Participles
Contents
Learn everything you need to know about participles in English grammar with our comprehensive guide. Discover the forms, functions, and practical examples of present, past, and perfect participles, and enhance your writing and speaking skills.
What is a Participle?
What is a participle? A participle is a verbal that is used as an adjective and most often ends in -ing or -ed. They function as adjectives, thus participles modify nouns or pronouns.
There are two participles: The present participle and the past participle. They can both be used as adjectives.
The Present participle, always ending in -ing.
Present participle examples:
- A crying baby
- The smiling girl is my sister.
The past participles of all regular verbs end in -ed. For example:
- Harry has worked in this company for 5 years
Irregular verbs, however, have various past participle endings – for instance, thrown, ridden, built, and gone
Present Participle
The present participle, always ending in -ing, is created from the form of a verb used with the verb to be (am, is, are, was, were, been) as an auxiliary verb (progressive tense).
The Present participle is used:
1. As a part of the continuous form of a verb
- They are playing football at the moment.
- He is reading a book.
2. As an adjective
- A crying baby
- The smiling girl is my sister.
3. As a gerund
- Mary is interested in reading books.
4. After verbs of perception
- I saw them crossing the street.
- I could hear them playing in the garden.
5. With the verbs: Spend & Waste: verb + time/money expression + present participle
- Don’t waste time playing computer games!
- I’ve spent the whole weekend revising for my exam.
6. With the verbs Catch & Find: verb + object + present participle
(With catch, the participle always refers to an action which causes annoyance or anger. This is not the case with find, which is unemotional.)
- Don’t let him catch you reading his letters.
- I found him sitting on a park bench reading a book.
7. For two actions at the same time
- He left the room laughing.
NOTE: You may be thinking that present participles look just like gerunds because they are verbs ending in -ing, but the big difference is that gerunds are used like nouns, while present participles are used as adjectives to modify nouns or pronouns.
Past Participle
The past participles of all regular verbs end in -ed. Irregular verbs, however, have various past participle endings – for instance, thrown, ridden, built, and gone.
The Past Participle is used:
1. As an adjective
- A broken vase
- Spoken words cannot be revoked.
2. With the auxiliary verb “have” to form the perfect aspect
- Harry has worked in this company for 5 years.
- When I came, he had left.
3. With the verb “be” to form the passive
- This house was built in 1815.
- The book was given to me.
4. To make one of the past forms for the modal verbs (modal auxiliaries). These forms use a modal + have + the past participle.
- The police could have charged them with threatening behaviour.
- I should have finished by the middle of the week.
5. Used to replace a “subject + passive verb” construction
- She entered, accompanied by her daughters.
6. Used after Want, Make, Have and Like + direct object
- I want this text translated by noon.
- He made his presence felt.
Present Participle vs. Past Participle
Present Participle
The present participle has an active meaning and typically ends in -ing.
- He found the house burning.
(The house was actively burning when he found it.)
The present participle is often used to replace constructions where the subject performs an active action.
- He opens the door and looks inside → Opening the door, he looks inside.
(The phrase “Opening the door” replaces “He opens the door.”)
It is also used in nominative absolute constructions to describe an active state.
- The weather being fine, nobody wanted to stay at home.
(“The weather being fine” is an active description of the situation.)
Past Participle
The past participle generally has a passive meaning and often ends in -ed (for regular verbs) or an irregular form (e.g., fallen, burnt).
- He found the house burned.
(The house had already been burned when he found it.)
The past participle can also have an active meaning in some cases, especially when used as an adjective.
- A retired teacher (The teacher has retired.)
- The fallen angels (The angels have fallen.)
- An escaped prisoner (The prisoner has escaped.)
It is commonly used to replace constructions where the subject experiences a passive action.
- She entered, and she was accompanied by her daughters → She entered, accompanied by her daughters.
(The phrase “accompanied by her daughters” replaces “and she was accompanied.”)
In nominative absolute constructions, the past participle describes a passive state.
- All things considered, we should proceed.
- This done, I think we should start immediately.
(These phrases convey that the actions were completed.)
Summary of Differences
Feature | Present Participle (-ing) | Past Participle (-ed/-en) |
---|---|---|
Meaning | Active action or ongoing state | Passive action or completed state |
Usage | Describes active conditions or actions | Describes passive conditions or completed actions |
Example Sentence | The house was burning. | The house was burned. |
Nominative Absolute | The weather being fine, we went outside. | All things considered, we went ahead. |