Participles English Grammar This is the first class of the English course “English (65712)”. This course is part of the Polytechnic discipline of the Bangladesh Technical Education Board (BTEB). As the polytechnic and Class 11 and Class 12 syllabus is similar, this class will be useful for HSC Class 11, and Class 12 students. This class is also part of BCS Preparation as the first topic of the BCS Preliminary Syllabus. Therefore this class will be useful for everyone who is preparing for any kind of job or admission exam in Bangladesh.

 

Participles English Grammar

 

A participle is a word derived from a verb that can be used as an adjective or to form certain verb tenses. There are two main types of participles:

• Past participles (typically ending in “-ed,” “-en,” “-n,” “-ne,” or “-t”) are used for perfect tenses and passive voice constructions.
• Present participles (always ending in “-ing”) are used for continuous tenses.

 

Andy cleaned up the broken glass.

I saw Kevin running down the street.

Everyone stared at the laughing man.

The words “past” and “present” do not indicate the specific tenses in which participles are used. Both past participles and present participles can be used in the past, present, and future tense. Both are commonly used as adjectives.

 

 

Past participle

The past participles of regular verbs are usually formed by adding the suffix “-ed” (e.g., “walk” becomes “walked”). This is identical to the past simple form of these verbs.

The past participles of irregular verbs don’t follow this pattern. Instead, they often end in “-en,” “-n,” “-ne,” or “-t” (e.g., “kneel” becomes “knelt”). The past participle of an irregular verb is sometimes not the same as the past simple (e.g. “sung” vs. “sang”).

Past participles can be used as adjectives, in participial phrases, and to form perfect verb tenses. They can also be used to form passive sentences (i.e., sentences in which the subject is acted upon).

 

Annoyed by the rude cashier, Dave complained to the manager.

Val has taken my advice.

A speech was given by Tanya.

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”).

Present participle

Present participles are typically 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.

 

Addressing the students, the principal spoke about the value of extracurricular activities.

Deirdre is reading a book about botany.

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

 

 

 

Perfect participle

Perfect participles are used to describe something that occurred before the action described in the main clause. They’re formed by combining the present participle of the verb “have” (i.e., “having”) with a past participle.

Having read the instructions, Malik could fix the coffee machine.

Having enjoyed the main course, Fia ordered dessert.

Gerund vs. participle

Present participles and gerunds are identical in appearance (they both use the “-ing” form of a verb), but they have different grammatical functions. While present participles are used in verb tenses and as adjectives, gerunds function only as nouns.

Cycling in a city can be dangerous.

Lisa enjoys traveling.

Participial phrase

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 should 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.

 

Driving to work, Neve listened to an audiobook.

The man taking notes is my aide.

Inga, ignoring the doorbell, continued to watch TV.

Dangling participle

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 participial phrase
• Rewrite the participial phrase to include the subject

• Looking out the window, the mountain was beautiful.
• Looking out the window, I saw the beautiful mountain.

• Walking on the beach, the tide came in.
• As Sarah was walking on the beach, the tide came in.

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.

 

 

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