The present participle is the form of the verb that ends in -ing. It has many uses. Like the infinitive, it can be used as a noun:
I enjoy traveling.
Smoking is forbidden here.
It can be used as other parts of speech as well.
Error prevention: A common error of student writers is trying to use the present participle as the main verb in a sentence. The only way the present participle can be used as a main verb is to give it a helping verb such as a form of to be or have:
I am going to Memphis.
We have been living here for twenty years.
Another common error with the present participle occurs in sentences in which the -ing word is used to introduce a description:
Coming out of the auditorium, a purse was lost.
When present participle introduces a description, the first word following the group of words introduced by the -ing word must be the word being described. The sentence must be rewritten:
Coming out of the auditorium, I lost my purse.
