Intermediate English Grammar for ESL Learners - Robin Torres-Gouzerh 2016
Past participles
13 Participial adjectives
Past participles are formed from both regular and irregular verbs. )f the verb is regular, the past participle has an -ed ending, identical to the simple past-tense form.
call ~ called
interest ~ interested
load ~ loaded
ship ~ shipped
Irregular verbs form their past participles in a variety of ways. Some have a vowel change in the base form of the word, and many end in -en.
break ~ broken
see ~ seen
speak ~ spoken
take ~ taken
Still others end in -t, and many of these have a vowel change as well.
bring ~ brought
dream ~ dreamed or dreamt
feel ~ felt
sleep ~ slept
Some participles alter the appearance of the base form only slightly.
build ~ built
ran ~ run
say ~ said
And there are even past participles that are identical to the base form.
come ~ come
cut ~ cut
put ~ put
shut ~ shut
No matter how they are formed, past participles can be used as modifiers, but with a passive meaning.
He is a confused driver. (The driver is confused by the map, because it is not clear.)
They are bored children. (The children are bored by the story.)
Exercise 13.1 For each verb, write its present participle and past participle.
1. sleep ... ...
2. invent ... ...
3. lose ... ...
4. destroy ... ...
5. compare ... ...
6. report ... ...
7. endanger ... ...
8. make ... ...
9. steal ... ...
10. slay ... ...
Understanding the difference between present participles (active meaning) and past participles (passive meaning) is important in order to form correct sentences with modifiers appropriate to the meaning of the sentences. In the following pairs of examples, compare the difference in meaning of the present participle with that of the past participle.
John was tearful when he saw what the damaging winds had done.
John was tearful when he saw all the damaged homes.
She observed the purifying action of the chemicals on the water.
She only drinks purified water.
Exercise 13.2 Rewrite each sentence, using the appropriate participial form of the verb in italics —present participle or past participle. Change each sentence according to the example.
Example The crowd is amused by the comedian.
They are an amused crowd.
1. The group of children is entertained by the circus clown.
2. The circus clown entertains the kids.
3. The class bores the students.
4. The students are bored by the class.
5. The accident frightens the woman.
6. The woman was frightened by the accident.
7. The girl was surprised by the loud noise.
8. The loud noise surprised the girl.
9. The hard work exhausted the men.
10. The men were exhausted.
Exercise 13.3 Complete each sentence with the present or past participle of the verb in parentheses.
1. The ... (borrow) tennis racket was returned to the tennis club.
2. The ... (terrify) civilians ran for their lives.
3. The sudden explosion was a ... (terrify) sight for the civilians.
4. Success is a ... (gratify) part of one’s work.
5. The ... (steal) paintings were recovered by the museum.
6. She found herself in an ... (embarrass) situation this morning.
7. A ... (damage) hurricane swept across Texas recently.
8. Workers are still in the process of repairing the ... (damage) streets.
9. I made my way through the ... (crowd) room.
10. He bought some ... (freeze) hot dogs at the supermarket.
11. The ... (injure) cat was taken to the animal shelter.
12. Parents have a ... (last) effect on their children.
13. I wasn’t able to open the ... (lock) door, so) don’t know what’s in that room.
14. No one lives in that ... (desert) mansion. It was abandoned years ago.