Present Participles: Examples, Types, and Detailed Explanations

A present participle is a verb form that shows an action is happening now. We make present participles by adding -ing to the base form of a verb. We use present participles to describe actions that are happening at this moment.

What Is a Present Participle?

A present participle is a verb form that ends in -ing and is used to describe an action that is ongoing or in progress. It is formed by adding the suffix -ing to the base form of a verb.

The water is running.
She is writing.
The star is shining.
He is dancing.
The cake is baking.

How do we form the Present Participle?

The present participles of most regular and irregular verbs are formed by adding “-ing” to the base form of the verb. For example, Run becomes Running, Write becomes Writing, and Eat becomes Eating. This rule applies to most verbs, making it easy to form present participles.

1. Using Present Participle as an Adjective

A present participle can be used as an adjective to describe a noun or pronoun.

The running water is cold.
The smiling face was happy.
The writing book is mine.
The shining star is bright.

2. Using Present Participles as Verbs

While present participles aren’t used as verbs by themselves, they can be used with helping verbs to form the continuous verb tenses.

I am writing a letter.
She is singing a song.
They are playing football.
He is cooking dinner.

Present Participles and Past Participles

Aspect	Present Participles	Past Participles
Form	Base verb + “-ing” (e.g., running, eating)	Regular verbs: Base verb + “-ed” (e.g., played, watched) Irregular verbs: Different forms (e.g., gone, eaten, written)
Function as Adjectives	Describes nouns/pronouns in a current or ongoing state (e.g., a running dog, a crying baby)	Describes nouns/pronouns that are in a past state (e.g., a broken chair, a tired worker)
Use in Continuous Tenses	Used with auxiliary verbs (am, is, are, was, were) to form continuous tenses (e.g., I am eating)	Not used in continuous tenses.
Use with Helping Verbs	Used in forming continuous verb tenses (e.g., “She is singing.”)	Used in perfect tenses (e.g., “She has sung.”)
Time	Describes an ongoing or current action (e.g., I am running)	Describes a completed action (e.g., I have run)

Present Participles with Verb Tenses

1. Present indefinite Tense

Subject	Auxiliary Verb	Present Participle	Example Sentence
I	am	eating	I am eating lunch.
You	are	reading	You are reading a book.
He/She/It	is	playing	She is playing the piano.
We	are	swimming	We are swimming in the pool.
They	are	working	They are working on the project.

2. Past Continuous Tense

Subject	Auxiliary Verb	Present Participle	Example Sentence
I	was	eating	I was eating lunch when he called.
You	were	reading	You were reading a book last night.
He/She/It	was	playing	She was playing the piano yesterday.
We	were	swimming	We were swimming when it started to rain.
They	were	working	They were working on the project all day.

3. Future Continuous Tense

Subject	Auxiliary Verb	Present Participle	Example Sentence
I	will be	eating	I will be eating lunch at noon.
You	will be	reading	You will be reading a book this evening.
He/She/It	will be	playing	She will be playing the piano tomorrow.
We	will be	swimming	We will be swimming in the pool later.
They	will be	working	They will be working on the project tomorrow.

4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense

Subject	Auxiliary Verbs	Present Participle	Example Sentence
I	have been	eating	I have been eating lunch for an hour.
You	have been	reading	You have been reading that book all morning.
He/She/It	has been	playing	She has been playing the piano since 2 PM.
We	have been	swimming	We have been swimming for three hours.
They	have been	working	They have been working on the project since Monday.

5. Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Subject	Auxiliary Verbs	Present Participle	Example Sentence
I	had been	eating	I had been eating lunch before he arrived.
You	had been	reading	You had been reading for an hour before you left.
He/She/It	had been	playing	She had been playing the piano for two hours.
We	had been	swimming	We had been swimming when the storm began.
They	had been	working	They had been working on the project all night.

6. Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Subject	Auxiliary Verbs	Present Participle	Example Sentence
I	will have been	eating	I will have been eating lunch for an hour by the time you arrive.
You	will have been	reading	You will have been reading for two hours by this evening.
He/She/It	will have been	playing	She will have been playing the piano for three hours by 6 PM.
We	will have been	swimming	We will have been swimming for an hour by the time you come.
They	will have been	working	They will have been working on the project for a week by Friday.