There are two types of participles:
- The Present Participle (ending -ing)
- The Past Participle (usually ending -ed, -d, -t, -en, or -n)
Examples of Present Participles Being Used As Adjectives
Here are some examples of present participles being used as adjectives:
The Verb
|
The Present Participle
|
To run
|
running water
|
To
flourish
|
flourishing business
|
To
discourage
|
discouraging glance
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Present Participles in Participle Phrases
It is really common to see present
participles in participle phrases. A participle phrase also acts
like an adjective. In the examples below, the participle phrases are shaded and
the present participles are in bold:
- My mother is next to the lady wearing the red hat.
(The participle phrase wearing the red hat
describes the lady.)
- I know a pond teeming with fish.
(The participle phrase teeming with fish
describes a pond.)
- Frantically shuffling through her coppers, Jackie hoped to find another silver coin.
(The participle phrase Frantically shuffling
through her coppers describes Jackie.)
- Relying on Mark's inability to cast accurately, Lee plonked his bait exactly where Mark had just caught the small pouting.
(The participle phrase Relying on
Mark's inability to cast accurately describes Lee.)
More Examples of Present Participles Used as
Adjectives
Here are some real-life examples of
present participles (shaded) being used as adjectives:
- Always be wary of any helpful item that weighs less than its operating manual. (Terry Pratchett)
- Somewhere on this globe, every ten seconds, there is a woman giving birth to a child. She must be found and stopped. (Sam Levenson, 1911-1980)
- Love is the big booming beat which covers up the noise of hate. (Margaret Cho)
- All existing business models are wrong. Find a new one. (Hugh Macleod)
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Present Participles Used in Verb Tenses
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As well as being used as adjectives, present
participles are also used to form verb tenses. Here are the verb tenses (present
participles shaded):
The 4 Past Tenses
|
Example
|
I talked
|
|
I was talking
|
|
I had talked
|
|
I had been talking
|
|
The 4 Present Tenses
|
Example
|
I talk
|
|
I am talking
|
|
I have talked
|
|
I have been talking
|
|
The 4 Future Tenses
|
Example
|
I will talk
|
|
I will be talking
|
|
I will have talked
|
|
I will have been talking
|