The Gerund & 'ING' Form

The Gerund and the Present Participle: 'ING' Form
INTRODUCTION

The '-ing' form of the verb may be a present participle or a gerund.

The form is identical, the difference is in the function, or the job the word does in the sentence.
The present participle:

This is most commonly used:

* as part of the continuous form of a verb,
he is painting; she has been waiting

* after verbs of movement/position in the pattern:
verb + present participle,
She sat looking at the sea

* after verbs of perception in the pattern:
verb + object + present participle,
We saw him swimming

* as an adjective, e.g. amazing, worrying, exciting, boring

The gerund:

This always has the same function as a noun (although it looks like a verb), so it can be used:

* as the subject of the sentence:
Eating people is wrong.

* after prepositions:
Can you sneeze without opening your mouth?
She is good at painting

* after certain verbs,
e.g. like, hate, admit, imagine

* in compound nouns,
e.g. a driving lesson, a swimming pool, bird-watching, train-spotting