A participle is a form of a verb that is used in a sentence to modify a noun, noun phrase, verb, or verb phrase, and then plays a role similar to an adjective or adverb. It is one of the types of nonfinite verb forms.

• What Is The Past Participle Of Stink
• What Is The Past Participle Of Stand

The two types of participle in English are traditionally called the present participle (forms such as writing, singing and raising) and the past participle (forms such as written, sung and raised).

Past participle slotted. The dishwasher slots neatly between the cupboards. These tubes slot together like this. He slotted the magazines neatly into the rack. The panels slot together to make a box. (figurative) He has slotted back into the role of being a second-in-command. Dear Anonymous, PRO TIP: As John Cleary so clearly observed, the word you must look up in the dictionary (or your English grammar textbook) is the verb “to be” (not “was”). You will discover the past participle of “to be” is “been”:. PRESENT PERF.

The Present Participle

Even though they look exactly the same, gerunds and present participles do different things. As we just learned, the gerund acts as a noun: e.g., “I like sleeping“; “Sleeping is not allowed.” Present participles, on the other hand, act similarly to an adjective or adverb: e.g., “The sleeping girl over there is my sister”; “Breathing heavily, she finished the race in first place.”

The present participle, or participial phrases (clauses) formed from it, are used as follows:

• as an adjective phrase modifying a noun phrase: The man sitting over there is my uncle.
• adverbially, the subject being understood to be the same as that of the main clause: Looking at the plans, I gradually came to see where the problem lay.He shot the man, killing him.
• more generally as a clause or sentence modifier: Broadly speaking, the project was successful.

The present participle can also be used with the helping verb to be to form a type of present tense: Martawas sleeping. (We’ll discuss this further in Advanced Verb Tenses.) This is something we learned a little bit about in helping verbs and tense.

What Is The Past Participle Of Stink

The Past Participle

Past participles often look very similar to the simple past tense of a verb: finished, danced, etc. However, some verbs have different forms. Reference lists will be your best help in finding the correct past participle. Here is one such list of participles. Here’s a short list of some of the most common irregular past participles you’ll use:

Past participles are used in a couple of different ways:

• as an adjective phrase: The chicken eaten by the children was contaminated.
• adverbially: Seen from this perspective, the problem presents no easy solution.
• in a nominative absolute construction, with a subject: The task finished, we returned home.

The past participle can also be used with the helping verb to have to form a type of past tense (which we’ll talk about in Advanced Verb Tenses): The chicken has eaten. It is also used to form the passive voice: Tianna wasvotedas 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:

• He had three things that weretaken away from him
• He had three things taken away from him

In the second sentence, we removed the words that were. However, we still use the past participle taken. The removal of these words is called elision. Elision is used with a lot of different constructions in English; we use it shorten sentences when things are understood. However, we can only use elision in certain situations, so be careful when removing words! (We’ll discuss this further in Using the Passive Voice.)

Practice

Identify the participles in the following sentences, as well as the functions they perform:

1. Tucker had always wanted a pet dog.
2. Having been born in the 1990s, Amber often found herself surrounded by nostalgia.
3. Rayssa was practicing her flute when everything suddenly went wrong.

1. The past participle is wanted. In this case, it is used alongside the helping verb had to form the past tense.
2. Having been born in the 1990s is a present participle phrase. It is used adverbially, and the subject is the same as the subject of the main phrase: Amber. Additionally, been is the past participle. It is used alongside the helping verb having to give a sense of the past tense.
3. Practicing is the present participle. It, along with the helping verb was, create a sense of continuity or process.

A verbal is a verb that functions as some other part of speech in a sentence. In the English language, there are three basic types of verbals: gerunds, participles and infinitives. Let’s explore each of these verbals in detail.

Gerunds
Gerunds are verbals that function as nouns and have an –ing ending. Since gerunds are derived from verbs and have an –ing ending, they do express action. However, because gerunds function as nouns, they occupy slots traditionally held by nouns in sentences such as subjects, direct objects and objects of prepositions. Gerunds may occur as one word, or they may be part of a gerund phrase. Let’s take a look at some examples:

Gerund, functioning as subject
Reading is my most beneficial summer activity.

Gerund, functioning as direct object
James enjoys swimming.

Gerund, functioning as object of preposition
You will get good grades by studying.

Gerund phrase, functioning as subject
Eating on the run is one of the most unhealthy American habits.

What Is The Past Participle Of Stand

Gerund phrase, functioning as direct object
The teacher simply cannot excuse sleeping during class.

Gerund phrase, functioning as object of preposition
We found the keys by looking on the ground next to the car.

Test: To determine whether a word in a sentence is a gerund, look at the word(s) ending in –ing in the sentence. If this word can be replaced by the pronoun it, then the word is a gerund. If the word it replaces other words in addition to the gerund, then these make up the gerund phrase (Lester 177). Let’s take a look at an example:

My grandfather loves getting together at Christmas.

My grandfather loves it.

Participles
Participles are verbals that usually function as adjectives and occasionally function as adverbs. Participles generally end with an –ed or –ing ending. Since participles are derived from verbs, they do express actions or states of being. When participles function as adjectives, they are usually found preceding the nouns and pronouns in a sentence. When participles function as adverbs, they are typically found following the verb in a sentence. There are two types of participles: present participles and past participles. Present participles have an –ing ending. Past participles may have one of several past tense endings, including –ed, -en, and -d. As with gerunds, participles may occur as one word, or they may be part of a participial phrase. Let’s take a look at some examples:

Present participles
The running water provided a picturesque view. (adjectival)
The clown was able to stop the raging bull from attacking the rider. (adjectival)

Past participles
The crushed bug was an unpleasant sight. (adjectival)
He was able to repair the broken lock. (adjectival)

Present participial phrases
The car stopping at the light was hit by the truck. (adjectival)
The bull came running towards the rodeo clown. (adverbial)

Past participial phrases
James, amused by the crowd’s response, continued to perform magic tricks. (adjectival)

Shaken from his near-death experience, John was unable to speak. (adjectival)

Infinitives
Infinitives are verbals that are made up of the word to and a verb. Infinitives may function as nouns, adjectives or adverbs. Since infinitives are derived from verbs, they do express actions or states of being. When infinitives function as adjectives and adverbs, they are usually found preceding nouns and pronouns in sentences, and when they function as nouns, they are used as subjects, direct objects and objects of prepositions. Infinitives (to + verb) should not be confused with prepositional phrases (to + noun or pronoun). Infinitives may occur as to + one verb, or they may be part of an infinitive phrase. Let’s take a look at some examples:

Infinitives functioning as nouns
To love is the greatest achievement.

Infinitives functioning as adjectives
Jason’s group was the last to arrive.

Infinitives functioning as adverbs
The students must pass the TAKS tests to graduate.

Infinitive phrase functioning as noun
Ranee wanted to arrive at her destination.

Infinitive phrase functioning as adjective
The Smiths were the first family in our neighborhood to adopt a child.

Test This test, explained by Mark Lester in Grammar and Usage in the Classroom, only works for infinitives and infinitive phrases that function as adverbs. It is a good test to determine if an infinitive is functioning as an adverb: “If an infinitive or infinitive phrase can be moved to the beginning of the sentence, then that infinitive or infinitive phrase modifies the verb” (199). Let’s take a look at an example:

to get good grades.

To get good grades, you must study hard.

Lester, M. (2001). Grammar and usage in the classroom. 2^nd ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.