PARTICIPLE

PRESENT (ACTIVE) AND PAST (PASSIVE) PARTICIPLE

·        The Present (or active) participle

A.   Form

The Infinitive + ing, e.g. working, loving, sitting

B.   Use

1.     To form the continuous tenses

Example:

1.     He is working.

2.     You’ve been dreaming.

3.     She is singing.

4.     My brother was swimming.

5.     He is running.

2.     As Adjective

Example:

1.     The movie was boring.

2.     The work was tiring.

3.     The picture was horrifying.

4.     The scene was amazing.

5.     That people was blinding

3.     Have + object + present participle

Example:

1.     I have you driving in three days.

2.     He had them all dancing.

3.     He have singing with nice.

4.     I have swimming in two days.

5.     She had running every day.

4.     Present participle can sometimes replace a relative pronoun + verb.

Example:

1.     A law forbidding the import.

2.     A notice warning people.

3.     An advertisement urging.

4.     People wishing to go on the tour.

5.     Fans hoping for a glimpse of the star.

5.     Present participles/participle phrases such as adding/pointing out/reminding/warning can introduce statements in indirect speech.

Example:

1.     She begged him not to drink too much, reminding him that he’d have to drive home.

2.     She suggested shopping on Friday, pointing out that the supermarket would be very crowded on Saturday.

6.     Present participle after verbs of sensation.

Example:

1.     I see him passing my house every day.

2.     I felt the car skidding.

3.     She smelt something burning and saw smoke rising.

4.     She saw him leave the house.

5.     I watched them rehearsing the play.

7.     Catch, find, leave + object + present participle

Example:

1.     I caught him stealing my apples.

2.     I found him standing at the door.

3.     I left him talking to her.

4.     He found a tree lying across the road.

8.     Go, come, spend, waste, be busy

Example:

1.     I’m going shopping this afternoon.

2.     They are going riding.

3.     He spends two hours (a day) travelling.

4.     He wasted a whole afternoon trying to repair the car.

5.     He spent a lot of money modernizing the house.

9.     A present participle phrase replacing a main clause.

Example:

1.     He holds the rope with one hand and stretches out the other to the boy in the water.

2.     Opening the drawer he took out a revolver.

10.            A present participle phrase replacing a subordinate clause.

Example:

1.     Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to buy food on his journey he took large supplies with him.

2.     Fearing that the police would recognize him he never went out in daylight.

·        The past (or passive) participle

A.   Form

The past participle of regular verbs is formed by adding ed or d to the infinitive, e.g the past participle of irregular verbs follow the rules we have previously discussed.

B.   Use

1.     As an adjective

Example:

1.     Stolen money

2.     Broken glass

3.     A written report

4.     Tired drivers

5.     Blocked roads

2.     To form the perfect tense/infinitives and participles and the passive voice:

Example:

1.     He has seen

2.     To have loved

3.     It was broken

3.     The past participle can replace a subject + passive verb just as the present participle can replace subject + active verb:

Example:

1.     She enters, accompanied by her mother.

2.     Aroused by the crash, he leapt his feet.

3.     Weakened by successive storms, the bridge was no longer safe or having been weakened.

4.     Convinced that they were trying to poison him, he refused to eat anything.