Present and Perfect Participles

PRESENT
AND
PERFECT PARTICIPLES

PRESENT PARTICIPLE

Definition

A present participle is a verb form that ends in -ing. It can be used as an adjective, a noun, or to form the continuous verb tenses.

As an adjective, the present participle can be used to describe a noun or pronoun. For example, "The walking man was tired."

As a noun, the present participle can be used to form a gerund. A gerund is a verb that functions as a noun. For example, "I enjoy swimming."

Usage

The present participle is formed by adding -ing to the base form of the verb. For example, the present participle of the verb "walk" is "walking."

Structure

Examples

• Walking

• Talking

• Eating

• Sleeping

• Running

• Swimming

• Jumping

• Falling

• Crying

• Laughing

Multiple Choice

Which participle verb correctly completes the sentence:

"The children were ____ in the park."

• playing

• played

• having played

• to play

Multiple Choice

Which participle verb correctly completes the sentence:

"The painting was ____ by the artist."

• painted

• to paint

PERFECT PARTICIPLES

Definition

A perfect participle is a verb form that is used to indicate that an action was completed before another action began. It is formed by adding the present participle "having" to the past participle of the verb.

Perfect participles are most commonly used to modify nouns or pronouns. They can also be used to form the passive voice.

To modify a noun or pronoun, the perfect participle is placed after the noun or pronoun that it is modifying.

To form the passive voice, the perfect participle is placed after the verb "to be."

Usage

The perfect participle is formed by adding the following two parts together:

• The present participle "having": This is the word "having" that is used to form the present perfect tense.

• The past participle of the verb: This is the form of the verb that is used to form the past tense or the past participle.

Structure

Examples

• Having finished his homework, he went to bed.

• The woman having been robbed was very upset.

• The car having been stolen, the police were called.

• I am tired after having walked all day.

• The food having been cooked, we sat down to eat.

Multiple Choice

Which perfect participle verb correctly completes the sentence:

"The woman ____ to the store was tired."

• having walked

• walked

Multiple Choice

Which perfect participle verb correctly completes the sentence:

"The car ____ by the thief was found abandoned."

• stolen

• having stolen