But we also use the -ing and -ed endings to change verbs to other parts of speech, such as nouns or adjectives. In this example the verb walk is changed to a noun by adding -ing. Words that have been changed in this way are called gerunds.
Walking to work is good exercise.
Creating a participle by adding an -ing to a verb will also let you use that verb as an adjective.
Anyone winning the lottery can afford to be generous.
The present participle of the verb win is used in a participial phrase, winning the lottery, that acts as an adjective to modify anyone. Using the past participle can also let a verb act like an adjective.
His shirt, soaked with rain, could not keep out the cold.
Soaked with rain modifies shirt. Sometimes ESL speakers
are confused about which participle, present or past,
to use. In the case of "his shirt, soaked with rain" the past
participle is chosen because the action is performed on the
word modified, that is the shirt is soaked by the rain. On the
other hand, -ing is added when the action is performed
by the word that is modified as in the example "anyone winning
the lottery," where anyone, the word modified, performs
the action of winning.