1.7 –ing form

Forms: walking, interesting, reading.

For the spelling of –ing forms, see Spelling of –ing forms.

We can use the –ing form as a verb, as a noun and as an adjective. (When the –ing form is a verb, the form is called the present participle; see simple and continuous.)

When we use the –ing form as a noun, it is sometimes called a gerund. We use it for the activity corresponding to the verb. A gerund can be the subject of the sentence, e.g.:

Smoking is bad for your health. (Fumar te perjudica la salud.) (Not usually: To smoke is bad...)

Regular swimming keeps you fit. (Nadar regularmente te mantiene en forma.)

A gerund can also be the object of the sentence, e.g.:

I like cycling but I don't like cycling in the rain. (Me gusta ir en bicicleta, pero no me gusta hacerlo cuando llueve.)

	See also verbs followed by the –ing form.

A gerund can also be the complement of a preposition, e.g.:

She's very afraid of falling. (Tiene mucho miedo a caerse.)

I'm looking forward to meeting you in person. (Me hace ilusión conocerla en persona.)

They started without waiting to hear what I had to say. (Empezaron sin esperar a oír lo que les tenía que decir.)

	See also participles

Notice the use of the –ing form after the following expressions: difficulty, no point in, no use, waste of time, worth, e.g.: We had some difficulty moving the fridge. (Teníamos dificultades para mover la nevera.) There's no point in getting up early. (No tiene sentido levantarse temprano.) It's no use waiting for Peter. (No tiene sentido esperar a Peter.) It's a waste of time listening to her excuses. (Es una pérdida de tiempo escuchar sus excusas.) It's worth phoning to make an appointment. (Vale la pena llamar por teléfono para pedir hora.)

Examples of the –ing form as an adjective:

an interesting book (Un libro interesante)

a very tiring journey (Un viaje muy cansado) (Not: a very tired journey.)

Notice the different use of the words in pairs like interesting/interested, boring/bored, etc.: I am interested. (Estoy interesada en ello.) The film was interesting. (La película era interesante.) The talk was boring; I was bored. (La charla era aburrida; yo estaba aburrida.)