I'm Alice Bryant.

On a recent program, we talked about present participles.

The present participle is a word form that ends in I N G and serves several functions in English.

One of them is with verbs of perception, also known as sense verbs.

These are verbs that describe experiences we have through physical senses such as sight, sound, touch, smell and taste.

Listen for the sense verb and the present participle.

In this sentence, I heard people talking as I entered the hallway here.

The sense verb is here, and the speaker used the verb talk in its present participle form, talking notice that the sentence structure is sense for plus object plus present participle.

The object in the sentence is people after sense verbs.

Use of the present participle shows that the speaker experienced Onley part of what happened.

It emphasizes that inaction was in progress or not finished when a speaker experienced it.

This next example also involves a sense verb and the present participle.

Do you feel the floor shaking.

I think the washing machine needs repairs.

The sense verb here is feel, and the verb shake is in its present participle form shaking.

The object is the floor use of the present participle.

In this sentence suggests the speaker felt Onley part of the shaking.

You can learn mawr about present participles in our longer written program, and that's everyday grammar.