A participle is a verb form, often ending in -ing or -ed, that can function as an adjective or an adverb.
It is also used with an auxiliary verb to form different verb tenses, but the focus of this article will be on its adjective and adverb functions.
Participles are traditionally grouped into two categories: present participles and past participles.
The Present Participle
Present participles always appear in the -ing form of a verb. For example, sleeping, brooding, rising.
Here are some examples of how present participles can be used as adjectives and adverbs:
Present participle as an adjective
The crying man said, "I love you," through salty lips.
I forgot to tip the moving guys.
As part of an adjective phrase
The man sitting over there is my uncle.
Looking at the plans, I gradually came to see where the problem lay.
Present participle as adverb
Patty ran out the door crying.
We sure hit the ground running.
Note: Present participles share the same form as gerunds but have different functions. A gerund acts as a noun:
I like sleeping;
Sleeping is not allowed.
Once again, present participles act not like nouns, but like adjectives or adverbs:
The sleeping girl over there is my sister
Breathing heavily, she finished the race in first place.
The Past Participle
Past participles also function as adjectives, and less commonly adverbs. The part participle is usually formed by adding -ed, -d, -t, -n, or -en to the end of a verb, though there are many irregular forms.
The following chart shows how the past participle if formed for some example verbs:
| Verb | Simple Past | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| to be | was/were | been |
| to become | became | become |
| to do | did | done |
| to go | went | gone |
| to know | knew | know |
| to see | saw | seen |
| to speak | spoke | spoken |
| to take | took | taken |
| to write | wrote | written |
Past participle as an adjective
Nothing is as powerful as the written word.
Have you read Gone Girl?
Timmy was elated.
As part of an adjective phrase
I ate the toast, burnt as it was.
Risen from the grave, the zombies lurched toward town.
Seen from this perspective, the problem presents no easy solution.
As an adverb
You are dead wrong.
She bought mottled green fabric.
The past participle can also be used with the helping verb to have to form a type of past tense: The chicken has eaten.
It is also used to form the passive voice: Tianna was voted most likely to succeed. When the passive voice is used following a relative pronoun (like that or which) we sometimes leave out parts of the phrase:
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