A Remedial English
Grammar
CHAPTERS
ARTICLES
AGREEMENT OF VERB AND SUBJECT
CONCORD OF NOUNS, PRONOUNS AND POSSESSIVE
ADJECTIVES
CONFUSION OF ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS
DIFFICULTIES WITH COMPARATIVE AND
SUPERLATIVES
CONFUSION OF PARTICIPLES: ACTIVE & PASSIVE
PREPOSITIONS
NEGATIVE VERBS
TENSES 1, 2 & 3
THE INFINITIVE
CONFUSION OF PARTICIPLES: ACTIVE &
PASSIVE
Rules of usage
1.
With transitive verbs the present participle is active and
the past participle is passive.
The meaning for active form is ‘it tells us something
that a person or a thing does’.
The meaning for passive form is ‘it tells us something
that is done to a person or thing’.
E.g. A drying fruit: a wind that dries things.
Dried fruit: fruit that has been dried.
CONFUSION OF PARTICIPLES: ACTIVE &
PASSIVE
2.
To say what it is that is to be done, past
participle is used.
E.g. I want this exercise written in ink.
The verbs need and want can be followed by a verbal form
ending in –ing, which is equivalent in meaning to a passive
infinitive.
E.g. My shoes need mending.
This dress wants washing.
CONFUSION OF PARTICIPLES: ACTIVE &
PASSIVE
3.
The present participle can take only be as an auxiliary
and not have.
E.g. He is writing a book about his travels.
The past participles of transitive verbs can take both be
and have.
E.g. The fruit is ripened by the sun.
The sun has ripened the fruit.
The past participle of most intransitive verbs can take
only have.
E.g. The girl has fainted.
CONFUSION OF PARTICIPLES: ACTIVE &
PASSIVE
4.
Special care is necessary when the auxiliary is have
been, has been, or had been. It is a mistake to place the past
participle after it thinking that have is a pure auxiliary (such
as have been played). Have been is a compound tense of
the auxiliary be, not have. To become active it must
therefore be followed by the present participle and by the
past participle to become passive.
E.g. We have been playing cricket. (A)
All the food has been eaten. (P)
CONFUSION OF PARTICIPLES: ACTIVE &
PASSIVE
5. There are some verbs which can be used either transitively or
intransitively. In the intransitive use have, has, had can be
followed by the present participle. In the transitive use, it can
be the present or past participle.
E.g. They have been working very hard today. (Intr)
You have been working that horse very hard. (tr)
That horse has been worked very hard. (tr)
CONFUSION OF PARTICIPLES: ACTIVE &
PASSIVE
6. The verbs happen, occur, belong, and depend are never
used in the passive.
E.g. The accident happened at 11 pm.
The price depends on the quality.
An explosion occurred in the factory.
That car belongs to my father.
CONFUSION OF PARTICIPLES: ACTIVE &
PASSIVE
7. Verbs such as ‘excite’, ‘interest’, ‘surprise’, ‘fascinate’,
‘frighten’, ‘satisfy’, etc can be used in the past participle
for living creatures only.
E.g. She is interested in music.
We were surprised by the news.
The present participles of such verbs is used of the thing
that provokes feelings.
E.g. The book is very interesting.
The film was most exciting.