Overview: Participles | Basic English Grammar for Competitive Exams - Bank Exams PDF Download

Introduction of Participles

A participle is a word derived from a verb that can be used as an adjective or to form certain verb tenses.

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Types of Participles

1. Present Participles: Present participles are formed by adding "-ing" to the base form of a verb in English. 

Examples:

• The singing bird is beautiful. (singing - present participle)

2. Past Participles: Past participles are formed by adding "-ed" or "-en" to the base form of regular verbs in English, while irregular verbs have unique past participle forms. 

Examples:

• The broken window needs to be fixed. (broken - past participle)

3. Perfect Participles: Perfect participles are formed by adding the auxiliary verb "हो" before the past participle in Hindi.

Rules Related to Participles

• Present participles end in -ing and are used to describe ongoing actions or states. They can also be used in progressive verb tenses (e.g., "I am walking").
• Past participles typically end in -ed (regular verbs) or have an irregular form (e.g., "broken," "eaten"). They are used to describe completed actions or states and are commonly used in the passive voice (e.g., "The cake was eaten by the dog").
• Present participles can also be used as gerunds, which are verb forms used as nouns (e.g., "Swimming is my favorite activity").
• Past participles are used to form the perfect verb tenses (e.g., "I have eaten breakfast") and the passive voice (e.g., "The window was broken by the storm").
• Participles can modify nouns or pronouns (e.g., "The crying baby," "The broken vase").
• Participles should agree in tense with the main verb in the sentence. If the main verb is in the present tense, use a present participle. If the main verb is in the past tense, use a past participle.
• When using participles in compound sentences, make sure that the subject of the participle is clear and that it agrees in number with the subject of the main clause (e.g., "Running to catch the bus, the students hurried down the street").

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Solved Exercise

Exercise 1: Identify the type of participle in the following sentences.
Baked in the oven, the cookies smelled delicious.

Baked - Past participle
It describes the action that was completed before the current moment (cookies were baked).

The girl, frightened by the dog, ran away.

frightened - Past participle
It describes the girl's state caused by a past action (being frightened by the dog).

The broken window needs to be repaired.

broken - Past participle
It describes the window's state caused by a past action (window was broken).

The student, having studied all night, felt confident.

having studied - Present participle
It describes the action that was happening at the same time as another action (student studying all night).

The letter, written in haste, contained several errors.

written - Past participle
It describes the letter's state caused by a past action (letter was written).

Exercise 2: Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the participle (present or past) of the given verb.
The (paint) walls looked fresh and clean.

The painted walls looked fresh and clean.
The action of painting the walls is completed, so the past participle "painted" is needed.

(Grow) tired of the noise, she decided to move.

Grown tired of the noise, she decided to move.
The action of growing tired is completed before she decides to move, so the past participle "grown" is needed.

The (work) students were proud of their accomplishments.

The working students were proud of their accomplishments.
The action of working is happening at the same time as being proud, so the present participle "working" is needed.

The (fall) leaves covered the ground.

The fallen leaves covered the ground.
The action of falling is completed before the leaves cover the ground, so the past participle "fallen" is needed.

(Read) the book, she felt inspired.

Having read the book, she felt inspired.
The action of reading the book is completed before she feels inspired, so the present participle "having read" is needed.

Exercise 3: Rewrite the sentences by changing the position of the participle phrase.
The children, exhausted from the day, went straight to bed.

Exhausted from the day, the children went straight to bed.

The dog, wagging its tail, greeted its owner.

Wagging its tail, the dog greeted its owner.

The cake, covered in chocolate, looked delicious.

Covered in chocolate, the cake looked delicious.

The students, listening attentively, absorbed the information.

Listening attentively, the students absorbed the information.

The flowers, watered every day, bloomed beautifully.

Watered every day, the flowers bloomed beautifully.