-ing words in Polish

A stumbling block for me with a few languages is correct use of -ing words.

I'm not au fait with all the terminology, so couldn't confidently say what a gerund thing, verbal noun or adverbial participle is.  I have a loose grasp, but I intend to tighten that and get to grips with -ing words in Polish.

Recently, I used a verbal noun where I shouldn't.  So let's look at verbal nouns first, seeing as I was so quick to reach for one.

The one I erroneously used was czekanie, the verbal noun of czekać - to wait - formed by taking the stem of czekać and adding the suffix -anie.  As far as I can see, a verbal noun is the gerund form of a verb.

Bear in mind that some verbs rarely form the verbal noun, but use a different noun instead

So, when do we use these gerund forms / verbal nouns?

Some examples:

Polecił coś do czytania    -    He recommended something to read (literal:... something for reading)

Co tu jest do jedzenia?    -    What is there to eat? (lit:What here is for eating?)

Proszek do prania    -    Powder for washing / washing powder

Proszek do pieczenia    -    Baking powder

Pisanie książki było trudne    -    Writing the book was difficult.

Lubię czytanie    -    I like reading (technically correct, but doesn't sound natural vs lubię czytać)

Nie lubię czekania    -    I don't like waiting

Oglądanie piłki nożnej jest bezproduktywne.    -    Watching football is not productive

Now, where did I use czekanie incorrectly?

I said Byłem w samochodzie czekanie na...

This was incorrect, because I was in the car waiting for something.  I wasn't talking about waiting, but saying how I was waiting, while being in the car.  For this kind of -ing word, I want some kind of participle, I want to add the suffix -ąc.  I think it is the contempory adverbial participle, czekając.

I should have said: Byłem w samochodzie, czekając aż...

So, what are these adverbial participles?

Well, just to complicate things, they are divided into contemporary and anterior participles.

Co kurwa?  I know, I know.

Contemporary adverbial participles indicate a state or action occurring contemporaneously with the main clause.

In my example, I was in the car.  While I was in the car, I was waiting.  I was both being in it and waiting: simultaneous / contemporaneous states or actions.

NB Contemporaneous adverbial participles can only be formed from imperfect verbs.  Which makes sense as the action is ongoing.

Let's try create some more examples from my weekend.

I was eating breakfast in the hotel, reading my favourite book.

Jadłem śniadanie w hotelu, czytając ulubioną książkę

Anterior adverbial participles indicate something happening to completion before the main clause and are, apparently mostly used only in formal language.

They are formed only from perfective verbs.

Zjadłszy kanapkę, zjadł Monte na deser  (pełny smak, pełna moc, pełna zabawa!)

Having eaten a sandwich, he ate a Monte for dessert.