Past Participle is the English past participle. Otherwise it is called Participle II. In Russian, the Past Participle corresponds to the passive participle in the past tense. For example: thought out, viewed, stolen, made. The Past Participle is the non-personal form of the verb and includes both its features and those of the adverb and adjective.
Types of English participles
Commonly used forms of participles in English are:
- Present Participle.
- Past Participle.
For a better understanding, we will analyze them separately.
Present Participle
The participle in the Present Participle expresses an action taking place at the same time as the action of the predicate. If the predicate is in the past tense, then the participle will be in the past, if the predicate is in the future tense, then the participle, respectively, in the future, and so on.
Communion Present Participleformed by adding the ending -ing, for example:
- scream [skriːm] - screaming / screaming [ˈskriːmɪŋ] - screaming;
- float [fləʊt] - swim / floating [ˈfləʊtɪŋ] - floating.
Features of adding the ending -ing
1. If the word ends in a consonant and it is preceded by a short stressed vowel, then the consonant is doubled before -ing. For example:
- run [rʌn] - run / running [ˈrʌnɪŋ] - running;
- sit [sɪt] - sit / sitting [ˈsɪtɪŋ] - sitting.
2. If the word ends in -l and is preceded by a short vowel, the l is doubled. For example:
- travel [trævl] - travel/travelling [ˈtrævlɪŋ] - traveling;
- cancel [ˈkænsəl] - cancel / canceling [ˈkænsəlɪŋ] - canceling.
3. If the word ends in -r and the preceding vowel is stressed and is not a diphthong, then the r is doubled. For example:
- prefer [prɪˈfɜː] - prefer/preferring [prɪˈfɜːrɪŋ] - preferring;
- refer [rɪˈfɜː] relate/referring [rɪˈfɜːrɪŋ] - related.
4. If the word ends with the letter combination -ie, then before -ing the combination of -ie changes to -y. For example:
- tie [taɪ] - tying / tying [ˈtaɪɪŋ] binding;
- lie [laɪ] - lie / lying [ˈlaɪɪŋ] - lying.
5. If a word ends with a silent -e, then it is omitted before the -ing. For example:
- drive [draɪv] - to go / driving [ˈdraɪvɪŋ] - driving;
- make [meɪk] - to do / making [ˈmeɪkɪŋ] - doing.
Past Participle
What is this participle - Past Participle? It shows the action that precedes the action of the predicate. Past Participle is a participle expressing a completed process.
The Past Participle is formed by adding the ending -ed to regular verbs, for example:
- wash [wɔʃ] - wash / washed [wɒʃt] - washed;
- shift [ʃɪft] - shift / shifted [ˈʃɪftɪd] - shifted.
For irregular verbs, the Past Participle form can be found in the table of irregular verbs (this is the third column, called Participle II (V3)). This table is in any English grammar textbook (it is shown in the figure below). Examples:
- think [θɪŋk] - to think / thought [θɔ: t] - invented;
- smell [smel] - smell/smelt [smelt] - smelled.
Features of adding the ending –ed:
1. If a word ends with -y preceded by a consonant, then the -y ending before -ed changes to -i. For example:
- study [ˈstʌdɪ] - explore / studied [ˈstʌdɪd] - studied;
- try [traɪ] - try / tried [traɪd] - tested.
2. If the letter y is preceded by a vowel, then it remains unchanged before -ed. For example:
- enjoy [ɪnˈʤɔɪ] - enjoy / enjoyed [ɪnˈʤɔɪd] - enjoyed;
- stay [steɪ] - stay, sit / stayed [steɪd] - who has served time.
3. If the word ends with the letter l, then before -ed itdoubles. For example:
- signal [sɪgnl] - signal / signalled [ˈsɪgnld] - signaled;
- rebel [rebl] - rebel / rebelled [rɪˈbɛld] - rebellious.
4. If the word ends in -e (-ee), then only the ending -d is added. For example:
- explore [ɪksˈplɔː] - explore / explored [ɪkˈsplɔːd] - explored;
- agree [əˈgriː] - agree / agreed [əˈgriːd] - agreed.
5. If a word ends in a single consonant preceded by a stressed short vowel, the consonant is doubled. For example:
- stop [stɔp] - stop/stopped [stɒpt] - stopped;
- occur [əˈkɜː] - occur / occurred [əkɜːd] - arisen.
6. If there is an unstressed or long vowel before a consonant, then the consonant is not doubled. For example:
- order [ˈɔːdə] - order / ordered [ˈɔːdəd] - ordered;
- cool [kuːl] - cool down / cooled [kuːld] - chilled.
7. The only exceptions are the final letters -x and -w. They don't double. For example:
- mix [mɪks] - mix / mixed [mɪkst] - mixed;
- snow [snəʊ] - to pour snow / snowed [snəʊd] - snowy.
8. If the word ends in -ic, then before -ed the ending -ic becomes -ick. For example:
- mimic [ˈmɪmɪk] - imitate / mimicked [mɪmɪkt] - imitated;
- panic [ˈpænɪk] - panic / panicked [pænɪkt] - panicking.
Using the Past Participle in a sentence
Bin a sentence, the participle in the Past Participle can act in the following role:
1. Definitions. In this case, the Past Participle is a participle that answers the questions which, which, which, which. Usually comes before the word being defined. For example:
- I postponed the study material. - I put aside the studied (what?) material.
- On shelves teetered washed utensils. - Washed (what?) dishes stood on the shelves.
Also, the participle can stand behind the noun being defined, forming a participial phrase. For example:
- My brother did the homework assigned by the teacher. - Brother was doing homework given by the teacher (what?).
- Dad fixed the chair broken yesterday. - Dad fixed the chair that was broken yesterday (which one?).
2. Circumstances. Answers the questions "how?", "why?", "when?". It is placed both at the end of the sentence and at the beginning and is an explanation for the verb-predicate. Often used in conjunction with unions: if (if), when (when), though (although), until (yet … not), unless (if … not). For example:
- If called, he will be ready to answer. - If he is called, he will be ready to answer.
- When came, they didn't want to stay. - When they arrived, they didn't want to stay.
3. Semantic verb to obtain a passive voice. In this case, the Past Participle is in the Past Simple Passive (passive voice). For example:
- The building was demolished last year. - The building was demolished last year.
- The program was installed yesterday. -The program was installed yesterday.
4. A semantic verb for obtaining the Past Perfect, Present Perfect and Future Perfect tenses. For example:
- She has already finished cutting the roses. - She has already finished cutting the roses.
- He had been in the school by 8 a.m. already. - He was at school by eight in the morning.
The English Past Participle is always perfect and is used exclusively in the past tense. This participle is used in a passive sense.
If you understand all the nuances of using the Past Participle, then English speech and English tenses will be perceived easier. It will also be clear when the participle is used as a definition, and when as a circumstance, when in the passive voice, and when it is part of the Perfect tense construction.
