What is the difference between a gerund and a present participle?

The form is the same. The job is not. A gerund occupies a noun slot: Reading keeps me awake. A present participle occupies a verb slot: She is reading, or a reduced clause: the woman reading by the window. If you can replace the word with this activity, you have a gerund. If it is helping a tense or reducing who is / which is, you have a participle.

When do I drop the -e before -ing?

When the -e is silent: make, making; write, writing; come, coming. Keep the e in seeing and agreeing, because those verbs end in -ee. Change -ie to -y: die, dying; lie, lying. Be becomes being, keeping the e.

Why is it looking forward to seeing and not to see?

Because the to in look forward to is a preposition, the same to as in a key to the door. Prepositions take -ing. The infinitive marker to (I hope to see you) is a different word that just happens to look the same. Be used to, object to, and prefer tea to coffee use the preposition as well.

Do I need the gerund-or-infinitive list on this page?

No. This page is the form: slots, spelling, and the reliable preposition rule. Enjoy, finish, avoid, want, decide, remember, stop, and try belong on the verbs-followed-by-gerund-or-infinitive page, where the choice after a verb is the whole topic.

English grammar · Intermediate

The -ing Form: Gerund, Adjective, Participle, and Spelling

Written by Eleanor Whitfield, Lead English Curriculum Editor · Reviewed September 2026

The -ing form is the verb shape made with the ending -ing: swimming, writing, sitting. English uses that one shape as a noun (a gerund: Swimming helps), as an adjective (a leaking tap), as a participle in continuous tenses and reduced clauses (She is writing; the man sitting opposite), and after prepositions (after leaving, good at drawing). This page is about the form itself: those jobs, and the spelling rules for dropping -e, doubling a consonant, and changing -ie to -y. Which verbs take -ing rather than a to-infinitive is a separate, longer lesson.

Swimming in the mornings cleared her head.

swimming as a noun, the subject of cleared

What it is

English has one ending, -ing, and several jobs for it. As a gerund, the -ing form names an activity and behaves like a noun: it can be the subject, the object, or the complement of a preposition (Painting relaxes me. I enjoy painting. I'm tired of painting). As an adjective, it describes a noun (a waiting room, a leaking pipe). As a participle, it helps build continuous tenses (is painting) and reduced clauses (people painting on the quay). The jobs share a spelling system and a negative with not (not knowing, not being told). They do not share a single grammatical label, which is why calling every -ing word a gerund causes confusion.

Running is free. (gerund as subject) a running tap (adjective) She is running. (participle in a continuous tense) After running, she stretched. (gerund after a preposition)

How to spot it

Find a verb stem plus -ing and ask what the word is doing. If you can replace it with a noun (this activity, this thing), it is a gerund. If it sits in front of a noun and describes it, it is an adjective. If it follows be in a tense, or reduces a clause, it is a participle. After a preposition you will almost always want the -ing form, not an infinitive.

Cycling to work saved him an hour. (cycling as a gerund, subject of saved)
a sleeping child (sleeping as an adjective in front of a noun)
They have been waiting since noon. (waiting as a participle in a perfect continuous)
She left without saying goodbye. (saying after a preposition)

Some -ing words have become ordinary nouns and take a determiner or a plural: a building, two paintings, the meeting. Those are no longer verb forms in the sentence; they just happen to end in -ing.

The -ing Form Quick Reference

What the -ing form is doing in the sentence

Job	Test	Example
Gerund (noun)	can be replaced by this activity	Reading keeps me awake. I miss reading.
After a preposition	a preposition sits in front	before leaving, in spite of feeling ill, good at cooking
Adjective	sits before a noun and describes it	a leaking roof, a charming village, boiling water
Continuous participle	follows be in a tense	She is writing. They were talking. I have been waiting.
Reduced clause	stands for who is / which is + -ing	the people sitting at the back, a truck carrying timber
Negative	not + -ing	Not knowing the code, he waited. She admitted not seeing the sign.

Common The -ing Form Examples in English

Grouped by the job the -ing form is doing, which is the point of this page:

Naming an Activity (Gerund)

Hiking in that heat was a mistake.: hiking as subject
Her hobby is restoring old radios.: restoring as a complement after is
They postponed signing the contract.: signing as the object of postponed
No smoking is allowed in the foyer.: smoking as a named activity on a notice

A gerund can still take an object (restoring old radios) and still be modified by an adverb (Hiking slowly helped). It is a verb form doing a noun's job, not a noun that has forgotten it was a verb.

After Prepositions

After locking the door, she checked the windows.: after plus -ing
He is interested in applying for the grant.: in plus -ing after an adjective
They left despite feeling unwell.: despite plus -ing
I'm looking forward to meeting your sister.: to is a preposition here, so -ing follows

Every preposition in English is followed by a noun or an -ing form, not by a to-infinitive. The trap is to that is a preposition (look forward to, be used to, object to), not the infinitive marker.

Describing a Noun

a dripping tap: dripping describes tap
a chilling account of the rescue: chilling describes account
the remaining tickets: remaining describes tickets
boiling water kills the bacteria.: boiling describes water; here it is not a gerund

Many of these are -ing adjectives of the boring / interesting type. If the word can take very (very chilling), it is behaving as a full adjective. If it cannot (a very remaining ticket is impossible), it is closer to a participle.

Participle in Tenses and Reduced Clauses

She is drafting the minutes now.: is drafting: present continuous
The man sitting by the window raised his hand.: sitting reduces who was sitting
Opening the envelope, she found a spare key.: opening reduces as she opened
Having missed the call, he sent a message instead.: having plus a participle looks back

Continuous tenses are covered on the present-continuous page. Reduced -ing clauses are covered on the participle-clauses page. This group only shows that both jobs use the same form.

How the -ing Form Works

One ending, several slots. The slot decides the label; the spelling stays the same.

After a Preposition, Always -ing

A preposition needs a noun-like complement. The -ing form is English's way of feeding a verb into that slot: before eating, without asking, by restarting, of being late. The infinitive (before to eat) is ungrammatical here. This is the most reliable rule on the page, and it includes phrasal and prepositional verbs: she carried on talking, they insisted on paying.

He apologised for arriving so late. They succeeded in restarting the server.

for and in are prepositions, so arriving and restarting follow

Preposition + -ing, never preposition + infinitive.

Gerunds Occupy Noun Slots

If the -ing form is the subject, the object of a verb that takes a noun, or the complement after be, it is a gerund. It can have its own object and its own subject (in informal English: I don't like him interrupting; in formal English a possessive: I don't like his interrupting). Not goes in front: Not being invited hurt her more than the delay.

Keeping the receipts made the claim easy. She hates being interrupted.

keeping as subject; being interrupted as a passive gerund object

If a noun could sit there, an -ing form can.

Adjectives Sit Before Nouns; Participles Build Clauses and Tenses

An -ing adjective is stuck to a noun and often accepts very: a very charming village. A participle is still a verb: it takes objects (the truck carrying timber), it follows be in continuous tenses, and it can open a clause (Carrying the timber, the truck stalled). The same word can do both jobs in different sentences: a charming host (adjective), She is charming the audience (participle).

a warning light / She is warning the others.

warning as adjective, then as a continuous participle

Stuck to a noun: adjective. Still a verb: participle.

The Infinitive Choice Is a Different Lesson

Some verbs take -ing (enjoy, finish, avoid, mind, suggest), some take a to-infinitive (want, decide, hope, refuse), and a few take both with a change of meaning (remember, stop, try). That list is long and belongs on the verbs-followed-by-gerund-or-infinitive page. What this page needs is the form, the slots, and the spelling. Do not treat every -ing after a verb as a mystery of meaning; first check whether a preposition is sitting in between.

She suggested taking a break. She wants to take a break.

suggest plus -ing; want plus to-infinitive: a verb-list fact, not a form fact

Form here; verb-plus-pattern on the next page.

Common Mistakes with The -ing Form

Incorrect: She is good at to cook.

Correct: She is good at cooking.

At is a preposition, so it takes an -ing form, not a to-infinitive. The same error appears after interested in, tired of, before, after, without, and by.

Incorrect: I'm looking forward to see you.

Correct: I'm looking forward to seeing you.

The to in look forward to is a preposition, not the infinitive marker. A preposition is followed by a noun or an -ing form. The same trap sits in be used to, object to, and prefer ... to.

Incorrect: Runing for the bus, he dropped his keys.

Correct: Running for the bus, he dropped his keys.

Run is a one-syllable verb with a short vowel plus one consonant, so the consonant doubles: running. The same rule gives sitting, stopping, and beginning, not siting, stoping, and begining.

Incorrect: I enjoy to hike at weekends.

Correct: I enjoy hiking at weekends.

Enjoy is one of the verbs that take -ing, not a to-infinitive. Finish, avoid, mind, suggest, and keep belong to the same group. The full list is a different page; enjoy is the one learners meet first.

Spelling of the -ing Form

Four spelling patterns cover almost every verb. The meaning of the form does not change with the spelling.

Drop silent -e; keep -ee and -ie as y

A silent final -e is dropped: make, making; write, writing; use, using. A final -ee stays: see, seeing; agree, agreeing. A final -ie becomes -y: die, dying; lie, lying. Be is irregular only in that it keeps e: being.

coming, closing, arguing: silent e dropped
seeing, fleeing, agreeing: ee kept
dying, tying, lying: ie becomes y

Ageing / aging and likable / likeable vary by variety. For -ing, ageing and aging are both found; dying is the only spelling of die + -ing.

Double a final consonant after a short stressed vowel

One vowel plus one consonant, with the stress on that syllable, doubles the consonant: run, running; sit, sitting; begin, beginning; prefer, preferring. Do not double if the vowel is long or the stress is elsewhere: rain, raining; open, opening; visit, visiting. Final -y does not double: play, playing; try, trying.

stopping, swimming, grabbing: short stressed vowel, one consonant, doubled
opening, visiting, happening: stress not on the last syllable, no doubling
playing, enjoying, staying: final y is not doubled

British English doubles a final -l after a single vowel even without final stress: travelling, labelled. American English usually does not: traveling, labeled.

A few oddities

Picnic and similar -ic verbs add k: picnicking, panicking. Age can keep or drop e. Stems that already contain the letters ing, such as sing, simply take one ending: singing, bringing, ringing. Hyphenated verbs keep the particle separate: check in becomes checking in, not check-ining.

picnicking, panicking, mimicking: k added after -ic
singing, bringing, ringing: stems that already contain -ing take one ending only
checking in, logging off: the particle stays separate in the verb form

If the -ing word is a noun (a check-in, two sittings), ordinary noun spelling applies and is not a verb-form problem.

Quick Check: The -ing Form

Write the -ing form, or choose between -ing and a to-infinitive where the slot decides.

1. ___ (swim) is the only exercise she actually likes.

Answer: Swimming

gerund as subject; double the m

2. They left without ___ (say) a word.

Answer: saying

without is a preposition

3. I'm used to ___ (get) up before six.

Answer: getting

to is a preposition after used

4. She suggested ___ (take) a later train.

Answer: taking

suggest takes -ing; drop silent e

5. The tap in the kitchen is ___ (drip) again.

Answer: dripping

participle after is; double the p

6. Spell the -ing form of lie (recline): ___.

Answer: lying

ie becomes y

The -ing Form FAQs

What is the -ing form in English?: It is the verb shape made with -ing: swimming, writing, sitting. English uses it as a gerund (a noun: Swimming helps), as an adjective (a leaking tap), as a participle in continuous tenses and reduced clauses (She is writing; the man sitting opposite), and after every preposition (after leaving). One form, several jobs.
What is the difference between a gerund and a present participle?: The form is the same. The job is not. A gerund occupies a noun slot: Reading keeps me awake. A present participle occupies a verb slot: She is reading, or a reduced clause: the woman reading by the window. If you can replace the word with this activity, you have a gerund. If it is helping a tense or reducing who is / which is, you have a participle.
When do I drop the -e before -ing?: When the -e is silent: make, making; write, writing; come, coming. Keep the e in seeing and agreeing, because those verbs end in -ee. Change -ie to -y: die, dying; lie, lying. Be becomes being, keeping the e.
Why is it looking forward to seeing and not to see?: Because the to in look forward to is a preposition, the same to as in a key to the door. Prepositions take -ing. The infinitive marker to (I hope to see you) is a different word that just happens to look the same. Be used to, object to, and prefer tea to coffee use the preposition as well.
Do I need the gerund-or-infinitive list on this page?: No. This page is the form: slots, spelling, and the reliable preposition rule. Enjoy, finish, avoid, want, decide, remember, stop, and try belong on the verbs-followed-by-gerund-or-infinitive page, where the choice after a verb is the whole topic.