IN COMPOUND NOUNS

The gerund used in compound nouns

In compound structures, a gerund is often used before a noun to modify it:

drinking water (water for drinking)
a reading lamp (a lamp for reading)
a swimming cap (a cap for swimming)
Nouns + Gerunds

hyphens: nouns with gerunds
 
A gerund is a present participle used as a noun (e.g. making, solving). In a compound formed from a noun plus a gerund, the use of a hyphen depends on how the compound is being used in the sentence.

Used as a noun

When compounds formed from a noun plus a gerund function as nouns, they are not hyphenated. Some noun-plus-gerund compounds are written as one word:

• housekeeping
• shipbuilding
• sightseeing
• cabinetmaking (ebanisteria)

Others are written as separate words:

• decision making
• power sharing
• problem solving
• deficit spending

Exception:

• foot-dragging

Used as an adjective

When a noun-plus-gerund compound that is normally written as two separate words is used as an adjective before a noun, it should be hyphenated:

• the decision-making process
• a power-sharing agreement
• problem-solving techniques
• a deficit-spending plan

* Vocabulary is a matter of word-building as well as word-using.
* Decision-making is very scary for me * Between calculated risk and reckless decision-making lies the dividing line between profit and loss * Clearly, the decision-making that we rely on in society is fallible. It's highly fallible, and we should know that.

 Some noun-plus-gerund compounds are written as one word:
housekeeping , shipbuilding , sightseeing, cabinetmaking

public spending n	(law: money spent by government)	gasto público nm + adj
spending cut n	(reduced budget)	recorte de gasto nm + loc adj
spending money n	(cash for everyday expenses)	dinero de bolsillo nm + loc adj
	Ian always has to ask his father for spending money.
	Ian siempre pide a su padre dinero de bolsillo para sus gastos.
spending money n	(cash to spend on luxuries)	ahorros nmpl
	I saved up so I'd have spending money for a diamond ring.
	Guardé dinero y ahora tengo unos ahorros para poder comprarme un anillo de diamantes.
spending power n	(income available for spending)	poder adquisitivo loc nom m
		autorización de gastar nf + loc adj
	Le dieron autorización de gastar hasta cinco mil pesos para concretar el proyecto.
spending style n	(attitude towards expenses)	hábitos de consumo nmpl + loc adj

Gerund + Noun

 Working Condition, Working Couples, Working Day ...
* Desire is the starting point of all achievement.
* Hope is a waking dream. Aristotle

Decision-making is very scary for me.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/laura_dern_803373

Decision-making is very scary for me.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/laura_dern_803373

The gerund in compound nouns

In compound nouns using the gerund, it is clear that the meaning is that of a noun, not of a continuous verb. For example, with the word "swimming pool" it is a pool for swimming in, it is not a pool that is swimming.

Examples

• I am giving Sally a driving lesson.
• They have a swimming pool in their back yard.
• I bought some new running shoes.

In compound structures, a gerund is often used before a noun to modify it:

drinking water (water for drinking)
a reading lamp (a lamp for reading)
a swimming cap (a cap for swimming)

Gerund + preposition

Examples of feature-length making-ofs

In cinema, a making-of, also known as behind-the-scenes, the set or on the set is a documentary film that features the production of a film or television program. 



Nominal use of present participle phrase "going on"

the goings-on of daily life. (Inf. happenings; events)

1. Informal Termsconduct or behavior, esp. when open to criticism:We had never seen such goings-on asat the last dance.
2. Informal Termshappenings;
   events:The American newspaper kept her in touch with the goings-on back home.

• noun, nominal use of present participle phrase going on 1765–75

any goings on? / Any goings-on in the past three weeks?"
I agree that goings-on has a connotation of scandalous gossip, though I'm not sure why this would be. And it's not a term that's used very often in AmE, anyway.


Goings On About Town 
in a newspaper or magazine like Time Out, the New Yorker or New York, it means events of interest that are happening in that town - museum exhibits, movie screenings, concerts, art gallery installations to see, etc.