Vocabulary 4000 - Noel's ESL eBook Library

Idiom & Usage 131
4. Present Participle (-ing form of the verb)
a. Used to form the present progressive tense, which indicates
that an action is ongoing. It is formed using is, am, or are
and the present participle of the verb.
He is preparing thoroughly for the SAT.
b. Used to form the past progressive tense, which indicates
that an action was in progress in the past. It is formed using
was or were and the present participle of the verb.
He was preparing for the SAT.
c. Used to form the future progressive tense, which indicates
that an action will be in progress in the future. It is formed
using will be or shall be and the present participle of the
verb.
He will be preparing thoroughly for the SAT.
PASSIVE VOICE
The passive voice removes the subject from the sentence. It is
formed with the verb to be and the past participle of the main verb.
Passive:
Active:
The bill was resubmitted by the Senator.
The Senator has resubmitted the bill.
Unless you want to de-emphasize the doer of an action, you should
favor the active voice.