Before we start talking about -ING words, it’s worth mentioning that in English in general it’s not always easy to classify a word as a noun, verb or adjective. Many words belong to more than one category, like for example the word FIRM, which may be:
– a noun: a consulting firm (a firm = a company)
– a verb: the market is firming (to firm = to improve)
– an adjective: a firm cheese (firm = hard, solid)
There is a group of words that are sometimes particularly difficult to classify as belonging to one of the aforementioned categories. These are words ending in –ING. For example the word WORKING – is it a noun, a verb or an adjective? Have a look:
She was working in the garden.
They belonged to the working class.
She finds pleasure in working.
So, how do we know which category a word like this belongs to? There are some tests that can help us out.
Table of Contents
An -ING word is a noun if…
An –ING word may be considered a noun if:
1) it’s a lexicalized word that denotes a physical entity:
I bought two paintings and hid them in the building.
2) it’s preceded by determiners or adjectives:
My dancing is pretty good, but what about her weird hopping on the stage that she calls the best dancing in this part of the globe?
3) it’s followed by a phrase that starts with OF:
The banning of this material will have serious consequences.
4) it’s followed by a relative clause:
The buzzing, which was driving me mad, finally stopped.
5) it can be used in plural:
I attended some of the meetings, but not all of them.
6) it’s used as a modifier and can be paraphrased by the nominal use of the –ING form, often preceded by FOR or OF:
Living standards were better than ever. → Standards of living were better than ever.
I bought a traveling alarm clock. → I bought an alarm clock for traveling.
An -ING word is a verb if …
An –ING word may be considered a verb if:
1) it’s followed by an object:
Writing a book is a tedious task.
2) it’s qualified by an adverbial:
Sleeping during the day is not good for your health.
3) it’s used after the verb BE and there is a nonprogressive form of the verb that can be used without an object:
The girl was missing. (the girl missed)
An -ING is an adjective if…
An –ING word may be considered an adjective if:
1) it follows the verb BE and is not part of a progressive tense form:
What you just said was confusing.
2) it’s preceded by a degree adverb modifier:
It was quite surprising, but very interesting.
3) it’s used as a modifier and can be paraphrased by a relative clause:
Living creatures should be protected. → Creatures that live should be protected.
4) it’s used after the verb BE and there isn’t a nonprogressive form of the verb that can be used without an object:
The project was promising. (*the project promised)
5) it follows a copular verb other than BE:
The book seems interesting, but the movie looks fascinating.
6) it begins with the negative prefix UN-:
I’ve always admired her unyielding belief in her husband.
7) it can be turned into an adverb by means of the ending –LY:
It was surprising how well she did it. → She did it surprisingly well.
Some ambiguous cases:
The tests described above often help, but there are some ambiguous situations. Have a look at these examples:
Noun or Verb?
Here we have the sentence:
There is no denying it.
Here the word DENYING is followed by an object (IT), which would suggest it’s a verb. On the other hand, it’s preceded by the determiner NO, which would suggest it’s a noun.
Another example:
The machine needs checking.
Is the word CHECKING a noun or a verb? Looks like a noun, if we precede it with an adjective:
The machine needs careful checking.
But this is also fine:
The machine needs checking carefully.
This time we have an adverb. Adverbs modify verbs, so maybe it’s a verb after all?
In cases like these it’s hard to tell if the –ING word is a noun or a verb. Usually words used like this are considered verbs, but I would rather leave the question open.
Noun or Adjective?
Here’s an example with an –ING word which is used as a modifier:
The warning shots were heard in a distance.
Is WARNING a noun or an adjective?
On one hand we know that if an –ING modifier can be paraphrased by the nominal use of the –ING form, it’s a noun. Let’s try to paraphrase the word WARNING then:
The shots intended as a warning were heard in a distance.
So, you can do it, so it should be a noun.
On the other hand, though, we know that if an –ING modifier can be paraphrased by a relative clause, it’s an adjective. Let’s try this out now:
The shots which warn were heard in a distance.
This would suggest it’s an adjective. So, this is another ambiguous example.
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