What is a Participle? Definition and Examples

by | Nov 25, 2024 | Parts of Speech

What is a participle in English?

In this article you will learn about participle, definition, and examples of participle used in English.

What is a Participle?

A prticiple is a form of verb which functions as an adjective in the sentence and it has two main purpose:

In English, a participle is a form of verb that functions as an adjective to modify nouns in the sentence. 

Examples of participle:

  • look at the eating other.
  • look at the swimming otter. 

in these two sentences, verbs eat and swim are not acting as verbs; they are acting as adjectives because they modify the noun otter.

Why Using Participle

Using participation in a sentence has to main purposes:

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  1. It turns a verb into an adjective to modify nouns.
  2. It connects auxiliary verbs to make other tenses, like perfect and continuous tenses.

Participle vs Infinitive

Participles is different than infinitive which is anotherform of verb formed by adding to to with the base verb. 

Bother particlpesl and infinitive modiy nouns. 

Infinitive start with word to whereas participle do not start with word to. 

When and Where a Participle is Used

A participle is used in perfect tenses like present, past, and future perfect. for example:

  • I have been eating.
  • She has been cooking.

A participle is also used in continuous tenses. for example:

  • I am eating. 
  • She is cooking.

Types of Participle

A participle has two types:

  • present participle 
  • past participle

Present Participle

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Formation

Present participle are typcially formed by adding “ing” to the end of a verb (e.g., “jump becomes “jumping”)

Present participles can be used as adjectives, as part of participial phrases, and to form continuous verb tenses. 

For example;

  • Hannah didn’t enjoy the boring film. [adjective]
  • Addressing the students, the principal spoke about the value of extracurricular activities. [participle phrase]
  • Deirdre is reading a book about botany. [continuous verb tenses]

Note 

The continous verb tenses are form using a present participle along with a conjugated form of the verb “be” (e.g., ” I was eating,” “she is smiling”).

Past Participle

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Examples

Uses of past participles

  • Cassie was exhausted after her workout.
  • Annoyed by the rude cashier, Dave complained to the manager.
  • Val has taken my advice.
  • A speech was given by Tanya.

Note

The perfect verb tenses are formed using a past participle and a conjugated form of the auxiliary verb “have” (e.g., ” I had seen,” “she has seen”).

Perfect Participle

Perfect participles use the perfect tense, and they act as participial phrases. We use a perfect participle to describe things in an order using the word having. for example, we describe one thing using perfect participle and then describe another event or situation in the sentence. Take a look at the following examples:

Examples

  • Having visited Rome before, I became the unofficial tour guide.
  • Having read the instructions, Malik could fix the coffee machine.
  • Having enjoyed the main course, Fia ordered dessert.

In fact, there are tow parcitiples in perfect participle. The first one is an adjective particle form the fothe verb have. in the above examples having, and the second is the past particle used in the perfect tenses, in these examples visited, enjoyed, read. 

Participle vs Gerund

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Examples

Gerund in a sentence

  • Cycling in a city can be dangerous.
  • Lisa enjoys traveling.

Participial pharase

A participial phrase is a phrase headed by a participle that functions as an adjective. If a participial phrase comes at the beginning of a sentence, it would be followed by a comma. If it comes in the middle of a sentence, it should be set off by commas unless it provides essential information.

Examples of participial pharase

Participial pharase in a sentence

  • Linda recognized the man walking a dog.
  • Driving to work, Neve listened to an audiobook.
  • The man taking notes is my aide.
  • Inga, ignoring the doorbell, continued to watch TV.

Dangling participal

A dangling participle is a grammatical error caused by a participle or participial phrase that modifies the wrong subject. This occurs when the wrong noun or pronoun is placed next to a participial phrase.

To fix a dangling participle, you can either:

  • Place the correct subject immediately after the participle phrase
  • Rewrite the participial phrase to include the subject

Dangling participle in a sentence

  • Looking out the window, the mountain was beautiful. (incorrect)
  • Looking out the window, I saw the beautiful mountain. (correct)
  • Walking on the beach, the tide came in. (incorrect)
  • As Sarah was walking on the beach, the tide came in. (correct)

In the first example, the mistake wrongly suggests that the mountain was looking out the window. In the second, it suggests that the tide was walking on the beach. Rephrasing makes the intended meaning clearer in both cases.

Frequently Asked Questions about Participle

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about participle.

1. What is a participial?

A participle is a form of verb used as an adjective to modify a noun in a sentence. It is also used to make continuous and perfect tenses.

2. What are different kinds of participles?

There are two types of particples: present participle and past partciple. present participle is used in continuous tense. whereawse past participle is used in perfect tneses.

2. What is the difference between a participle and a gerund?

A participle is 

A gerund is 

3. What is the past participle of run?

Verb run is an irregular verb, and its participle form is run. 

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