2.76 PRODUCTIVE FEATURE

The '-ing' form of most intransitive English verbs can be used attributively as adjectives to indicate what someone or something is doing.

• ...a walking figure.
• Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.
• He escorted her around the bowing and chanting multitude.
• ...two years of falling employment.
• ...a tremendous noise of crashing glass.

The use of the '-ing' form of verbs as adjectives is a productive feature of English. Productive features are explained in the Introduction.