Inging

Inging: (noun) the Spanish habit of using the gerund form of an English verb to make it look and sound cool in everyday speech.

Now, these words may look English, they may even have a real English root, but they do not mean the same in English. For example…

Footing is what you call running slowly, or jogging. In English, footing means 1) support for the feet (He tried to get a good footing in the canyon wall.) or 2) the relationship between two people (They are on good footing.).

Parking is what you call the place where you leave the car, a parking lot, a car park or a garage. But parking actually refers to 1) moving your car into a space temporarily (Don’t talk to me while I’m parking, I need to concentrate.), or 2) the space available to park your car (There’s not a whole lot of parking in the city.).

Lifting is what you call getting plastic surgery on your face, or facelift. In English, lifting means picking something up (They’re lifting the piano through the window.).

Smoking is what you call a fancy suit that you wear on a special occasion (esmoquin), or a dinner jacket or tuxedo. In English, smoking is when you smoke rolled-up leaves like tobacco.

I have even seen this method become popular with Spanish words (for example, Vueling). Unbelievable, isn’t it? Let’s take a look at a couple of ways gerunds come in handy !

We often use gerunds as names for activities.

As an object: I like jogging.

Or as a subject: Smoking is prohibited.

Or after the verb go: I want to go shopping.

Now, I expect you to go using gerunds correctly!