Past participle definition: A past participle is formed from a verb and modifies a noun, noun phrase, verb, or verb phrase. A past participle most often ends in –ed.
What does past participle mean? A past participle is formed from a verb. Because it is used to express actions that have already happened, it takes the past tense form. Most past participles end in -ed.
Past Participle Examples:
- Verb: to play
- Past participle: played
- Sentence: She had played for hours. (used in past perfect tense)
- Verb: to accelerate
- Past Participle: accelerated
- The speed at which the Zika virus is spreading in Puerto Rico has accelerated sharply, according to new federal data, complicating already difficult efforts to prevent thousands of pregnant women in the territory from infection. –The Wall Street Journal
- Verb: to buy
- Past participle: bought
- Social media sites are hot these days. Snapchat. Instagram. Even if Verizon had bought Pokemon Go, the mobile augmented reality app that has been around only a couple weeks and yet has tens of millions of people chasing make-believe creatures down streets and through parks, there might be more tongues wagging among analysts. –The Washington Post
Past Participles as Adjectives
Past participles can be used to as adjectives. In this way, they modify nouns or noun phrases.
Even though they are acting like adjectives, past participles still look like verbs. Finding their placement in a sentence is key to understanding how they are being used in a sentence.
Example:
- Verb: to ruin
- Past participle: ruined
- Past participle as adjective (modifying noun phrase): ruined my good mood
- Sentence: The stormy weather ruined my good mood.
In this sentence, ruined serves as an adjective to modify the noun phrase my good mood.
Example:
- Verb: to break (irregular verb)
- Past participle: broken
- Past participle as adjective: broken glass
- Sentence: We were careful to avoid the broken glass.
In this sentence, broken serves as an adjective to modify the noun glass.
Past Participles in Participle Phrases
Past participles can also be used to create past participle phrases which act as adjectives.
Even though they are acting like adjectives, past participles still look like verbs. Finding their placement in a sentence is key to understanding how they are being used in a sentence.
In a participle phrase, the participle usually is the first word.
Example:
- Verb: to brush
- Past participle: brushed
- Past participle as participle phrase: brushed with a comb
- Sentence: Brushed with a comb, the dog’s fur felt smooth.
In this sentence, brushed with a comb serves as an adjective in a participle phrase to modify the dog’s fur.
Example:
- Verb: to wrack
- Past participle: wracked
- Past participle as participle phrase: wracked with doubt
- Sentence: The child had a mind wracked with doubt.
In this sentence, wracked with doubt serves as an adjective in a participle phrase to modify the child’s mind.
Forming the Past Participle: How to Form Past Participle Verbs
The past participle of most regular verbs is formed by adding “-ed” to the end of the base (infinitive) form of the verb.
- talk > talked
- chew > chewed
- reach > reached
The past participle of some verbs ending in a short vowel sound require doubling the last consonant before adding “-ed”
- brag > bragged
- skip > skipped
- stop > stopped
The past participle of verbs that end with an “e” required only adding a “d” to the end of the word.
- wave > waved
- judge > judged
- reserve > reserved
The past participle of verbs ending in “y” where the “y” replaces a vowel sound require the “y” to be dropped and “-ing” to be added.
- study > studied
- imply > implied
- deny > denied
The past participle of irregular verbs do not follow a specific pattern. Here are a few common examples.
- run > ran
- sing > sang
- bring > brought
Past Participles in Other Tenses
In addition to being used as an adjectives, past participles are used to form the perfect tenses in English. Here is how they appear in the various tense.
The Four Past Tenses:
- Simple Past Tense > I spoke
- Past Progressive Tense > I was speaking
- Past Perfect Tense > I had spoken.
- Past Perfect Progressive Tense > I had been speaking.
The Four Present Tenses:
- Simple Present Tense > I speak
- Present Progressive Tense > I am speaking
- Present Perfect Tense > I have spoken
- Present Perfect Progressive Tense > I have been speaking
The Four Future Tenses:
- Simple Future Tense: I will speak
- Future Progressive Tense: I will be speaking
- Future Perfect Tense: I will have spoken
- Future Perfect Progressive Tense: I will have been speaking.
Summary: What is the Past Participle?
Define past participle: In grammar, the definition of past participle is a nonfinite verb used to signify a perfective aspect.
In summary, a past participle is formed from the past tense of a verb. It is used to create verb forms and may also modify nouns, noun phrases, adjectives, and adjective phrases.
Contents
- 1 What is a Past Participle?
- 2 Past Participles as Adjectives
- 3 Past Participles in Participle Phrases
- 4 Forming the Past Participle: How to Form Past Participle Verbs
- 5 Past Participles in Other Tenses
- 6 Summary: What is the Past Participle?
The past participle in English is a verb tense that typically ends in -ed and has a helping verb, and these past participle examples will help you learn to spot them.
Learning the English language starts with learning the various formations of words, including verb tenses. The past participle is one such verb tense. TO form the past participle, you usually put an auxiliary verb, such as “was,” “were,” “has” or “had,” with the past tense form of the verb.
To learn to identify past participles, you should study some examples of this verb form. by looking at both regular verbs and irregular verbs in past participle form, you’ll become an expert at finding them in your writing.
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What Is a Participle?
A participle is a word that comes from a verb but is used in a different way. It may be used as an adjective or as a noun, such as in the case of a gerund.
If you said:
- Walking is my favorite activity.
The word “walking” serves as a noun, even though it is a verb. You could also say:
- The walking dog came to a stop when he saw the cat.
In this case, walking is an adjective describing the dog. These are examples of present participles. Finally, you could use the participle to form a verb tense, such as the present progressive tense in this example:
- He is walking towards us.
In this case, the present participle is showing the present tense form of the verb. Past participles function in the same way, but use the past-tense form of the verb, such as “walked.”
These mixed tense exercises might also be helpful.
Past Participle Examples – Used as Adjectives
Past particles can show up as adjectives within the sentence. They use the simple past tense (-ed) form of the verb but serve to modify a noun or pronoun. Typically, this use ends up as a predicate adjective, coming after a linking verb.
Here are some examples:
- We felt exhausted after volunteering all day.
- We were enthralled by his exciting tale of adventure.
- Samantha was enticed by the last piece of cake.
- Jonathan is interested in learning more about veterinary science.
Past Participle Examples – Used as Participle Phrases
In English grammar, the past particle can also serve as the beginning of a participle phrase. These phrases function as an adjective to describe a noun or pronoun later in the sentence. Here are some examples:
- Frightened by the loud noise, the children ran inside.
- Interested in what he was saying, the students stopped talking to listen.
- Disgusted by what they saw, the family walked out of the restaurant and went elsewhere.
- Confused by her response, Charles was not sure if she accepted his proposal or not.
Past Participle Examples – Perfect Verb Tenses
The past participle can also show up in forming the three of the six perfect verb tenses. These use the helping verb “have” and the past tense form of the verb.
Present Perfect Tense
The present perfect tense is the first example of this conjugation. This verb tense uses the present-tense form of “have” and shows action in the past that likely is continuing now and in the future. Here are some examples that show the present perfect tense:
- Megan has owned her chameleon for two years.
- The sheep have jumped over the fence three times.
- We have gone to Disney World for our last five vacations.
Past Perfect Tense
The past participle also shows up in the past perfect tense. This verb tense uses the past-tense form of “have” and shows an action that occurred in the past before another action occurred. Here are some examples:
- I had caught three fish before Samantha caught any.
- The dog had run off before we had a chance to shut the door.
- The mail had come early on Saturday.
Future Perfect Tense
The future perfect tense indicates an action that will be complete at a specific time in the future. It combines the future tense of “have” with the past participle. Here are some examples of past participles used as future perfect tense:
- She will have slept 10 hours by the time we wake her up.
- They will have left for school already by the time the snow day is called.
- Before winter comes, we will have chopped enough wood for the furnace.
Past Participle Examples – Irregular Verbs
Most past participles use the base form of the verb followed by -ed, such as walked or crossed. However, irregular verbs can end in a variety of ways. Here are some examples:
- I have arisen with the sun. (Past participle of arise)
- We have caught the flu. (Past participle of catch)
- She has chosen her date for the prom. (Past participle of choose)
- If we had known the outcome, would have chosen differently. (Past participle of know)
A Final Word on Past Participle Examples
So why should you care about past participles? If you are learning English, then understanding verb tenses and the different ways verbs can appear in sentences is vital. It teaches you how to create sentences that make sense.
If you are a native speaker, past participles come naturally. However, if you are an English language learner, it may take a little longer to catch on. Either way, studying examples will help you get it right.
When should I use a past participle?
A past participle is used when you need to pair have or has with the past tense of a verb. You will also use this tense when the verb is an adjective or the start of a participle phrase that serves as an adjective in the sentence.
What are some examples of the past participle?
Here are some sentences that have a past participle verb form:
1. He has gone to work every day this week even with a migraine.
2. The dog has dug a hole in the backyard again.
3. The children have planned a great surprise for their parents.
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If you’re a grammar pro, you know that verbs are one of the major types of words that we use in our sentences and clauses. Verbs are interesting words that describe actions or states of beings. As cool as verbs are, we aren’t going to discuss them right now. No, instead we are going to look at participles. Participles look a lot like verbs and actually derive from them. However, participles have their own roles to play and can do a lot of different things in sentences. Right now, we are going to check out a specific type of participle called the past participle.
What is a past participle?
A participle is a type of word derived from a verb that is used for a variety of purposes, such as an adjective or to construct verb tenses.
Past participles are used as adjectives and to construct the perfect verb tenses. We’ll talk more about that soon, but to understand a past participle, it’s important to understand how they are formed from the root form of the verb. The root form is the form you will find if you look up a verb in our amazing dictionary. For example, jump is a root form of a verb.
Depending on the verb, there are several different ways we form the past participle:
- For most verbs, the past participle is formed by adding -ed or -d to the end of the root form of the verb. For example, the past participle of jump is jumped and the past participle of excite is excited. Some verbs also use a -t variant, in which case they may change spelling slightly. For example, the past participle of burn is burnt and the past participle of sleep is slept.
- If a verb ends in a consonant followed by a -y, we drop the -y and add -ied. For example, the past participle of fry is fried.
- If a one-syllable verb ends in consonant-vowel-consonant, we double the last consonant. For example, the past participle of pet is petted and the past participle of slit is slitted.
- If a one syllable verb ends in -w, -x, or -y, we don’t double the last consonant. For example, the past participle of flex is flexed, the past participle of skew is skewed, and the past participle of play is played.
- For longer verbs, we only double the last constant if the verb ends in consonant-vowel-consonant and the last syllable is stressed. For example, the past participle of omit is omitted but the past participle of deposit is deposited.
Verbs that follow these rules are called regular verbs. The past participle of regular verbs is almost always identical to the simple past tense form of the verb. For example, both the past participle and simple past tense form of the regular verb approach is approached.
While regular verbs are relatively simple, there are many irregular verbs that don’t follow any of the above rules. For example, the past participle of the verb eat is eaten. With irregular verbs, the past participle may not be the same as the simple past tense. For example, the past participle of the irregular verb do is done but the simple past tense of do is did. Unfortunately, there are no general guidelines to use to know what the past participle of an irregular verb is. You will simply need to remember them as you learn them.
⚡️Examples of past participles
Here are some examples of past participles of regular and irregular verbs. In each example, the root form of the verb is followed by its past participle.
- Regular: move, moved; close, closed; walk, walked; scoop, scooped; strut, strutted
- Irregular: be, been; choose, chosen; catch, caught; run, run; get, gotten; swim, swum
How to use past participles
Okay, now we know how to turn verbs into past participles. So what do we use them for? In general, there are three major ways that we use past participles in sentences and clauses. Past participles can be used in participle phrases, as adjectives, and to form some particular verb tenses.
Past participles in participle phrases
A participle phrase, also known as a participial phrase, is a phrase that includes a participle and acts like an adjective in a sentence. A participle phrase includes a participle and other parts of speech, such as nouns, adverbs, and prepositional phrases. Like other participles, past participles can be used in participle phrases.
Learn more about adverbs and how they differ from adjectives.
Because they act as adjectives, participle phrases can only modify nouns, noun phrases, or pronouns. To avoid confusion, it is usually best to place the participle phrase as close to the noun/noun phrase/pronoun that it modifies as possible. The following sentences show examples of past participles used in participle phrases:
- His cherished possession is a baseball signed by his childhood hero.
- Macaroni and cheese covered in tomato sauce is my favorite dish.
- She handed me a dirty rag splattered with oil.
We can also begin a sentence with a participle phrase. If we do, we use a comma to separate it from the main sentence. Again, it is a good idea to place the modified word/phrase as close to the participle phrase as possible.
- Hopelessly confused by his trigonometry homework, Dennis asked his teacher for help.
- Filled with rage, he tossed the losing lottery tickets in the trash.
When starting a sentence with a participle phrase, it is important that it is clear what word or phrase is being modified. Make sure to look over your sentences and rewrite them if a participle phrase is a dangling modifier that doesn’t seem to go with any word in a sentence.
- Example of a dangling modifier: Exhausted by her terrible day, the train left.
- Fixed sentence: Exhausted by her terrible day, Susanna watched the train leave.
Past participles as adjectives
It is also possible to use past participles on their own as adjectives. In this case, past participles are usually placed immediately before the word/phrase that they modify, just as is done with other adjectives. Here are some examples of past participles used as adjectives:
- The carpenters fixed the damaged wall.
- The students turned in their completed essays.
- The enraged crowd shouted angrily at the politician.
Just like other adjectives, past participles can also be a complement that is connected to the subject by a linking verb.
- Henry was tired.
- The audience was amazed by the magician’s incredible tricks.
Past participles as verbs
Past participles can (sort of) be used as verbs when we use sentences in the passive voice. A passive voice sentence has the subject of the sentence act as a receiver of an action rather than a performer. For example, the sentence Dinner was made by me is a sentence that uses the passive voice.
The passive voice uses the basic structure of a subject followed by the verb be followed by a past participle. When using the passive voice, only the verb be is conjugated and it must obey subject-verb agreement. The past participle is used regardless of what tense the verb be is in. For example:
- The concert is being performed by a local band. (present)
- The concert was performed by a local band. (past)
- The concert will be performed by a local band. (future)
Regular verbs
You need to make sure a sentence actually uses the passive voice and calls for a past participle. If a sentence doesn’t use the passive voice, it may need a different verb tense. For example:
- Passive voice: The tango will be danced by my wife and me. (past participle)
- Active voice: My wife and I will dance the tango. (not a past participle)
Irregular verbs
As they often do, irregular verbs make things trickier. The passive voice specifically uses a past participle, which may be different from the past tense form when dealing with an irregular verb. It is important to check what the past participle of an irregular verb is so you use the correct word. For example,
- Incorrect: Breakfast was ate by me.
- Correct: Breakfast was eaten by me.
Remember that only the passive voice uses a past participle. If a sentence is not in the passive voice, it needs a verb and not a participle:
- Passive voice: Breakfast will be eaten by me. (past participle)
- Active voice: I will eat breakfast. (not a past participle)
Verb tenses that use past participles
Past participles are especially important when it comes to verb tenses. Past participles of verbs are used to form the perfect tenses. When used this way, the past participles are not used on their own but are used with the helping verb have/has/had. The following sentences show examples of the three perfect tenses:
- Present perfect tense: The mice have escaped their cages.
- Past perfect tense: The mice had already escaped their cages.
- Future perfect tense: The mice will have escaped their cages by the time we return.
Additionally, the past participle of the verb be (been) is used in the perfect continuous verb tenses:
- Present perfect continuous tense: These mice have been escaping their cages for as long as I can remember.
- Past perfect continuous tense: The mice had been escaping their cages for weeks until we bought padlocks.
- Future perfect continuous tense: The mice will have been escaping their cages for quite a while by the time we get those new locks.
Review all twelve verb tenses here.
Why past participles matter
Past participles look identical to the simple past tense of verbs—besides those pesky irregular verbs—but they can do a lot of useful things that verbs can’t. Past participles, as well as the other types of participles, are important because they allow us to create more complex sentences by acting as modifiers. If you can imagine a world without adjectives (horror!), you can understand how important past participles are. Not only that, past participles are needed in order to use the perfect and perfect continuous verb tenses. Without past participles, English grammar would definitely be missing a lot of useful tools that we can build complicated sentences with.
What to be cautious of when using past participles
While adjectives don’t typically cause many problems, past participles are a little bit tougher to use. As mentioned earlier, a common mistake people make with past participles is putting participle phrases in the wrong place or accidentally using them as a dangling modifier. When using a participle phrase, make absolutely sure it is modifying the correct word and that it is clear in the sentence what word the phrase is supposed to be referring to. The following sentences show examples of a correct use of a participle phrase as well as a participle phrase used incorrectly as a misplaced and dangling modifier.
- Correct use: Determined to win the race, Stacy ran as fast as she could.
- Misplaced modifier: Determined to win the race, the audience watched as Stacy ran as fast as she could.
- Dangling modifier: Determined to win the race, her legs moved like lightning.
Past participle vs. past tense
Because they often look identical to simple past tense verbs, the past participles of regular verbs can be confused with verbs used in the past tense. However, there is a major difference between the two. Past participles are used as modifiers or are used with a helping verb to form perfect verb tenses. Past tense verbs are not. As their name suggests, past tense verbs are verbs. Verbs are used in the predicates of sentences and clauses and are not used as modifiers. Verbs are used to describe actions and states of being, not to modify nouns (or pronouns or noun phrases). Of course, past tense verbs are also completely different from perfect tense verbs.
When it comes to regular verbs, separating these two concepts only really matters when it comes to identifying a word in a sentence. However, knowing the difference between the two is important when it comes to irregular verbs, because their past tense form and past participle may not be identical. Let’s look at an example of this as shown in two different sentences:
- Past tense verb: The children flew kites by the lake.
- Past participle: Flown by happy children, the kites danced in the wind.
In this case, neither sentence would make sense if the past participle and past tense verb were switched with each other. When using irregular verbs, it is crucial to know how and when to use past participles and past tense verbs.
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