The consonant sound [ŋ] is a voiced, nasal, velar sound produced when the back of the tongue touches the soft palate (velum) while air passes through the nose. It commonly appears in English words ending in "-ng"(e.g., song, ring, long) and before [k] or [g] (e.g., think, sinking, longer). Unlike other nasal sounds [ŋ] never appears at the beginning of English words. It is an essential sound in many words, especially in gerunds and present participles ending in "-ing" (e.g., running, singing, thinking).