Participles Practice Test (B1-B2) — Grammar Exercises with Answers

⏱ Time: 10:00 📝 Questions: 20 📊 Level: B1, B2 📚 Type: Grammar ⭐ XP: up to +22 (on pass)
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Preparing for an English exam? Practise Participles with 20 exercises at Level B1-B2. The questions mirror real exam formats — multiple choice, true/false, fill-in — so you get used to the question styles while reviewing key grammar points.

⏱ You have 10:00 to answer 20 questions. The timer only starts when you click Begin.

Q1  20
Q1 20

Question 1: The ___ dog kept everyone awake all night.

Question 1 options
'Barking' is correct because a present participle (-ing form) is used as an adjective to describe a noun performing an action. 'Barked' is a past participle that implies the dog received the action, which doesn't make sense here. 'Bark' is a base form and cannot modify a noun directly. 'Barks' is a conjugated verb form, not an adjective.
Q2 20

Question 2: I was really ___ by the magician's performance.

Question 2 options
'Amazed' is correct because a past participle (-ed form) describes how a person feels as a result of something. 'Amazing' describes the thing that causes the feeling, not the person experiencing it. 'Amaze' is the base verb form and cannot follow 'was' as an adjective. 'Amazingly' is an adverb, not an adjective.
Q3 20

Question 3: The present participle of a verb is formed by adding -ing to the base form.

Question 3 options
True because present participles are consistently formed by adding -ing to the base verb (e.g., walk → walking, run → running), though spelling adjustments like doubling consonants may apply.
Q4 20

Question 4: The window ___ by the storm has been repaired.

Question 4 options
'Broken' is the past participle used in a reduced relative clause (= 'which was broken by the storm'). It describes the window as having received the action. 'Breaking' would incorrectly suggest the window performed the action of breaking something else.
Q5 20

Question 5: The movie was so ___. I almost fell asleep.

Question 5 options
'Boring' is correct because a present participle (-ing form) is used to describe the thing that causes a feeling. The movie causes boredom. 'Bored' describes how a person feels, not the movie itself. 'Bore' is the base verb. 'Boredom' is a noun, not an adjective.
Q6 20

Question 6: ___ her homework, Sarah went out to play.

Question 6 options
'Having finished' is correct because the perfect participle (having + past participle) shows that one action was completed before another began. 'Finished' alone as a past participle could work but doesn't emphasize the sequence as clearly. 'Finishing' suggests the actions happened simultaneously. 'To finish' expresses purpose, not a completed prior action.
Q7 20

Question 7: Which sentence contains a dangling participle?

Question 7 options
'Walking to the store, the rain started to fall' is incorrect because the participle 'walking' has no logical subject — 'the rain' cannot walk. The other sentences correctly attach the participle to the subject performing the action.
Q8 20

Question 8: Match each participle phrase to its grammatical function.

Question 8 options
The broken vase was on the floor.
She is writing a letter.
Feeling tired, he went to bed early.
The cake was baked by my mother.
Adverbial participle clause
Part of a passive construction
Part of a continuous tense
Adjective modifying a noun

Select an item on the left, then tap its match on the right.

Participles function as adjectives modifying nouns, parts of continuous or passive verb tenses, adverbial phrases giving extra information, and complements after sense verbs.
Q9 20

Question 9: I saw the children ___ in the garden when I arrived.

Question 9 options
'Playing' is correct because after perception verbs like 'saw,' the present participle describes an action in progress that the speaker witnessed. 'Played' is past simple and cannot follow a perception verb + object pattern. 'Were playing' needs a relative pronoun ('who were playing'). 'To playing' is grammatically incorrect.
Q10 20

Question 10: The news was really ___. Everyone was shocked.

Question 10 options
'Surprising' is correct because a present participle (-ing adjective) is used to describe the thing (the news) that causes a feeling (shock). 'Surprised' would describe how a person feels, not the news itself.
Q11 20

Question 11: The report ___ by the committee was presented to the board yesterday.

Question 11 options
'Prepared' is correct because a past participle is used in a reduced relative clause (= 'that was prepared by the committee') to describe a noun that received the action. 'Preparing' would mean the report itself was preparing something. 'Having prepared' implies a completed action before another, not a description. 'Was prepared' would create a full clause without a relative pronoun, making the sentence ungrammatical.
Q12 20

Question 12: In the sentence 'The man sitting by the window is my uncle,' 'sitting' functions as an adverb.

Question 12 options
False because 'sitting by the window' is a present participle phrase functioning as an adjective (a reduced relative clause) that modifies the noun 'man,' not as an adverb.
Q13 20

Question 13: She left the door ___ when she went out.

Question 13 options
'Unlocked' is correct because a past participle is used as an object complement after the verb 'left' to describe the state of the door. 'Unlocking' would incorrectly suggest the door was actively unlocking something. 'Unlock' is a bare infinitive which doesn't fit this structure. 'To unlocking' is grammatically incorrect.
Q14 20

Question 14: ___ from a long illness, the patient was finally released from the hospital.

Question 14 options
'Having recovered' is correct because the perfect participle indicates that the recovery was completed before the release. 'Recovering' would suggest the recovery was still in progress. 'Recovered' alone as a past participle doesn't clearly express the completed prior action. 'Being recovered' implies a passive meaning, but 'recover' is intransitive here.
Q15 20

Question 15: Put these words in the correct order to form a sentence with a participle clause:

Question 15 options
  • to rest.
  • they
  • decided
  • Exhausted from the journey,

Drag items or use arrows to arrange them in the correct order.

The correct order is 'Exhausted from the journey, they decided to rest' because the past participle clause ('Exhausted from the journey') comes first to describe the subject ('they'), followed by the main clause.
Q16 20

Question 16: The letter ___ on the desk belonged to the previous tenant.

Question 16 options
'Left' is correct because a past participle in a reduced relative clause (= 'that was left on the desk') describes the letter as something that received the action. 'Leaving' would imply the letter was performing the action of leaving. 'Was leaving' creates a full verb phrase that cannot modify a noun this way. 'Had left' is a past perfect form and cannot function as a reduced relative clause here.
Q17 20

Question 17: Not ___ what to say, Tom remained silent throughout the meeting.

Question 17 options
'Knowing' is correct because a present participle can follow 'not' to form a negative participle clause giving the reason for the main clause action. 'Known' is a past participle and would need a passive structure. 'Knew' is a finite verb and cannot begin a participle clause. 'To know' creates an infinitive clause of purpose, which doesn't fit the meaning of reason here.
Q18 20

Question 18: ___ by the noise, the baby started crying.

Question 18 options
'Frightened' or 'Startled' is correct because a past participle at the beginning of a sentence describes the subject (the baby) as receiving the action — the baby was frightened by the noise. A present participle like 'frightening' would incorrectly mean the baby was causing fright.
Q19 20

Question 19: Which sentence correctly uses a participle as a complement after 'get'?

Question 19 options
'He got his car repaired at the garage' is correct because 'get + object + past participle' is used to mean having something done by someone else. 'Repairing' would incorrectly suggest the car was performing the repair. 'He got repairing his car' is ungrammatical with 'get.' 'He got repair his car' lacks a participle entirely.
Q20 20

Question 20: ___ that the train had been cancelled, we decided to drive instead.

Question 20 options
'Having been told' is correct because the perfect passive participle (having been + past participle) shows that the subject received information before making the decision. 'Telling' implies the subject was giving information, not receiving it. 'Being told' doesn't clearly emphasize the completed sequence. 'Having telling' is grammatically incorrect.