Participle

The present participle is formed by adding the ending "ing" to the base form of the verb. The present participle is used in the formation of the continuous tenses and can also function as an attribute.

-    The girl is crying.

 

The past participle is used in the formation of the perfect tenses and the tenses in the passive voice and can also function as an attribute.

-    He has visited London several times.

-    The letter was sent yesterday.

-    I saw two broken chairs.

 

Present participle:

The present participle is formed by adding the ending “ing” to the base form of the verb and is used in the formation of the continuous tenses and the perfect continuous tenses:

-    We are reading a new book.

-    She has been typing for two hours.

 

The present participle can also function as an adjective: a sleeping child, a barking dog, a dancing girl.

 

Past participle:

Regular verbs form the past participle by adding the ending “ed” to the base form of the verb: saved, played, answered; irregular verbs form the past participle mostly by changing the root: sold, written, done. The past participle is used in the formation of the perfect tenses and of the tenses in the passive:

-    He has written two letters.

-    The house was built in 1985.

 

The past participle can also function as an adjective: a broken window, a written exam.

 

Participle constructions:

Participles in active, perfect, and passive forms are often used in participial constructions (participial phrases, participial clauses), mostly in writing.

-    Walking in the park, I saw a very interesting bird.

-    Having walked for an hour, I felt pretty refreshed.

-    Being asked where he had been, the boy answered that he didn't remember.

-    Having been asked the same question several times, the boy began to cry.

 

Compound forms are usually replaced by simpler forms:

-    Asked where he had been, the boy began to cry.

 

Participle is used to make compound verb forms. English verbs have two participles: the present participle (typing, writing) and the past participle (typed, written). Participle is used in the formation of the continuous, perfect and perfect continuous tenses.

Present participle:

The present participle of the main verb is used in the formation of the continuous and perfect continuous tenses. The present participle is formed by adding "ing" to the base form of the verb: flying, playing, running, sleeping, and working.

•    Continuous tenses:

-    We are reading a new book.

-    He is working now.

-    We were sleeping when he called.

 

•    Future continuous tenses:

-    She will be writing letters at four o'clock.

-    We will have been waiting for them for 30 minutes by the time we arrive at the airport.

 

•    Perfect continuous tenses:

-    She has been typing for two hours.

-    He has been working since early morning.

-    She had been sleeping before you called.

-    By six o'clock, she will have been writing letters for two hours.

 

•    The present participle can also function as an adjective:

-    A sleeping child,

-    A barking dog,

-    The dancing girl.

 

Past participle:

The past participle (of the main verb) is used in the formation of the perfect tenses in the active voice and of all of the tenses in the passive voice. Regular verbs form the past participle by adding "ed" to the base form of the verb: moved, played, stopped, and typed. Irregular verbs form the past participle mostly by changing the root of the word: broken, flown, read, slept, sold, and written. The past participle expresses passive meaning.

•                  Perfect tenses in the active:

-    He has written two letters.

-    We have already written three stories.

-    She had typed two reports by ten o'clock yesterday.

-    She will have typed the next report by six o'clock.

 

•    Tenses in the passive:

-    The house was built in 1985.

-    Three stories have already been written.

-    Five reports were typed last week.

-    Two reports had been typed by ten o'clock yesterday.

-    This report will be typed tomorrow.

 

•    The past participle can also function as an adjective: a broken window, a written exam.

 

Participles in active, perfect, and passive forms are often used in participial constructions (participial phrases, participial clauses), mostly in writing.

-    Walking in the park, I saw a very interesting bird.

-    Having walked for an hour, I felt pretty refreshed.

-    Being asked where he had been, the boy answered that he didn't remember.

-    Having been asked the same question several times, the boy began to cry.

 

Compound forms are usually replaced by simpler forms:

-    Asked where he had been, the boy began to cry.

 

 

A word formed from a verb (e.g., going, gone, being, been) and used as an adjective (e.g., working woman, burned toast) or a noun (e.g., good breeding).

 

Participles are used as adjectives.

Usually, the difference between these functions of participles is clear and does not lead to any mistakes in understanding. Where a participle stands after the verb to be, it may be a little difficult to understand the difference. Compare these sentences:

-    This situation is humiliating. (the participle "humiliating" as an adjective)

Stop it! You are humiliating him. ("are humiliating" – the present continuous tense)

-    Two chairs are broken. (the participle "broken" as an adjective)

Two chairs were broken by some customers yesterday. ("were broken" – the Past simple in the passive)

-    It was a very exhilarating experience.

-    The nominee is so reassuring that the committee is planning to choose him.

 

Past participles used as adjectives:

-    I was exhilarated by the experience.

-    The committee was disappointed with the results.

 

Present participles as reductions of adjective clauses (Active):

-    The man who made a speech at the party last night has been working with us for ages. The man making a speech at the party last night has been working with us for ages.

-    The woman who takes care of the money issues will be retired next week. The woman taking care of the money issues will be retired next week.

 

 

Past participles used as reduction of adjective clauses (Passive):

-    The two survivors who were worn out by hunger and fatigue were rescued at last. The two survivors worn out by hunger and fatigue were rescued at last.

-    The car which was repaired last week has broken down again. The car repaired last week has broken down again.

Present participle as adverbial modifier

Participles are also used in the function of adverbial modifiers:

-    He opened the door, smiling; surprised, he didn't know what to say.

 

Participles have simple and compound forms.

Simple forms consist of only one word, i.e., the participle itself: doing, done. The form "doing" is simple active; the form "done" is simple passive.

 

Compound (analytical) forms are formed with the help of the auxiliary verbs "be" and "have": "having done" is perfect active;

"being done" is passive;

"having been done" is perfect passive.

 

Present participle in constructions with complex object:

The present participle is used in constructions with complex object after the verbs of sense perception "hear, see, watch, observe, notice, feel" to indicate the action in progress.

-    I saw him locking the door. I saw him watching me. I see her smiling.

-    I heard them laughing. I hear the telephone ringing.

-    She felt him looking at her.

-    She noticed him smiling at something.

 

The infinitive in such construction usually expresses a completed action, but with verbs of continuing nature the infinitive can express the action in progress.

Compare:

-    I saw him crossing the street. I saw him cross the street.

-    I saw her coming out of the house. I saw her come out of the house.

-    I heard the telephone ringing. I heard the telephone ring.

-    I heard him singing. I heard him sing.

-    I heard her crying. I heard her cry.

-    He watched them walking slowly toward the house. He watched them walk slowly toward the house.

 

The use of participles after the verbs "smell" and "find":

-    I smell something burning.

-    I found him sleeping.

-    She finds him interesting.

-    I found the door locked.

 

Past participle in constructions with complex object:

The past participle is used in constructions with complex object to show that the person or thing indicated by the object undergoes the action indicated by the participle. Constructions after "see, hear, want, consider":

-    He saw his bags put into the trunk of a large car.

-    She saw several participants arrested during the demonstration.

-    We heard her name mentioned during the discussion.

-    He wants it done as soon as possible.

-    We want him elected.

-    I consider this matter closed.

Note: In the last three examples above, the participles "done, elected, closed" may be regarded as shortened variants of the passive infinitive forms "to be done; to be elected; to be closed".

 

In constructions like "I had it done", the past participle is used after the verb "have" (or after "get" in informal speech) to show that the action is performed for you by someone, usually at your request. Construction "have something done":

-    I had my car washed.

-    He had his hair cut yesterday.

-    She got her TV repaired.

 

However, in some cases the action expressed by the participle after the verb "have" in such constructions is performed not at your request, and the action may be unpleasant. Examples:

-    She had her purse stolen yesterday.

-    He had his nose broken in a fight.

-    She got her finger jammed in the door.

 

 

In a sentence, simple forms of participles are used in the function of attributes and adverbial modifiers, alone or in participial constructions. Compound forms of participles are used more rarely and are found mostly in participial constructions.

-    The boy is reading a book.

The reading boy didn't pay any attention to the teacher's words.

The boy reading a book didn't pay any attention to the teacher's words. He was sitting by the window, reading a book.

-    Having been translated into several languages, this story is well known in many countries. Translated into several languages, this story is well known in many countries.

 

Compare these examples:

-    I saw a running boy.

-    He was running very fast.

-    He ran shouting something.

-    Running past the bakery, the boy stopped abruptly.

-    He stood there, looking at the shopwindow intently.

-    Having found the door locked, the boy left.

 

Participle before noun

Participles have the qualities of adjectives and are used as attributes in a sentence: a smiling girl; surprised faces, a flying bird; a moving train; a promising actor; running water; boiling water; working people; a broken heart; a tired voice; a written confirmation; boiled water; developed countries; experienced users.

Examples:

-    Barking dogs seldom bite.

-    I'm always glad to see her smiling face.

-    She spoke in a trembling voice.

-    He stood before the locked door.

-    He is a retired colonel.

 

Participle after noun

Participial constructions (Participial Phrases) can function as attributes (the girl sitting at the table) or as adverbial modifiers (standing by the window, she watched the birds). Participles that are closer to verbs than to adjectives are often placed after the noun that they modify: the problems remaining; the people attending; the people involved; the questions discussed; the names mentioned; the documents required; those invited; those concerned.

-    The boy playing with the kitten is my nephew. (The boy who is playing with the kitten is my nephew.)

-    I talked to several people participating in the project.

-    The car parked by the entrance belongs to the director.

-    I need a list of the goods sold yesterday.

 

Compare these sentences containing a single-word participle, a participial construction, or a relative clause:

-    The questions discussed were quite important.

The questions discussed at the meeting were quite important.

The questions that were discussed at the meeting were quite important.

-    Some of those invited refused to participate.

Some of those invited to the meeting refused to participate.

Some of the people who were invited to the meeting refused to participate.

 

The adverbs "very, much, very much" are used to intensify the meaning. "Very" is used with adjectives (and with adverbs, e.g., very quickly); "much" and "very much" are used with verbs.

For example, you can say "This book is very good" and "I liked it very much", but you can't say "I very liked it".

 

Past participles, usually in the position after the verb “to be”, may also be used with intensifiers. Past participles that have acquired strong adjectival qualities (usually, they are participles expressing feelings) may be used with "very", for example, "very bored, very interested, very surprised, very tired". Past participles that have strong verbal qualities are used with "much" or "very much", for example, "much obliged, very much appreciated, very much criticized, much reduced".

Examples:

-    I was very tired yesterday.

-    Your help was very much appreciated.

-    Her first novel was much criticized.

-    Her latest novel is much talked about.

 

Which past participles can be used with "very" and which only with "much" or "very much" is a difficult question. There are no recommended lists of past participles that can be used with "very", and there is no agreement among linguists on this issue.

The issue described above concerns only the past participle because the present participle is not used with "much" or "very much". Whether you can use "very" with this or that present participle depends on the meaning of the participle and on how close to the adjective it has become. For example, you can say "very interesting, very boring, very encouraging, very surprising", but you can't say "very flying, very working".

 

 

The absolute participle construction has its own subject and can stand at the beginning or at the end of the sentence. Sometimes the preposition "with" introduces an absolute participle clause. Absolute constructions are widely used in literary works and scientific writing, but are rare in ordinary speech.

-    The weather being nice and warm, we went for a walk.

-    Nobody knowing what to do, we decided to do nothing.

-    Two of them headed toward the director's office, the other three staying in the hall.

-    Sydney is the largest city in Australia, with Melbourne being the second largest.

-    Their recent fight forgotten, the children began to play with their new toys.

-    Our work finished, we said good-bye and left.

-    She listened to his story quietly, with her eyes closed and her face impassive.

 

Dangling participles are considered to be bad style of writing. Besides, they can cause serious misunderstanding. Sentences with dangling participles should be restructured. It can be done by clearly indicating the subject in the main sentence so that the participle is clearly attached to the subject, or by changing the participial construction into a subordinate clause. For example, the sentences with dangling participles above can be restructured in the following ways:

-    Coming out of the house, I saw that the rain started. When I came out of the house, the rain started.

-    Not knowing his telephone, we sent a letter to him.

As we didn't know his telephone, we sent a letter to him.

 

Some prepositions and conjunctions are in the form of participles. For example: concerning, considering, including, notwithstanding, owing to, judging from, provided that, regarding, supposing. They do not require strict connection with the subject and should not be regarded as dangling participles when they do not refer to the subject. The same can be said about participles in such set expressions as "generally speaking, strictly speaking, taking into consideration" and some others.

-    Owing to the rain, the game was postponed.

-    Considering the price, this table is a good buy.

-    Strictly speaking, they are not her relatives.

 

1-       Weather permitting (=if wheather permits), we’ll go hunting.

2-       That beings the case, I think we had better adjourn the meeting.

3-       All things being equal, we should win on Sunday. [bütün şartlar eşit olursa, eşit şartlar altında]

4-       Generally speaking, the more you pay for stereo equipment, the better the system. [genel olarak]

5-       Strictly speaking, he is not qualified for the job. [dar anlamıyla; in a wider sense / in a boader sense: daha geniş anlamıyla]

6-       Time permitting, we’ll visit the museum. [zamanımız kalırsa]

7-       Judging from (=considering) the findings of the research, this animal is immune to many diseases.

8-       Judging by what everyone says about him, he has a fair chance of winning. [göz önüne alındığında]]

9-       Given (=Taking into account: Considering) his enormous popularity as an author, it is not surprising that he was elected Present.]

10-    Granted that (=given that) he is in hospital, he can’t do us much harm.

11-    Granted that (=even supposing that) he should send money to help with the bills, it doesn’t mean will.

12-    There are 48 members all told (=counting everyone; altogether).

13-    All things considered (=When one considers every aspect of a problem, situation, etc.), we’re doing quite well. [Sonuç paragrafında, “bütün bunlar göz önüne alındığında”]

14-    Education is a good thing, other things being equal (= provided that circumstances elsewhere remain the same). [diğer şatlar eşit olduğunda]