The Gerund and the Present Participle: 'ING' Form

The '-ing' form of the verb may be a present participle or a gerund.
The form is identical, the difference is in the function, or the job the word does in the sentence.

The present participle :

This is most commonly used:

The gerund :

This always has the same function as a noun (although it looks like a verb), so it can be used: