to, what it means and when it is used
In addition to the above cases of using the ending -ing in English, there is a stable phrase to be going to, in which a verb ending in -ing is also used. Using this phraseological unit, any actions that will be performed in the near future are expressed. The infinitive is attached to this phrase and means the action that a person is going to perform. This expression is translated into Russian as “going to do or accomplish something.” For example, I "m going to visit my friend. - I will go to visit my friend.
Ing is the ending in English. Writing rules
There are few writing rules, only 4.
- When a verb ends with a consonant preceded by a stressed vowel, the consonant is doubled: run - running.
- If there is no stressed vowel before the last consonant, then there is no doubling either: open - opening .
- When a word ends in -e, the ending is omitted: take - taking.
- If a word ends in -ie, this combination of letters is replaced by y: lie - lying.
English grammar is fraught with many interesting surprises. Well, where else can you find a word that is able to fulfill several morphological roles without even changing a single letter? But in English there is a whole group of such unique words that can be different parts of speech. And this is due to the ing form of the verb in English. After all, with the ending –ing, a verb can turn into a noun or even an adjective. For us, such transformations are simply a gift - you only need to learn one word, and several of its contexts will become clear at once. Let's just learn to distinguish them.
Traditionally, verbs take the ending -ing in the Continuous and Perfect Continuous tenses. Actually, it is in this part of the word that the main meaning of these groups is hidden: to show the process of action, its duration, and not the fact of its occurrence. Therefore, when translating such words into Russian, imperfective verbs are used. Such predicates are used in sentences of all times and are adjacent to constructions tobe, havebeen.
| Group | The present | Past | Future |
| Continuous | We are playing chess now. We let's play now in chess. |
We were playing chess in that moment. We were playing at that moment in chess. |
We will be playing chess in this time tomorrow. We are tomorrow at this time we'll play play chess. |
| Perfect Continuous | It has been raining for a week already. Rain coming already a week. |
It had been raining for a week already. Rainwalked alreadyweek. |
Tomorrow it will have been raining for a week. Tomorrow will be a week already coming rain. |
Also, the ing form of the verb is found in English in sentences using the combination Future in Past, if the phrase has a continuous form.
And the last case of using such an ending in a verb occurs in the stable phrase to be going to (plan, intend to do something). By the way, the first part of such a combination ( tobegoing) is translated by verbs of the imperfect form, and the second is already perfect:
- I am going to read this book – I I'm going to read it this book.
- Are you going to tell him the truth? –You are you going to tell tell him the truth?
Before forming the continuous tense, you need to memorize a few simple rules for composing such verbs. Their spelling contains the following grammatical features:
- Verbs with unreadable endings e they lose this letter, but leave with what they read: choos e – choosing, s ee – seeing.
- In words ending in ie, this ending changes to y:l ie–l y ing. If the ending of the verb y, then it remains: fl y– fl y
- After stressed endings, the consonants are doubled, but for unstressed endings, doubling does not occur: bese t – bese tt ing,drin k –drin k ing. If a word originally had two consonants, they are retained: befa ll –befa ll ing.
It remains to add that when reading and pronouncing this ending, we pronounce the nasal, i.e. it turns out that the sound g virtually inaudible.
Other parts of speech with ing endings
The ending ing in English can also apply to a noun, adjective, participle and gerund.
Noun
A verbal noun is closely related to the continuous tense, since it expresses the result of an action that took place, for example: tobecooking- prepare, cooking- cooking. Often, a noun is confused with a special grammatical category - a gerund, which has exactly the same ending. To distinguish between these parts of speech, you need to remember that:
- The gerund is used with the possessive case, but cannot have an article, attribute, plural or any numerals.
- A noun has the clauses listed above, but cannot control a direct object, so the preposition of is used.
The semantic meaning of these designs is also excellent. The gerund expresses processes, and the noun expresses the subject of activities.
Adjective
Adjectives with ing are also formed from a verb and mean attributes/qualities of people or objects that can make an impression: to amaze, surprise, interest, i.e. evoke a certain response.
- It is an amazing film!- This amazing movie!
- Your matter is very interesting. – YourscaseVeryinteresting .
They should not be confused with adjectives –ed, since they describe the opposite case, i.e. reaction of perception, and relate not to the object, but to the person on whom a certain effect is exerted.
| It is an interesting book.
It's an interesting book. |
I am interested in this book. I'm interested in this book. |
Participle and gerund
Often such words are used in the form of participles, and even the official name of ing verbs: participleI or present participle, it is also the third form of the verb. A participle can refer to a predicate, which we studied in the first section, and also act as a definition of a noun or create participial/adverbial phrases.
In addition, the vocabulary of the English language has words that themselves contain the ending - ing: during, doping, casting, etc. Actually, they all retain the value of the duration of the action, the execution of the process.
This concludes our study of one of the most common endings. You will have to meet with him quite often, so if you have not mastered the material well enough, then it is better to work through it again. Good luck in English!
There are many cases in which it is necessary to transform a word, adding a meaning that is not as strong as in Russian. Since English is an analytical language, grammatical relationships are expressed using various function words, unlike Russian, which belongs to the category of synthetic languages. In the latter, grammatical functions are more clearly expressed using various morphemes: prefixes, endings, suffixes.
Most often, the “ing” ending is used when using impersonal verb forms (gerund, present participle, infinitive) and when forming continuous tenses. However, verbs ending in -ing in English are not the only cases of such word formation. There are also adjectives with this ending.
Group of tenses Continuous and Perfect Continuous
When forming long tenses, to be is used in combination with the participle of a verb that conveys the essence of the statement. The form of the participle in this case is in the present tense.
- I am watering the camomiles in my garden. - I water the daisies in my garden (Present Contiuous).
- I had been watering the camomiles for twenty minutes when suddenly it began to rain. - I was watering the daisies for 20 minutes when it suddenly started to rain (Past Perfect Continuous).
Using a verb ending -ing in combination with an infinitive: examples
The infinitive is an impersonal verb form that indicates only an action in the process. In this case, the person, number and pledge are not indicated. It is translated into Russian in an indefinite form (that is, a verb that answers the question: “What to do?”). Formed by adding the particle to before the verb.
There is such a thing as Continuous; there is no analogue to this form. It is translated mainly by a verb in the personal form. Formed by to be + a semantic verb ending in -ing. (the ending in English is added according to the rules listed in the special section of this article).
- She was so happy to be playing the grand piano. - She was so happy to play the piano.
- The water for our tea seems to be boiling. - The water for our tea seems to be boiling.
- They are sorry to have been coming so late. - They're sorry they were so late.
Present Patriciple
Participle is one of the impersonal verbal forms of the English language. The analogues of this concept in Russian are participle and gerund. In a sentence, it most often serves as an adverbial adverb.
- The talking girl is my friend's sister. - The girl who is talking now (the talking girl) is my friend's sister.
- He must be listening to you. - He's probably listening to you.
- Having visited my sister, I went home. - After visiting my sister, I went home.
- Standing near the lake, she admired the picturesque landscape. - Standing by the lake, she admired the picturesque view.
Using the gerund
The Gerund is one of the impersonal verb forms. Combines the characteristics of a noun and a verb. A gerund, like a noun, can act as both the subject and secondary members of a sentence: an object, a nominal part of the predicate.
There are a number of words that require the use of a gerund after them. Verbs after which the gerund is required:
- admit - admit;
She admitted being dishonest. - She admitted that she was dishonest. - accuse of - accuse;
They accused her of cheating. - They accused her of cheating. - be fond of - to love;
My mother fond of knitting. - My mother loves to knit. - be proud of - to be proud;
She was proud of being the best student. - She was proud of being the best student. - be interested in - to be interested;
I am interested in being here. - I'm interested in being here. - be engaged in - to be busy;
She was engaged in cooking. - She was busy preparing dinner. - complete - finish;
He will complete teaching soon. - He will stop teaching soon. - mind - to object;
I don't mind waiting there. - I don't mind waiting there. - practice - to train, to practice;
I practice playing the piano every day. - I practice playing the piano every day. - recommend - advise;
They recommended buying the purple dress. - They recommended buying a purple dress. - recall - remember;
I recall visiting the great place - paradise of the Pacific. - I remember how I visited a wonderful place - a piece of paradise in the Pacific Ocean.
Other uses of the "ing ending"
The ing ending in English is found not only in verbs, but also in adjectives:
- The end of that book was surprising. - The ending of the book was unexpected.
- The film was interesting. - The film was interesting.
Rules for adding endings
There are a number of rules to keep in mind when adding the -ing ending in English.
Rules for adding an “ing” ending:
- The last letter of a monosyllable word is doubled:
sit - sitting, stop - stopping; - The silent vowel -e at the end of the word is removed and replaced with the ending -ing:
change - changing, make - making; - the vowel combination -ie at the end is replaced by -y, then the ending is simply added:
tie - tying, lie - lying; - in other cases -ing is added without any transformation of the base word:
start - starting, read - reading, play - playing.
To better master this topic, it is important to devote some time to exercises and working on sentences that will include words ending in ing. “Ending in English” is a fairly simple topic.