Present and Past Participles
By Marsha Barrow
A participle is:
• a verbal (a verb form
used as another part of
speech).
• a verb form used as
an adjective.
The present participle and the past participle
of a verb can be used as an adjective.
Remember that adjectives answer the questions:
what kind? how many? which one?
So, the participle will do the same thing.
Examples:
The running track is covered with mud.
running is the participle, describing the noun, track
The tired animal walked slowly across the highway.
tired is the participle, describing the noun, animal
A participle can come before or after the noun or
pronoun it modifies.
Examples:
The depressing news on the television made us sad.
Most of the news on television is depressing.
Irregular past participles are used as adjectives
also.
Examples:
burnt toast
forgotten memories
fallen leaf
broken heart
The mangled pair of
sunglasses, bruised face,
broken arm, and bleeding
knees meant Gary had
taken another spill on his
mountain bike.
• Which pair of sunglasses?
The mangled pair.
• Which face? The bruised
one.
• Which arm? The broken
one.
• Which knees? The
bleeding ones.