A verb ending in -ing is either a present participle or a gerund.
These two forms look identical. The difference is in their functions in a sentence.

Present participles are part of the continuous tenses.
The helping verb will indicate the tense, while the present participle remains unchanging.
Examples:
He is painting.
She was waiting.
They will be coming.

A present participle is most commonly used as part of the continuous form of a verb,
after verbs of perception, after verbs of movement, or as an adjective.

Gerunds
The gerund always has the same function as a noun, although it looks like a verb
It can be used in the same way as a noun.
Examples:
Driving too fast is dangerous.
I like cooking.
He enjoys walking.
We often have the option to use a ”to-infinitive” or a “gerund form”
To drive too fast is dangerous./driving too fast ….