現在分詞
多數動詞的現在分詞都有「動詞原型+ing」的型態，用法有很多種。
將現在分詞用為動詞進行式的一部分
舉例
- I am working.
- He was singing.
- They have been walking.
- We will be staying.
- She would have been expecting me.
現在分詞與表達行進、姿勢的動詞連用
這種結構在動詞 to go 上特別常見。
舉例
- She went shopping.
- I go running every morning.
- He lay looking up at the clouds.
- She came running towards me.
現在分詞與感知動詞連用
這種用法的句型為：動詞 + 受詞 + 現在分詞。當這類句子包含的是零不定詞（也就是不含 to 的不定詞）而不是分詞時，意思上會有所不同。不定詞涉及的是一個完成的動作，而現在分詞涉及的是持續性的動作。
舉例
- I heard someone singing.
- He saw his friend walking along the road.
- I can smell something burning!
- I watched the birds flying away.
現在分詞用為形容詞
舉例
- It was an amazing film.
- Dark billowing clouds often precede a storm.
- He was trapped inside the burning house.
- Many of his paintings show the setting sun.
現在分詞與 spend 和 waste 等動詞連用
這類動詞的句型是：動詞 + 表達時間/金錢的詞語 + 現在分詞。
舉例
- My boss spends two hours a day travelling to work.
- Don't waste time playing computer games!
- They've spent the whole day shopping.
- I wasted money buying this game.
現在分詞與 catch 和 find 等動詞的連用
使用這些動詞的句型為：動詞 + 受詞 + 現在分詞。用在 catch 後的現在分詞，往往有「某件事造成滋擾或憤怒」之意。跟動詞 find 的情況不同，沒有情緒的意味。
舉例
- If I catch you stealing my apples again, there'll be trouble!
- Don't let him catch you reading his letters.
- I caught him going through my bag.
- We found some money lying on the ground.
- They found their mother sitting in the garden.
用現在分詞表達兩個動作同時進行
當兩個動作同時發生，而且是由同個人或同件事物所做的動作，我們就會用現在分詞來描述其中一個動作。當某個動作緊接在另一個動作後，而這個動作是由同個人或事物所做的；我們就可以將第一個動作用現在分詞來表達。
舉例
- Whistling to himself, he walked down the road. = He whistled to himself as he walked down the road.
- They went laughing out into the snow. = They laughed as they went out into the snow.
- Dropping the gun, she put her hands in the air. = She dropped the gun and put her hands in the air.
- Putting on his coat, he left the house. = He put on his coat and left the house.
用現在分詞來說明原因
現在分詞可以用來取代以 as、since、because 為首的片語。在這種用法中，分詞片語說明某個動作的理由或原因。
舉例
- Feeling hungry, he went into the kitchen and opened the fridge.
- Being poor, he didn't spend much on clothes.
- Knowing that his mother was coming, he cleaned the flat.
- He whispered, thinking his brother was still asleep.