Ah, the œing word: taking, shooting, sleeping¦truly any word can be an œing word and that’s a good thing. If something starts happening while I’m sleeping, I want to know.
When do we need to watch our œing?
- When it’s accompanied by œwas. So, if I œwas sleeping when something happened and now my sleep’s been interrupted, that’s fine. But if I was feeling sad and just wanted to go home, then I could be in passive voice.
- So, œI was feeling sad, so I went home. can become œSadness washed over me and all I wanted was the comfort of my bed. (or some such.
- The other time to watch your œing is when it starts a sentence:
- œTaking the cue was an easy thing. At this point, we don’t know who is doing the taking. So, clarify: œTaking the cue, the conductor lifted his stick and the orchestra began to play.