Everyone who learns English sooner or later comes across participles. Often, new topics seem confusing and complex. But in fact, they are not always so. In this article, we will analyze what the Past Participle is in English, and also learn about the features of its use.
What is this?
From the Russian language course, we know that participles originate from verbs. In English it happens exactly the same. An ending is added to the verb, and a participle is formed. In this article, we will only touch on the formation and use of the Past Participle. Direct translation - "past participle".
How is the sacrament formed?
Past Participle is formed quite simply. You only need to add the ending -ed to the verb. The simple past tense is formed in the same way. It is worth paying special attention to irregular verbs, since they change according to the table and do not require the addition of the ending -ed.
How is the Past Participle used?
First of all, the past participle can be used with a noun. In this case it willperform the definition function.
Example:
I have seen a broken window. - I saw a broken window
In this sentence, the participle is the word broken, and since it is an irregular verb, the ending -ed was not added to it.
It is also worth remembering that the Past Participle has the meaning of the passive voice. This means that some object or person to which this participle refers is subjected to the action expressed by it. From the example: the window was broken by someone, that is, it was affected.
The past participle is used in Passive Voice, that is, when we need to say that someone has performed some action on an object. In this case, the meaning of the passive voice is also used. Similar offers are built according to the following formula:
Verb to be in required form + participle
Examples:
- A key was lost. - The key was lost.
- An article was translated in time. - The article was translated on time.
Note that in all cases the item was influenced by someone.
We also use the participle to say that someone has done a job for us. For example, if we say “I made a new haircut”, then this hardly means that it arose as a result of our actions. It is obvious that the action was performed by the hairdresser.
In English, such a sentence would sound like this:
I had my hair cut. - I cut my hair
More precisely, someone (namely a hairdresser) gave me a haircut. Sentences of this type are often built when it comes to some kind of service that other people provide us (car wash, etc.).
When using the Past Participle, you should always remember the meaning of the passive voice. Very often, with the help of this participle, rather long Russian sentences can be turned into very capacious English phrases.
