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1. Grammar

1.2. Participles & participial phrases

To begin, here you are a video explaining what a participle and a participial phrase is.

 

 

A participle is a form of a verb that needs a helping verb. There are two kinds of participles: the present participle and  the past participle.

A participial phrase is made up of the participle along with its objects and modifiers.

Forms

  • The present participle of all verbs ends in ing.     Examples:  dancing, eating, becoming 
  • The past participle of regular verbs ends in ed.     Examples:   danced
  • The past participles of irregular verbs have different forms.    Examples:  ate, became, forgotten, etc.
  • The perfect participle is formed with having+ past participle.     Examples:  having walked .     Or it can be formed with both active and passive verbs.    Examples:  having been given

Use

1. We can use present or past participles as adjectives:

    Examples:  He was frightened so he ran as fast as he could --- Frightened, he ran as fast as he could.

2. When one action happens at the same time as another action, we use the present participle:

   Examples:  Peter was laughing and fell out of his chair ---- Peter, laughing,  fell out of his chair.

3. When one action happens before another action, we use the  perfect participle:

   Examples:  After he had spent ten years in Italy, he could speak Italian fluently. ---- Having spent ten years in Italy, he could speak Italian fluently.

4. When one shot answer follows another short action, we can use the present  participle instead of the perfect participle:

  Examples:  He picked up his phone.  Then he went out. --- Picking up his phone, he left the house.

 

- Participial phrases describe situations using fewer words than  other clauses. It is more common in written English.

  Examples:  Ben was exhausted after a long day so, he took a nap on the couch. ---  Ben, exhausted after a long day, took a nap on the couch.

- With sense verbs such as see, watch, hear, feel and notice, a present participle emphasizes the entire action.

  Examples:  I saw the weather changing.

- When  we aren't using the verbs, the participle and the main clause should have  the same subject.

  Examples:  Talking to her friend, she forgot everything around her.

Exercises- Quiz

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