Examples:

• Three balloons are� rising  steadily into the sky.
• A noisy crowd is� watching  two cocks fight in a cockpit.
• The burglars were stealing  from drawers. �

In the sentences,� rising ,� watching  and� stealing  are present participles.�

Examples:

• She is still� crying .
• The two dogs are� barking  at the clown.
• A small dog was� chasing  a big cat.
• The sisters were� window-shopping .
• “What am I� doing ?” “Can’t you see I am� thinking ?!” �

Examples:

�

The present participle can come before: �

an object

• He is� scratching  his� head .
• Father and son are� throwing  and� catching � a ball  on the beach.

a complement

• We are all� getting  older.
• Jack and Jill are� becoming  close friends.

an object and a complement

• His behavior is� making  her� angry . (Object: her; complement: angry)
• Mum and dad are� buying  us� ice creams . �

an adverb

• The whole family are� gathering together in a lift.
• Abu is� riding  a camel� alone  in the desert.

Examples:

• I apologized for stepping  on her toes.
• They finally� decided on robbing  a smaller bank.
• Sometimes Jack and Jill� think of going  up the hill.
• She’s going to� concentrate on winning  the game.

Examples:

• Our boss went to play golf� in spite of feeling  unwell..
• Johnny has not been seen� since leaving  home this morning..
• She is paid well� for cleaning  the office.
• When leaving  his bedroom, he never fails to turn off the light.
• We always have some hot drink� after swimming .

Examples:

• Pointing at the bright object in the sky, he shouted “Look! UFO!”
• Rowing the boat upstream, we puffed and panted.
• Diving into the water, he swam to the other side of the pool..
• Picking up a stone, the boy threw it at a passing train. . 

Examples:

• After drinking for three hours, the sky began to get dark.

  (The subject of the main clause must be the one [noun] drinking for three hours. But the subject of the main clause is� sky , which is clearly different and wrong.� Correction :  After drinking for three hours, we saw/noticed the sky begin to get dark.)

• Looking at the sky, black clouds are spreading.

  ( Looking at the sky  requires a subject such as� I  or� we , not� black clouds . Since both clauses require different subjects, a� dangling participle  will result.� Correction : Looking at the sky, I saw black clouds spread across the sky.)

Examples:

• We watched them  fighting  in the street.
• We watched them� fight  in the street.

• I saw a couple of ducks� waddling  along the river bank..
• I saw a family of ducks� waddle  along the river bank.

• I heard a clock� ticking  somewhere in the house.
• I heard a clock� tick  somewhere in the house.

• This photo shows him� riding  the farmer's cow.
• This photo shows him� ride  the farmer's cow.

• Someone caught him� stealing  a cookie from the cookie jar.
• Someone caught him� steal  a cookie from the cookie jar.

Examples:

• We watched them� while  they were� fighting  in the street.
• I saw a couple of ducks� while  they were� waddling  along the river..
• I heard a clock� while  it was� ticking  somewhere in the house.
• This photo shows him� while  he was� riding  the farmer’s cow.
• Someone caught him� while  he was� stealing  a cookie from the cookie jar. �

Examples:

• He walked a long distance� with  sweat� trickling  down his face.
• With  a helicopter� appearing  above them, they thought it was probably patrolling the coastal waters.
• With  the sky  clearing , we knew we had the opportunity to go fishing.�