Greetings fellow writers. I would like to discuss the use of 'ed' vs 'ing'. Im unsure as to which is best. There are times that I use both "She bawked, knocking him back" And times I stick to one or the other for 'flow' sake. I'd be interested in hearing others thoughts (since I lack telepathy this will have to do)
doesn't matter first/third, what matters with the ed/ing is what tense you are using. Past or present. ed is past tense = she walked, we walked, I walked. ing is present tense = she's walking, we're walking, I'm walking. So think about the tense first, then think about the person. "She barked and knocked him back." "I barked and knocked him back." "I bark my answer and knock him back." "She barks, knocking him back."
Personally I use them depending on the context. I try not to make it seem too repetitive, oddly I don't actually think about it when I use them lol I just want the story to have a natural flow of words
What @cutecat22 said. Deciding on whether he gets knocked back while she bawks or after the bawking has ended might help you to choose which one to use. Also... what's bawking?
It's to stop suddenly, generally in horse terms. But a person can bawk, it's only to stop suddenly or short.
I thought that was 'balk'. I must look up bauk, balk, bawk. Wonder if it's also a regional thing? I thought you meant shouting/shouted which is why I used bark/barked in my post.
Ing isn't exclusive to the present tense. For example 'He was walking', is past tense progressive. It indicates that an action is happening for a longer period than the moment it happens to have been described in. Past tense stories will normally use a mix of ing and ed, though normally with more ed than ing.
As others have said, the point of view or tense aren't the deciding factor. The deciding factor is the action itself--though sometimes the action can be seen either way. Clear-cut errors often happen when both are used in the same sentence. "She foomed, fumming." means either that she fummed at the same time that she foomed, or that the fumming was a direct consequence of the fooming. Correct examples: She swept the floor, singing loudly. She poured the tea, insisting, "You need to eat." She poured the tea, filling his cup. She poured the tea, making him feel guilty. Why should she be serving him? The first two examples show simultaneous actions--sweeping while singing, pouring while talking. The second are an action and its immediate, direct result--the pouring filled the cup, the pouring made him feel guilty. Edited to add: Your "balked" example is, IMO of this second type, and is correct. Incorrect examples: She shut the door, pouring the tea. corrected to: She shut the door and poured the tea or She shut the door, then poured the tea. She ran the dog through his exercises, brushing him to a shine. Corrected to: She brushed the dog to a shine and ran him through his exercises. or She brushed the dog to a shine, then ran him through his exercises. The middle version in the two examples above is ambiguous--is the action simultaneous or sequential? But allowing that ambiguity is a style decision; it's not technically incorrect. The first version in each example is incorrect, because it says that she's simultaneously shutting and pouring, or simultaneously brushing and running.
Oh yeah, to balk (at something) would make sense. I actually googled bawk but to no avail (apart from the ever-trustworthy urban dictionary which contains every random letter combination ever).
Spot on although you could also write: She swept the floor as she sang loudly. She poured the tea and insisted, "you need to eat." When she poured the tea, she filled his cup. When she poured the tea, it made him feel guilty. Why should she be the one to serve him?
This is where the regional thing comes in because where I come from (Middle and now north England) if you balk at something, it's an action to show repulsion. For example, I absolutely cannot stand to see candlesticks on kids' faces, and by candlesticks, I mean thick, white-ish green snot trails from nostrils to mouth, the sight of them makes me balk - which to me means, the sight of them makes me turn away, cover my mouth and gip as though I'm going to be sick.
Most dictionaries give a similar definition too, which was also the one I was familiar with in addition to a horse balking at a fence. Speaking of regional, I met two colleagues from East Midlands, and they called blathering or babbling "waffling." The Londoners there hadn't heard it before. Such a funny verb.
Oh I know that one! To waffle on - to talk continually about irrelevant crap "What are you waffling on about?" LOL
As a guy, I find this a bit confusing. I've never been able to fum while I'm fooming. Every time I try, I gomp and wind up having to excuse myself, hoping there's a good supply of toilet paper in the bathroom. Maybe it's a woman thing. Dunno. Anyway, as an apex predator, I never admit this to anybody except people on public internet forums, because when people laugh at me I put on weight. So don't. Besides, I have a button on my calculator marked "FOOM" but I've never pressed it because I'm terrified of the consequences. I'd need a crate of Imodium and a truckload of toilet paper and I'd need to get my relatives to care for the dogs for about a week. And I'd need a 55-gallon drum full of air freshener and I suspect I'd need a crew to pave over the swimming pool in the back yard. So never mind.
I have no idea what fum, foom, or foom means so this is all over my head but I gotta say yall got a laugh outta me there
