Present Participle

The Present Participle is a participle that ends in -ing.

We use it with the auxiliary verb to be to form the continuous tense.

Form

The present participle is formed by adding -ing to the bare infinitive.

When the infinitive ends with a silent -e, this is dropped:

If the infinitive ends in -ie this is changed to -y:

If the infinitive is one syllable and ends in a single vowel sound + consonant (other than w, x, or y), double the final consonant:

If the infinitive has two syllables where the second syllable is stressed, double the final consonant:

If the infinitive ends with -c add the letter -k:

Notes

Note that in English the present participle is identical in form to the gerund and sometimes some teachers will use the term present participle to include both the genuine present participle as well as the gerund.

Other names for this participle include:

• the present participle
• the -ing form
• the imperfect participle
• the active participle
• the progressive participle