Complete English Grammar Rules_ Examples, Exceptions, Exercises, and Everything You Need to Master Proper Grammar ( PDFDrive )-246

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•	“He	is	weighing	each	bag	before	delivery.”
•	“I	am	involving	a	number	of	people	in	this	project.”
The	phrasal	verb	depend	on,	however,	is	always	stative,	but	we	often	find	it
being	used	in	the	continuous	form,	especially	when	its	subject	is	a	person.	For
instance:
•	“We	are	depending	on	you	to	get	this	done	in	time.”
Continuous	Forms	vs.	Gerunds
With	so	much	emphasis	placed	on	whether	or	not	a	stative	verb	is	able	to	use	one
of	the	continuous	forms,	it	is	important	to	distinguish	between	continuous
forms	and	gerunds.
The	continuous	(or	progressive)	forms	refer	to	six	specific	verb	tenses:	present
continuous	tense,	present	perfect	continuous	tense,	past	continuous	tense,
past	perfect	continuous	tense,	future	continuous	tense,	and	future	perfect
continuous	tense.	These	all	use	the	present	participles	of	verbs	to	express	an
action	that	is	continuously	(or	progressively)	happening.	Generally	speaking,
only	action	verbs	can	take	the	continuous	forms.	(Although,	as	we’ve	seen
above,	there	are	many	exceptions	to	and	interpretations	of	this	rule.)
Gerunds,	on	the	other	hand,	refer	to	the	“-ing”	form	of	the	verb	when	it	is	used
as	a	noun.	When	a	gerund	takes	additional	information	as	part	of	its	predicate,
the	entire	phrase	(known	as	a	gerund	phrase)	functions	as	a	noun.	Any	verb,
even	a	stative	one,	can	be	used	as	a	gerund.	For	example:
•	“Knowing	your	own	weaknesses	will	help	you	become	stronger.”
•	“I	enjoy	being	in	Paris.”
•	“What	I	like	most	is	reading	in	a	quiet	room.”
•	“Loving	one’s	work	is	a	rare	but	wonderful	accomplishment.”
Because	the	gerund	and	present	participle	of	a	verb	look	identical,	it	can	often	be
confusing	to	determine	how	a	verb	is	behaving.	However,	just	remember	that	if
the	verb	and	its	constituent	parts	are	functioning	as	a	noun	would	in	a	sentence,
then	it	is	a	gerund;	if	it	is	describing	an	action	that	the	subject	is	performing,
then	it	is	a	present	participle	used	to	create	a	continuous	tense.
Quiz
(answers	start	on	page	610)