Ing Form of Verb: Spelling Rules and 300+ Verb List

Adding -ing to a verb looks simple until the spelling changes. Talk becomes talking, but write becomes writing, run becomes running, and lie becomes lying.

These changes are not random. Most English verbs follow a small number of spelling patterns when the -ing form is made. Knowing which pattern applies can help you spell forms such as beginning, studying, panicking, agreeing, and singeing correctly.

How to Form the -ing Form of a Verb

For many verbs, you only need to add -ing. Others require a small spelling change first.

Add -ing to Most Verbs

The simplest pattern is:

verb + ing

For example:

jump → jumping

search → searching

follow → following

enjoy → enjoying

listen → listening

Nothing is removed or doubled in these words.

The children are jumping over the puddles.

I am searching for my glasses.

Ryan enjoys listening to podcasts while cooking.

Drop a Final Silent e

When a verb ends in a silent e, the e is usually removed before -ing is added.

smile → smiling

arrive → arriving

use → using

close → closing

dance → dancing

Sofia is smiling at the camera.

Our guests are arriving this afternoon.

The store is closing early today.

This pattern applies to many familiar verbs ending in -e, but there are important exceptions.

Keep the e in Some Endings

Verbs ending in combinations such as -ee, -ye, and -oe normally keep the e before -ing.

see → seeing

agree → agreeing

dye → dyeing

hoe → hoeing

toe → toeing

Notice the difference:

die → dying

but:

dye → dyeing

Keeping the e in dyeing also helps distinguish it from dying.

Change -ie to -y

When a verb ends in -ie, change ie to y before adding -ing.

die → dying

lie → lying

tie → tying

The flowers are dying because the soil is too dry.

The dog is lying near the doorway.

Grace is tying a ribbon around the box.

Forms such as dieing and lieing are normally incorrect for these verbs.

Double the Final Consonant in Many Short Verbs

Many one-syllable verbs ending in a single vowel followed by a single consonant double the final consonant before -ing.

sit → sitting

rob → robbing

plan → planning

stop → stopping

swim → swimming

We are planning a picnic for Saturday.

The bus is stopping at the next corner.

Final w, x, and y are not normally doubled:

snow → snowing

fix → fixing

play → playing

not snowwing, fixxing, or playying.

Stress Matters in Longer Verbs

For longer verbs that end in a single vowel followed by a single consonant, stress often determines whether the final consonant is doubled.

When the final syllable is stressed, the final consonant is commonly doubled:

begin → beginning

admit → admitting

occur → occurring

prefer → preferring

The concert is beginning in a few minutes.

Daniel is admitting that he made a mistake.

When the final syllable is not stressed, the consonant is usually not doubled:

open → opening

visit → visiting

happen → happening

offer → offering

So:

visit → visiting

not:

visitting

A simple rule saying that every verb ending in a consonant-vowel-consonant pattern must double the final consonant would therefore be too broad.

Final l Can Vary Between British and American English

Spelling conventions can affect verbs ending in l.

British English commonly doubles the final l in forms such as:

travel → travelling

cancel → cancelling

label → labelling

American English commonly uses:

travel → traveling

cancel → canceling

label → labeling

Both spellings are standard within the appropriate variety of English.

Keep a Final y

A verb ending in y normally keeps the y before -ing.

carry → carrying

study → studying

enjoy → enjoying

worry → worrying

stay → staying

Leah is carrying two bags.

The students are studying in the library.

We are staying with relatives this weekend.

The spelling changes found in forms such as studies or carried do not apply when -ing is added.

Add k to Many Verbs Ending in c

When a verb ends in c, a k is commonly added before -ing.

panic → panicking

picnic → picnicking

mimic → mimicking

traffic → trafficking

There is no reason to start panicking.

The children were mimicking the actor’s voice.

The added k helps preserve the hard /k/ sound before -ing.

Common -ing Form Spelling Mistakes

Most mistakes with -ing forms come from applying a spelling pattern too widely or missing a change that the verb requires.

Before adding -ing, check the end of the base verb. You may need to keep the spelling unchanged, remove an e, change ie, double a consonant, or add k.

300+ Verbs With Their -ing Forms

The tables below give the base form and -ing form of more than 300 useful English verbs. Straightforward forms are included alongside verbs that require a spelling change.

Where established spelling varies between British and American English, both forms are shown when the distinction is useful.

Verbs A–C

Verbs D–H

Verbs I–M

Verbs N–R

Practice is the usual verb spelling in American English. British English normally uses practise as the verb, giving practising.

Verbs S–Z

A Few -ing Forms Worth Noticing

Most verbs in the table follow the spelling patterns already explained. A few forms deserve extra attention because their spelling can still be surprising.

Being

The -ing form of be is:

be → being

Leo is being unusually quiet today.

Although be has several unusual forms elsewhere in English grammar, its -ing form is always being.

Dying and Dyeing

These words come from different verbs and have different spellings.

Die changes -ie to y:

die → dying

The battery is dying.

Dye keeps its final e:

dye → dyeing

Mia is dyeing the fabric blue.

The spelling difference separates the meaning connected with death from the meaning connected with adding color.

Singeing

Singe is an important exception to the usual silent-e pattern.

Instead of dropping the e, we write:

singe → singeing

The flame was singeing the edge of the paper.

Keeping the e also helps distinguish singeing from:

sing → singing

The two verbs have completely different meanings.

What Does the -ing Form Do?

An -ing form can appear in more than one grammatical role.

Compare:

Theo is repairing the bicycle.

Here, repairing is part of a progressive verb construction.

Now compare:

Repairing bicycles requires patience.

The spelling of repairing is unchanged, but its grammatical role is different.

For spelling purposes, -ing form is a useful general label. Whether the form functions as a present participle, a gerund, or part of another construction depends on how it is used in the sentence.

For a fuller explanation of participle uses, see participles in English grammar.

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