The participle
Use present and past participles as adjectives and in opening phrases.
You have seen verb forms ending in -ing and -ed. This lesson shows how these forms can describe nouns and start phrases.
A participle is a form of a verb that works like an adjective; the present participle ends in -ing and the past participle usually ends in -ed, -en or has an irregular form.
Examples
- The smiling girl waved at us.
- He picked up the broken glass.
- Feeling tired, Arjun went to bed early.
- The film was exciting.
- The children were excited.
How it works
Present participle
An -ing participle describes something that is doing an action.
We watched the rising sun.
Past participle
An -ed or -en participle describes something that has had an action done to it.
Please return the borrowed books.
Feelings: -ing or -ed
The -ing form describes what causes a feeling. The -ed form describes the person who has the feeling.
The long wait was tiring, and we were tired.
Opening phrases
A participle phrase at the start of a sentence must describe the subject that comes right after the comma. Having + past participle shows one action finished before another.
Having locked the door, Priya left for work.
Quick reference
| Verb | -ing (causes the feeling) | -ed (has the feeling) |
|---|---|---|
| bore | a boring speech | a bored audience |
| interest | an interesting book | an interested reader |
| surprise | surprising news | a surprised friend |
| confuse | confusing directions | a confused tourist |
| amaze | an amazing view | amazed visitors |
| frighten | a frightening noise | a frightened child |
Common mistakes
✕I am very interesting in music.
✓I am very interested in music.
The person has the feeling, so the -ed form is needed.
✕Walking to work, a stray dog followed me.
✓Walking to work, I was followed by a stray dog.
The opening phrase must describe the subject; the dog was not walking to work.
✕The match was very excited.
✓The match was very exciting.
The match caused the feeling, so the -ing form is correct.
Worked example
Exercise 1
Tap the participle used as an adjective.
The barking dog woke Sunita.
✓barking
barking is a present participle describing the noun dog.
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