Referring to activities and processes: '-ing' nouns

1.78 You often want to refer to an action, activity, or process in a general way. When you do, you can use a noun which has the same form as the present participle of a verb.

These nouns are called different things in different grammars: gerunds, verbal nouns, or '-ing' forms. In this grammar we call them '-ing' nouns.

It is sometimes difficult to distinguish an '-ing' noun from a present participle, and it is usually not necessary to do so. However, there are times when it is clearly a noun, for example when it is the subject of a verb, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition.

Singing's one of my interests—I belong to a choir.

They were at school when the emphasis was on teaching rather than learning.

He told how hard the days of walking had been, how his muscles had ached.

The coming of the transistor could not have been foreseen.

Some people have never actually done any computing.

The spelling of '-ing' forms is explained in the Reference Section. The use of '-ing' adjectives is explained in paragraphs 2.67 to 2.80.

uncount nouns 1.79 Because '-ing' nouns refer to activities in a general way, they are usually uncount nouns; that is, they have only one form, cannot be used with numbers, and do not usually have a determiner in front of them.

For more information on uncount nouns, see paragraphs 1.24 to 1.34.

1.80 You often use an '-ing' noun because it is the only noun form available to; certain verbs, such as 'eat', 'hear', 'go', 'come', and 'bless'. Whereas other verbs have related nouns that are not '-ing' nouns: for example 'see' and 'sight', 'arrive' and 'arrival', 'depart' and 'departure'.

Eating, unlike fighting, is a pursuit in which both sexes freely indulge.

...loss of hearing in one ear.

Only 6 per cent of children receive any further training when they leave school.

used with adjectives 1.81 If you want to describe the action expressed by the noun, you can use one or more adjectives or nouns in front of it.

The fight against reckless driving is directed extremely skilfully.

Better training is one of the big challenges of the 1930s.

He called for a national campaign against under-age drinking.

1.82 A small number of '-ing' nouns, most of which refer to sporting or leisure activities, are much more common than their related verbs. In some cases there is at the moment no verb, although it is always possible to invent one. For example, you are more likely to say 'We went caravanning round France' than 'We caravanned round France'.

Here is a list of the commonest of these nouns:

angling blackberrying boating bowling canoeing

caravanning electioneering hang-gliding heliskiing mountaineering

paragliding shoplifting sightseeing skateboarding snorkelling

surfing weightlifting window-shopping windsurfing yachting

Although these words are not always associated with a verb, most of them can be used as present participles.

He fell fully-clothed into the lake while boating with a girt-friend.

I spent the afternoon window-shopping with Grandma.

count nouns 1.83 Some '-ing' nouns which are related to verbs are count nouns. They generally refer to the result of an action or process, or to an individual instance of it. Sometimes their meaning is not closely related to that of the verb.

Here is a list of the commonest of these nouns:

beginning being building drawing

feeling finding hearing meaning

meeting offering painting saying

setting showing sitting suffering

turning warning

For more information on count nouns, see paragraphs 1.16 to 1.23.