Present Participle

Often called "the -ing form" or "the continuous form" is one of the verb forms that exist in the English language. It is the form of a verb that the main verbs in continuous tenses get.

The formation of the present participle is very simple: we add the -ing to the base form of a verb, e.g.:

• I am working tonight.

"Work" is the base form of the verb, and "working" is the present participle.

• I  am trying to sound smart.

"Try" is the base form of the verb, and "trying" is the present participle.

Sometimes the present participle is irregular.

1. doubled letter

In these examples we can see that one of the letters is doubled.

• swim + ing = swimming
• run + ing = running
• get + ing = getting

2. "e" removed

• write + ing = writing
• move + ing = moving

The present participle must not be confused with gerunds.