-ing

For the Korean film, see...ing.

-ingis asuffixused to make one of theinflectedforms ofEnglish verbs.This verb form is used as apresent participle,as agerund,and sometimes as an independentnounoradjective.The suffix is also found in certain words likemorningandceiling,and in names such asBrowning.

Etymology and pronunciation

TheModern English-ingending, which is used to form both gerunds and present participles of verbs (i.e. in noun and adjective uses), derives from two different historical suffixes.

The gerund (noun) use comes fromMiddle English-ing,which is fromOld English-ing,-ung(suffixes forming nouns from verbs). These in turn are fromProto-Germanic*-inga-,*-unga-,*-ingō,*-ungō,whichVittore Pisaniderives fromProto-Indo-European*-enkw-.This use of English-ingis thuscognatewith the-ingsuffix ofDutch,West Frisian,and theNorth Germanic languages,and withGerman-ung.

The-ingof Modern English in itsparticipial(adjectival) use comes from Middle English-inge,-ynge,supplanting the earlier-inde,-ende,-and,from the Old English present participle ending-ende.This is from Proto-Germanic*-andz,from the Proto-Indo-European*-nt-,and is cognate with Dutch and German-end,Swedish-ande,-ende,Latin-ans,-ant-,Ancient Greek[-ον]Error: {{Lang}}: Non-latn text (pos 2)/Latn script subtag mismatch (help)(-on), andSanskrit-ant.-inde,-ende,-andlater assimilated with the noun and gerund suffix-ing.Its remnants, however, are still retained in a few verb-derived words such asfriend,fiend,andbond(in the sense of "peasant, vassal" ).

Thestandardpronunciation in modern English is/ɪŋ/,with avelar nasalconsonant. Variants include/ɪŋg/(e.g. Northern England),/ɪn/or/ən/(widespread) and/i(ː)n/(mainly US,but also in Canada).

The variants with/n/may be denoted in writing with anapostrophe:runnin'forrunning.Sometimes known asg-dropping,the use of variants such as these is one of the most frequently studiedsociolinguisticvariablesin English.

Formation

All English verbs (except formodalsand otherdefective verbsthat do not have gerunds or participles) make the inflected form in‑ingregularly. Thusgomakesgoing,readmakesreading,failmakesfailing,and so on. In certain cases there are spelling changes, such as doubling of consonants (as insit→sitting) or omission ofmutee(as inchange→changing). It does not apply in the case of monosyllabic words in English that are omitting themutee(as inagebecomingageing,thoughagingis also found). For details of these rules, seeEnglish verbs.

Uses

The-ingform of a verb has bothnounuses andadjectival(oradverbial) uses. In either case it may function as anon-finite verb(for example, by takingdirect objects), or as a pure noun or adjective. When it behaves as a non-finite verb, it is called agerundin the noun case, and apresent participlein the adjectival or adverbial case. Uses as pure noun or adjective may be calleddeverbaluses.

The distinctions between these uses are explained in the following sections.

Distinction between gerunds and present participles

Gerunds and present participles are two types ofnon-finite verb;the difference is that gerunds are used to producenoun phrases,and participles to produceadjectivaloradverbial phrases.This is illustrated in the following examples:

• I likeeatingcakes.

Hereeatingis a gerund; the verb phraseeating cakesserves as a noun, being theobjectof the main verblike.

• I saw himeatinga cake.

Hereeatingis a present participle; the verb phraseeating a cakeserves as an adjective, modifyinghim.

• Tryingto succeed makes success more likely.

Heretryingis a gerund; the verb phrasetrying to succeedserves as a noun, thesubjectof the main verbmakes.

• He hurt his kneetryingto get over the fence.

Heretryingis a present participle; the verb phrasetrying to get over the fencehas the function of anadverbin the main clause.

Confusion is most likely to arise when the-ingword follows a verb, in which case it may be apredicate adjectiveand hence a participle, or a direct object (or predicate nominative) and hence a gerund. There are certaintransformationsthat can help distinguish these two cases. In the table that follows, the transformations produce grammatical sentences with similar meanings when applied to sentences with gerunds (since the transformations are based on the assumption that the phrase with the-ingword is a noun phrase). When applied to sentences with participles, they produce ungrammatical sentences or sentences with completely different meanings. (These cases are marked withasterisks.)

Transformation	Gerund use	Participle use
(none)	John suggestedaskingBill.	John keptaskingBill.
Passivization	Asking Bill was suggested.	*Asking Bill was kept.
Pronounsubstitution	John suggested it.	*John kept it.
Substitution of pure noun	John suggested the asking of Bill.	*John kept the asking of Bill.
Replacement withfinite clause	John suggested that Bill be asked.	*John kept that Bill be asked.
Subject marking withpossessive	John suggested our asking Bill.	*John kept his asking Bill.
Clefting	Asking Bill is what John suggested.	*Asking Bill is what John kept.
Left dislocation	Asking Bill John suggested.	*Asking Bill John kept.

For more details of the usage of English gerunds and present participles, seeUses of non-finite verbs in English.

Distinction between verbal and deverbal uses

When used as a gerund or present participle, the-ingform is anon-finite verb,which behaves like a (finite) verb in that it forms averb phrase,taking typical verb dependents and modifiers such asobjectsand adverbs. That verb phrase is then used within a larger sentence, with the function of an adjective or adverb (in the case of the participle) or with the function of a noun (in the case of the gerund).

However the same verb-derived-ingforms are also sometimes used as pure nouns or adjectives.In this case the word does not form a verb phrase; any modifiers it takes will be of a grammatical kind which is appropriate to a noun or adjective respectively.

For example:

• Shoutingloudly is rude. (shoutingis a gerund, modified by the adverbloudly)
• Loudshoutingis something I can't stand. (shoutingis a pure noun, modified by the adjectiveloud)
• I saw himexcitingthe crowds. (excitingis a participle, taking the objectthe crowds)
• It was a veryexcitinggame. (excitingis a pure adjective, modified byvery,an adverb typically applied to adjectives)

When used as a pure noun or adjective (i.e. having lost its grammatical verbal character), the-ingform may be called adeverbal nounordeverbal adjective.Terminology varies, however; it may also be called averbalnoun or adjective (on the grounds that it is derived from a verb). In other cases the latter terms may be applied additionally, or exclusively, to gerunds and participles, as well as other non-finite verb forms such asinfinitives.

In some situations, the distinction between gerund/participle uses and deverbal uses may be lost, particularly when the-ingword appears on its own. For example, in "I like swimming", it is not clear whetherswimmingis intended as a gerund (as it would be in "I like swimming fast" ), or as a pure noun (as in "I like competitive swimming" ). There may be a distinction in meaning between the two interpretations: as a gerund, it means that the speaker likes to swim, while as a pure noun it does not specify in what way the speaker enjoys the activity (as a competitor, spectator, etc.)

The-ingform used as a pure noun usually denotes the action encoded by the verb (either in general or in a particular instance), as in the above examples. However it sometimes comes to take on other meanings, such as a physical object or system of objects:building,fencing,piping,etc.

For more information on the uses of non-finite verbs and verbal nouns, seeUses of non-finite verbs in English.

-ingwords in other languages

Sign showing a French ending -ing in one worddressing.Note: this is non-English.

Sign of a singular form of French ending -ing.

Sign of a plural form of French ending -ing.

English words constructed from verbs with the ending-ingare sometimes borrowed into other languages. In some cases they becomepseudo-anglicisms,taking on new meanings or uses which are not found in English. For instance:

• brushingmeans "blow-dry" in many languages (including Dutch, French, Portuguese, and Spanish);
• campingmeans "campsite" in many languages (including Bulgarian, Dutch, French, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, and Spanish);
• footinghas been used to mean "jogging"in some languages (including French and Italian)
• parkingmeans "car park" or "parking lot" in many languages (including Bulgarian, Dutch, French, Italian, Persian, Polish, Russian, and Spanish);
• liftingmeans "facelift" in many languages (including Bulgarian, French, German, Italian, Polish, Romanian, Hebrew, and Spanish);
• shampooingmeans "shampoo" in French (pronounced[ʃɑ̃pwɛ̃]);
• shoppingmeans "shopping mall" in Portuguese and Spanish;.

OtherGermanic languages(includingDutch,Danish,Swedish,Norwegian,andIcelandic) have a native-ingsuffix, used mainly to form verbal action nouns, though generally not as productively as in English. For details, see theWiktionary entry for-ing.

InBalochithe suffix-agis used in a similar manner as-ing,by adding the suffix to the first form of a verb in order to construct a continuous verb, or to convert a verb into a noun. For example,war(eat) becomeswarag(eating) orÒšt(stand) becomesÒštag(standing).

Other meanings of the suffix

The suffix-ingalso has other uses in English, although these are less common. It may be used to form derivative nouns (originally masculine) with the sense "son of" or "belonging to", used aspatronymicsordiminutives.Examples of this use include surnames likeBrowning,ChanningandEwing,and common nouns likebunting,shilling,andfarthing.The suffix can also mean "having a specified quality", as used insweeting,whiting,andgelding.

For further details see theWiktionary entry for-ing.

See also

• Ng (digraph)