'-ing' forms

Hello Reda711,

In modern English grammar we don't tend to distinguish between the participle and gerund in this way. Instead, we use the term -ing form and identify different uses of the form. What used to be called the gerund is an -ing form used as a noun or noun phrase, while the present participle is an -ing form used as a verb.

While and before can each be used in different ways. For example, before can be a preposition and it can be a conjunction. Prepositions are followed by objects, so an -ing form following a preposition is functioning as a noun phrase, making it a gerund. If before is a conjunction, however, an -ing form following it will not be an object but rather a verb form, making it a participle. I think this shows why modern grammarians do not find treating different uses of the -ing form as different grammatical items very helpful, and prefer to see it is one form with several uses (just as 'before' is one item with several uses).

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Radioheady,

I would also say the first option, with "started". "Get X started" is a fixed phrase and you can say it about other things too (e.g. Let's get the party started). 

Jonathan

LearnEnglish team

Hello englishlearningenglish,

Human being is an example of a compound noun. You can see more examples and read about compound nouns here:

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/nouns-compound-nouns

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello howtosay_,

In #3 if you use 'informing' then you need to add an object: Thank you for informing me/us/them etc. Other than that, all the sentences are grammatically fine.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi User_1,

"To" is actually two different words.

1. I want to hear from you ("to" is part of the infinitive verb)
2. I look forward to hearing from you ("to" is a preposition; like all prepositions, if "to" is followed by a verb it must be in the -ing form)

In case 1, the infinitive with to is used after many verbs and adjectives.

• I need to wake up early in the morning. (See this page (linked) for more info about verbs followed by "to" + infinitive.)
• This book is easy to understand. (Also hard, happy, pleased and some other adjectives.)

You can also put "to" + infinitive after a noun to show what action is done to that noun, e.g. I have a book to read. / There is no food to eat.

In case 2, some verbs, nouns and adjectives require the preposition "to", and therefore an -ing form for any verb after it.

• I got used to waking up early in the morning. (Other verbs: be used to, object, respond ...)
• Listening to what customers say is the key to understanding them. (Other nouns: response, approach, dedication ...)
• His whole life was dedicated to helping other people. (Also many other -ed adjectives, e.g. addicted, devoted, accustomed, opposed ...)

There may be cases where both the -ing form and the to + infinitive seem possible.

• Listening to what customers say is the key to understanding them.
• Listening to what customers say is the key to understand them.

Both of these sentences are grammatical. There is a slight difference in meaning - in the first one, the phrase "the key to understanding them" is meaningful together and it can't be divided. In the second one, the phrase "to understand them" (an infinitive of purpose, meaning "in order to understand them) modifies "the key" but it is separable from it. We can see this more clearly if we reorganise the sentence: To understand them, listening to what customers say is the key.

I hope that helps.

Jonathan

LearnEnglish team

Hello Ax45,

In theory it's possible to use two continuous forms after a verb of perception, but I agree with your colleague who said they don't work in this sentence.

After verbs of perception, we generally use a bare infinitive ('cross', 'enter') to speak about a completed action that we witnessed or a continuous form ('crossing', 'entering') to talk about an action we witnessed happening over a period of time. So from that point of view, your sentence should be fine. The reason that your sentence sounds odd is because we don't use the verb 'see' in this way.

We don't use 'see' to talk about actively observing something; for a more active observation of an action, we generally use 'watch'. This is why it's not really correct to say 'we're seeing a film now', because a film is something that lasts longer than a moment. We can saw 'we saw a film' because it refers to a completed action from beginning to end; it's not an action in progress, but a discrete event.

To return to the sentence you ask about, the actions of crossing the street and entering the building last more than a moment and say it sounds unnatural to use 'saw'. If you changed the verb to 'watched', you could use the continuous forms.

Does that make sense?

All the best,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team

Hi AboodKh9,

You need to check a dictionary. To form a noun (for example), there are many possible suffixes. You can refer to this Cambridge Dictionary page (linked) for a full list.

The reason for choosing some suffixes is related to the meaning of the word. For example, adding -ism to a word (e.g. capitalism) makes the noun for a way of thinking or philosophy, and adding -er/-or makes the noun for a person (e.g. painter/actor). However, this does not mean that those suffixes can be added to any word (e.g. a person who makes art is an artist, not arter), so although knowing these meaning patterns can help you to remember the nouns, it is not a predictable system and it's best to refer to a dictionary.

I hope that helps.

Jonathan

LearnEnglish team

Hello Hosseinpour,

You could rephrase the sentence as follows:

All that is required is a computer with internet access, which makes expanding one's social circle uncomplicated and efficient.

Note that the comma is important here as it is a non-defining relative clause.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello Fenris,

I guess the dialogue is humorous as 'mestakes' is a (presumably deliberate) spelling error.

'Being' here is a participle, which is a non-finite verb form (see here for information on non-finite verbs). Generally, a sentence requires a finite verb rather than a non-finite verb, and so this sentence should really be part of the previous sentence, as follows:

I make mestakes all the time, that spelling being one such instance.

Now the sentence is harmonious grammatically: the non-finite verb is not part of an independent clause and takes its time reference from the finite verb in the earlier clause. In your example, the second line is best understood as the second speaker finishing the first speaker's sentence for him/her as an ironic comment.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello Araliya,

There are a number of verbs (like 'start') that can be followed by a verb in the '-ing' form. Actually, there are a small number of verbs, like 'start', that can also be followed by an infinitive form (for example, 'it started to rain'). But most verbs are not so flexible.

There are several pages here on LearnEnglish that you can read to learn more about this:

• Verbs followed by '-ing' or infinitive
• Verbs followed by '-ing' or infinitive to change meaning
• Verbs followed by the infinitive
• Verbs followed by the '-ing' form

The sections on 'go' and 'do' on our Delexical verbs page might also be useful.

Hope this helps you. Please let us know if you have other questions.

All the best,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team

Hello Khoshal,

This is a very informal form used in spoken English, and it is a reduction of another informal form. Let me explain the second informal form first.

1. In informal speaking, people often use 'and' like after the verbs 'go' and 'come'. For example, sentences like the following are very common:

I need to go and get some milk.
Can you come and help me with my homework?
You should go and ask her!

Note that this can be used with any tense (not just 'be going to' + verb), but only with the verbs 'go' and 'come'.

2. In very informal speaking, people sometimes omit the word 'and' (after 'go' or 'come'):

I'm going to go see a movie tonight.

Does that make sense?

All the best,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team

Hello BellaDunst,

This is a more complicated question than you might think, and you could argue either way. You can read such a discussion here:

https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/124492/is-swimming-a-gerund-in-i-went-swimming

In modern English grammar we generally don't distinguish between gerunds and infinitives and see them as terms not really appropriate to English. Instead, we use a term like -ing form which covers all uses (this is referred to in the discussion I linked to). So my answer is that this is the -ing form :)

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi mikrobik,

"Do" in this sentence is a delexical verb (that's a technical term). We have a page all about this topic - please see this page (linked) for more about delexical verbs. I hope you find it useful.

Jonathan

LearnEnglish team

Hi Shirley,

I'm not sure where this is from, but this sentence sounds a bit unnatural to me, so I'm not sure I'd look to it as a model. Having said that, the structure you ask about is correct and it is correctly used in this case.

'of' is the head of a prepositional phrase. The prepositional phrase could be short (e.g. 'the complete process of cellular development') or, as in this case, more complex. The complex phrase here is subject noun phrase + verb-'ing' + object noun phrase ('the leading actors finding possible criminals'). Another example of a similarly structured phrase is 'of how the protagonist successfully navigates a complex and difficult situation'.

Hope this helps.

All the best,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team

Hello khomychvitaliia,

The pattern here is watch (see, hear, observe etc) someone do something, where 'do' is not a present simple form but is rather the base form (infinitive without 'to'). You can see this is you use the verb 'be':

I love seeing him be so happy.

You can read more about various verb patterns here:

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/english-grammar-reference/clause-structure-and-verb-patterns

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello Sajatadib,

What you suggest makes sense, but I'm afraid what people actually say is what the adverts say. In other words, when a verb comes after 'All you need to do is', it goes in the base form.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Sajatadib,

Good question. Here are some comments:

• "To + verb" is often used to show the purpose of something (i.e., something that the speaker intends to do). This fits the meaning of this sentence well because this speaker is explaining his/her purpose (i.e., delivering economic stability).
• "make sure" - this would probably be considered a grammatical mistake.
• The -ing form of the verb ("making sure") makes the verb function like a noun. Unlike the "to + verb" structure, it does not by itself show a purpose. It just shows an action. However, in the context of this sentence, the action is clearly the speaker's purpose.

I hope that helps to understand it.

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi g-ssan,

Understanding this aspect of grammar will help you to understand the meaning of what you read better. It will also help you to speak in grammatically standard ways and communicate more clearly. Also, some books, websites and other learning materials will use these ideas when they explain grammar structures. So, if you want to extend your learning, I would definitely recommend trying to learn at least some basic ideas.

However, it's hard for me to answer this question without knowing why you are learning English. If you are learning because you want to pass a difficult exam, for example, then it's probably useful to learn, because accurate understanding/speaking is important in exams. But if you do not have any particular target, or if you feel you already communicate and understand well enough, then it might not be necessary - or at least, it may not be a high priority.

So I guess an important question is: how important is grammatical accuracy for you, in the situations where you use (or want to use) English?

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Ahmed Hassan,

I'm sorry to disagree with your teacher but I would use "to" + infinitive after "afford" (e.g. I can't afford to buy this car).

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team