Past and Present Participle are indispensable constructions in English. To understand how difficult it is to do without them, it is enough to imagine the Russian language without participles and participles. In addition, English present participles in the active and passive (passive) voice are used to form different types of tense forms of verbs, and also perform the function of definition and circumstance. That is, there are more than enough reasons to study them.
General definition
The present participle, or Present Participle, in English is a special independent part of speech that combines the features of a verb and an adjective or adverb. As mentioned earlier, it corresponds to the participle and / or gerund (depending on the situation) in Russian. Here are some examples of Present Participle in sentences to help you see this.
| Example | Translation |
| I saw a boy running along the street. I guess he was playing a game or something, and if everything in that game depended on how fast he was running, then I canconfidently say that he is the one who won. | I saw a boy running along the street. I think he was playing a game or something, and if everything about that game depended on how fast he ran, I can safely say he won. |
| I like thinking people, if you know what I mean. Those who are more about listening to others then talking themselves. | I like thinking people, if you know what I mean. Those who listen to others more than they themselves tell something. |
| When driving I enjoy listening to music. | I enjoy listening to music while driving. |
The participles served different functions in these sentences. In the future, each of them will be considered separately.
Verb in tenses
Present participles are often used in combination with auxiliary verbs to form complex English tense forms of the "continuous" category. Here are some examples of how this works in practice:
| Example | Translation |
| All the children were playing, laughing, eating sweets and enjoying their time. | All the children played, laughed, ate sweets and enjoyed their time. |
| I hate when people are offending each other because of their nationality, race, tastes or appearance. | I hate it when people hurt each other because of their nationality, race, tastes or looks. |
| I have been working here since September for nine month. | I have been working here since last September for nine months. |
Although not all of the verbs in these examples are in the present tense, this does not apply to the participle. The fact is that the present participle can serve to form, for example, the past continuous tense. They are independent of each other, as they are two completely different grammatical characteristics.
Definition
The participle often functions as a definition. For example, in sentences similar to the following examples:
| Example | Translation |
| I saw a smoking man in the street. | I saw a man smoking in the street. |
| She told me that I must fire the most hard-working man in my company, because she doesn't like him! | She told me I should fire the hardest person in my company because she doesn't like him! |
| Have you seen this man playing guitar before? | Have you seen this man playing guitar before? |
It cannot be said that sentences with a similar meaning could not be constructed without the Present Participle. However, in this form they sound the most concise and competent.
Circumstance of time
When speaking about events that happened at the same time, it is possible to use the present participlevery comfortably. However, such sentences always have more cumbersome counterparts without participles. Which option to use is a personal matter for everyone. Both are listed in the following table.
| Example without participle | Example with participles | Translation |
| When I was going home, I met her. | When going home, I met her. | When I was walking home (walking home) I met her. |
| When he watches TV-shows, he likes to discuss them with his son. | Watching TV-shows, he likes to discuss them with his son. | When he watches (watching) television programs, he likes to discuss them with his son. |
| When you go to the theatre, don't forget to call me! | When going to the theatre, don't forget to call me! | When you go to the theater (going to the theater) don't forget to call me! |
Circumstances of course of action
Adverbs in English, as well as in Russian, serve to characterize actions. Present participles - Present Participle - combine some features of adverbs with features of other parts of speech, so this function is also assigned to them.
| Example without participle | Translation | Example with participles | Translation |
| She was reading the letter and crying. | She read the letter and sobbed. | She was reading the letter, crying. | She read the letter while sobbing. |
| People were discussing the movie and laughing loudly. | People discussed the film and laughed out loud. | People were discussing the movie, laughing loudly. | People were discussing the film while laughing out loud. |
| I like eating sweets and listening to music. | I love eating sweets and listening to music. | I like eating sweets, listening to music. | I love eating sweets while listening to music. |
Circumstance cause
In English, as in any other language, it often becomes necessary to express causal relationships between actions or phenomena. Present Participle can play an important role here as well.
| Example without participle | Translation | Example with participles | Translation |
| He earned a lot of money, that is why he bought a new car. | He made a lot of money, that's why he bought a new car. | Earning a lot of money, he bought a new car. | After making a lot of money, he bought a new car. |
| She felt his interest in her and decided to write him a letter. | She felt his interest in her and decided to write him a letter. | Feeling his interest to her, she decided to write him a letter. | Feeling his interest in her, she decided to write him a letter. |
| People heard something strange and went out to see what happened. | People heard a strange sound and went outside to see whathappened. | Hearing something strange, people went out to see what happened. | Hearing a strange sound, people went outside to see what happened. |
In this case, the difference between the options with and without participle is almost not felt, so the choice between them is a matter of taste. Nevertheless, substitutability does not negate the fact that it is simply necessary to know the present participles in English. Of course, no one wants to spend long hours agonizing over the Past and Present Participle exercises. On the other hand, when mastering a new topic in a foreign language, it is important to correctly combine dry theoretical material with practical examples.
