The Gerund: Spelling Rules -ING

A gerund is a noun made from a verb. The general rule when changing a verb into its gerund form is just to add ING to the end of the verb.

Infinitive	ING form
to feel	feeling
to go	going
to work	working
to sleep	sleeping

• She wasn't feeling very well.
• He is working on a new project.
• The children are sleeping so be quiet.

Spelling exceptions

The following exceptions exist when spelling words ending in ING:

1. If the verb ends in an E we remove the E and add ING.

Infinitive	ING form
to live	living
to have	having
to make	making
to take	taking

·       People are living longer now than they were 100 years ago.

·       We are making a chocolate cake.

·       He was taking his time to get ready.

2. If the verb ends in a consonant + vowel + consonant, we double the final consonant and add ING.

Infinitive	ING form
to stop	stopping
to sit	sitting
to plan	planning
to get	getting
to swim	swimming

·       The policeman is stopping the traffic.

·       We are planning a surprise party for our teacher.

·       I think I am getting a cold.

3. But, we do not double the final consonant when the verb ends in W, X or Y or when the final syllable is not emphasized.

Infinitive	ING form
to fix	fixing
to enjoy	enjoying
to snow	snowing

·       He fixing his bike.

·       We are enjoying this great weather.

·       It's snowing outside.

4. If the verb ends in IE we change it to YING.

Infinitive	ING form
to lie	lying
to die	dying
to tie	tying

·       I know you are lying to me!

·       You should water your plant more because I think it is dying.

·       The little boy is tying his shoelaces.

5. If the verb ends in a stressed vowel + R, we double the final R and add ING.

Infinitive	ING form
refer	referring
defer	deferring

·       Are you referring to this one or that one?

·       They are thinking of deferring payment of their mortgage.

6. If the verb ends in an unstressed vowel + R, we do not double the final R and add ING.

Infinitive	ING form
to offer	offering
to suffer	suffering
to whisper	whispering

·       I am offering you a special deal.

·       He is now suffering the consequences of his actions.

·       I wonder what he is whispering in her ear.

The Present Continuous. Form and Uses

The present continuous tense is formed from the present tense of the verb be and the present participle (-ing form) of a verb:

Use

1. We use the present continuous tense to talk about the present:

·         for something that is happening at the moment of speaking:

I’m just leaving work. I’ll be home in an hour.
Please be quiet. The children are sleeping.

·         for something which happens again and again:

It’s always raining in London.
They are always arguing.
George is great. He’s always laughing.

Note: We normally use always with this use.

2. We use the present continuous tense to talk about the future:

·     for something which has been arranged or planned:

Mary is going to a new school next term.
What are you doing next week?

The Present Continuous. Activities

Here you have a bunch of online activities to practise the Present Continuous.

• From Eclectic English
• From  English Hilfen
• From Curso de Inglés
• From My English Pages
• Lots of sorted exercices from Agenda Web
• A game from  ESL Games