A participle is part verb and part something else, but it’s used as an adjective. In a previous chapter, you learned that adjectives answer one of three questions: which one? what kind of? or how many? That will come in handy here, too. Participles come in two forms: the present participle and the past participle.
The present participle will always consist of a verb plus -ing, as in these sentences:
Let sleeping dogs lie.
Sleeping consists of the verb sleep plus the ending -ing, and it acts as an adjective in the sentence. It describes dogs, and it answers the question which ones?
Shivering when they came in, Peter and Sylvia Niblo made a mad dash for the coffeepot.
Shivering consists of the verb shiver plus the ending -ing, and it acts as an adjective in the sentence. It describes Peter and Sylvia Niblo, and it answers the question what kind of? or which one? The previous examples illustrate present participles.
Past participles of regular verbs consist of a verb plus -d or -ed, as in these sentences:
Exhilarated from the victory, the entire team embraced the cheering fans.
Exhilarated consists of the verb exhilarate plus the ending -d, and it acts as an adjective in the sentence. It describes team, and it answers the question which ones?
Stained with both mustard and ketchup, my new shirt went right into the washing machine.
Stained consists of the verb stain plus the ending -ed, and it acts as an adjective in the sentence. It describes shirt, and it answers the question which one? The previous examples illustrate past participles.
So what’s the big deal about a participle? Sometimes it’s used in the wrong way, and that creates a dangling participle (hanging participle or unattached participle). Take a look at this sentence:
Babbling incoherently, the nurse quickly wrapped his arms around the child.
The way the sentence is written, the nurse was babbling (a participle) incoherently. What the writer means (at least, what we hope he or she means) is that the child was babbling incoherently. The sentence should be rewritten, perhaps this way:
The nurse quickly wrapped his arms around the babbling child.
Here’s another dangling participle:
Tired from shopping at the mall, the recliner looked like the perfect spot for Kathy Wethington.
How in the world could a recliner have a tiring day shopping? That participle (tired) and the rest of the words that go with it (its phrase: tired from shopping) should be moved. A better way to word that sentence would be:
The recliner looked like the perfect spot for Kathy Wethington, who was tired from the long day shopping at the mall.
Grammar Facts
The past participles of irregular verbs vary greatly. For example the past participle of sing is sung and the past participle of bring is brought. Check your dictionary for any irregular verb past participle.
Participles have three main functions: they can act as adjectives, as direct objects, or as part of a multipart verb.
Past and present participles can act as adjectives, for example:
The mother tried to help the crying baby.
Which baby? The crying baby.
The broken fender, smashed headlight, and bleeding forehead all indicated that Joe had been in an accident.
Which fender? The broken one. Which headlight? The smashed one. Which forehead? The bleeding one.
Participles can also act as direct objects.
Nicholas hates cooking because he has had too many culinary failures.
Cooking is the object of hates.
Paul’s favorite thing to do in the summer is swimming.
Swimming is the object of the verb is.
And finally participles can act as part of a multipart verb as in:
Samantha was running away form the angry dog.
Was is the main verb and running is the present participle.