THE PARTICIPLE

Recognize a participle when you see one.

Participles come in two varieties: past and present. They are two of the five forms or principal parts that
every verb has. Look at the charts below.

Regular Verbs:

Simple Simple Past Present

Verb Infinitive
Present Past Participle Participle

giggle giggle(s) giggled giggled giggling to giggle

help help(s) helped helped helping to help

jump jump(s) jumped jumped jumping to jump

Irregular Verbs:

Simple Simple Past Present

Verb Infinitive
Present Past Participle Participle

bring bring(s) brought brought bringing to bring

ring ring(s) rang rung ringing to ring

sing sing(s) sang sung singing to sing

swim swim(s) swam swum swimming to swim

Notice that each present participle ends in ing. This is the case 100 percent of the time.

On the other hand, you can see that past participles do not have a consistent ending. The past participles of
all regular verbs end in ed; the past participles of irregular verbs, however, vary considerably. If you look
at bring and sing, for example, you'll see that their past participles— brought and sung—do not follow the
same pattern even though both verbs have ing as the last three letters.

Consult a dictionary whenever you are unsure of a verb's past participle form.

Know the functions of participles.

Participles have three functions in sentences. They can be components of multipart verbs, or they can function
as adjectives or nouns.

Participles in Multipart Verbs

A verb can have as many as four parts. When you form multipart verbs, you use a combination of auxiliary
verbs and participles. Look at the examples below:
Our pet alligator ate Mrs. Olsen's poodle.

Ate = simple past tense [no participle].

With a broom, Mrs. Olsen was beating our alligator over the head in an attempt to
retrieve her poodle.

Was = auxiliary verb; beating = present participle.

Our pet alligator has been stalking  neighborhood pets because my brother Billy
forgets to feed the poor reptile.

Has = auxiliary verb; been = past participle; stalking = present participle.

Our pet alligator should have been eating Gator Chow, crunchy nuggets that Billy
leaves for him in a bowl.

Should, have = auxiliary verbs; been = past participle; eating = present participle.

Participles as Adjectives

Past and present participles often function as adjectives that describe nouns. Here are some examples:

The crying baby drew a long breath and sucked in a spider crouching in the corner
of the crib.

Which baby? The crying baby. Which spider? The one that was crouching in the corner.

The mangled pair of sunglasses, bruised face, broken arm, and bleeding knees

meant Genette had taken another spill on her mountain bike.

Which pair of sunglasses? The mangled pair. Which face? The bruisedone. Which arm? The broken one.
Which knees? The bleeding ones.

Participles as Nouns

Present participles can function as nouns—the subjects, direct objects, indirect objects, objects of

prepositions, and subject complements in sentences. Whenever a present participle functions as a noun,
you call it a gerund.

Take a look at these examples:

Sneezing exhausts Steve, who requires eight tissues and twenty-seven Gesundheits

before he is done.

Sneezing = the subject of the verb exhausts.

Valerie hates cooking because scraping burnt gook out of pans always undermines

her enjoyment of the food.

Cooking = the direct object of the verb hates.

We gave bungee jumping a chance.

Bungee jumping = indirect object of the verb gave.

Joelle bit her tongue instead of criticizing her prom date's powder blue tuxedo.

Criticizing = object of the preposition instead of.

Omar's least favorite sport is water-skiing because a bad spill once caused him to
lose his swim trunks.

Water-skiing = the subject complement of the verb is.

PRESENT PARTICIPLE

The present participle of most verbs has the form base+ing. It is used in many different ways.

THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE AS PART OF THE CONTINUOUS FORM OF A VERB

EXAMPLES
 I am working.
 He was singing.
 They have been walking.
 We will be staying.
 She would have been expecting me.

THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE AFTER VERBS OF MOVEMENT & POSITION

This construction is particularly useful with the verb to go.

EXAMPLES
 She went shopping.
 I go running every morning.
 He lay looking up at the clouds.
 She came running towards me.

THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE AFTER VERBS OF PERCEPTION

The pattern for this usage is verb + object + present participle. There is a difference in meaning when
such a sentence contains a zero infinitive rather than a participle. The infinitive refers to a complete action
while the present participle refers to an ongoing action.

EXAMPLES
 I heard someone singing.
 He saw his friend walking along the road.
 I can smell something burning!
 I watched the birds flying away.

THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE AS AN ADJECTIVE

EXAMPLES
 It was an amazing film.
 Dark billowing clouds often precede a storm.
 He was trapped inside the burning house.
 Many of his paintings show the setting sun.

THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE WITH THE VERBS SPEND AND WASTE

The pattern with these verbs is verb + time/money expression + present participle.
EXAMPLES
 My boss spends two hours a day travelling to work.
 Don't waste time playing computer games!
 They've spent the whole day shopping.
 I wasted money buying this game.

THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE WITH THE VERBS CATCH AND FIND

The pattern with these verbs is verb + object + present participle. With catch, the participle always refers
to an action which causes annoyance or anger. This is not the case with find, which is unemotional.

EXAMPLES
 If I catch you stealing my apples again, there'll be trouble!
 Don't let him catch you reading his letters.
 I caught him going through my bag.
 We found some money lying on the ground.
 They found their mother sitting in the garden.

THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE FOR TWO ACTIONS AT THE SAME TIME

When two actions occur at the same time, and are done by the same person or thing, we can use a present
participle to describe one of them. When one action follows very quickly after another done by the same
person or thing, we can express the first action with a present participle.

EXAMPLES
 Whistling to himself, he walked down the road. = He whistled to himself as he walked down the road.
 They went laughing out into the snow. = They laughed as they went out into the snow.
 Dropping the gun, she put her hands in the air. = She dropped the gun and put her hands in the air.
 Putting on his coat, he left the house. = He put on his coat and left the house.

THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE TO EXPLAIN A REASON

The present participle can be used instead of a phrase starting with as, since, or because. In this usage the
participial phrase explains the cause or reason for an action.

EXAMPLES
 Feeling hungry, he went into the kitchen and opened the fridge.
 Being poor, he didn't spend much on clothes.
 Knowing that his mother was coming, he cleaned the flat.
 He whispered, thinking his brother was still asleep.

THE -ING FORMS

A verb ending in -ing is either a present participle or a gerund. These two forms look identical. The difference
is in their functions in a sentence.

PRESENT PARTICIPLES
A present participle is most commonly used as part of the continuous form of a verb, after verbs of perception,
after verbs of movement, or as an adjective.

PRESENT PARTICIPLES AS PART OF THE CONTINUOUS FORM OF A VERB

Present participles are an element in all continuous verb forms (past, present, future, conditional, etc.). The
helping verb will indicate the tense, while the present participle remains unchanging.
EXAMPLES
 He is painting.
 She was waiting.
 They will be coming.
 We would be staying.
 I would have been leaving.

PRESENT PARTICIPLES AFTER VERBS OF PERCEPTION

Present participles can be used after verbs of perception in the pattern verb + object + present participle to
indicate the action being perceived.

EXAMPLES
 We saw him swimming across the pond.
 I watched her painting Sarah's portrait.
 I couldn't hear her singing because of the noise.
 I would like to see you knitting sometime.

PRESENT PARTICIPLES AFTER VERBS OF MOVEMENT, ACTION, OR POSITION, TO INDICATE

PARALLEL ACTIVITY.
EXAMPLES
 She sat looking at the sea.
 He walks reading his newspaper.
 I cook listening to the radio.
 Sally lay listening to the bugs in the grass.

PRESENT PARTICIPLES AS ADJECTIVES

EXAMPLES
 Did you read that amazing book?
 This movie is so exciting!
 His economics class is boring.

Read more about using present participles.

GERUNDS
The gerund always has the same function as a noun, although it looks like a verb. It can be used in the same
way as a noun.

A GERUND AS THE SUBJECT OF THE SENTENCE

EXAMPLES
 Eating people is wrong.
 Driving too fast is dangerous.
 Walking is good for you.
 Your knitting it beautiful.

A GERUND AFTER PREPOSITIONS

EXAMPLES
 Can you sneeze without opening your mouth?
 She is good at painting.
 I was the fastest at climbing the rope.
  He learns music by listening to the chords.

A GERUND AFTER CERTAIN SPECIFIC VERBS

EXAMPLES
 I like cooking.
 He enjoys walking.
 They hate milking cows.
 I can imagine drifting away in a balloon.

A GERUND IN COMPOUND NOUNS

EXAMPLES
 I took her to her driving lessons.
 We are going to the swimming pool.
 My uncle does a lot of bird-watching.
 I found this pie by dumpster-diving.

Present Participle, Past Participle, Perfect Participle

1. Present participle
The present participle is often used when we want to express an active action. In English we add -ing to the
infinitive of the verb.

1.1. Use of the present participle

 Progressive Tenses
He is reading a book.

He was reading a book.

 Gerund
Reading books is fun.

He likes reading books.

 Adjective
Look at the reading boy.

 Together with other words

He came reading around the corner.

He sat reading in the corner.

I saw him reading.

2. Past participle
The past participle is often used when we want to express a passive action. In English we add -ed to the
infinitive of regular verbs. We use the 3rd column of the table of the irregular verbs.

2.1. Use of the past participle

 Perfect Tenses
He has forgotten the pencil.
 He had forgotten the pencil.

 Passiv voice
A house is built.

A house was built.

 Adjective
Look at the washed car.

 Together with other words

The car washed yesterday is blue.

He had his car washed.

3. Compounds with the past participle

This combination is also known as perfect participle. It is used to form an active sentence with the past
participle. There is a time gap between the actions.

3.1. Past participle and having

 Having read the book the boy came out of the room.
One action happened after the other.

3.2. Present participle

 The boy came reading out of the room.
Both actions happened at the same time.

Participle clauses

Participle clauses are a form of adverbial clause which enables us to say information in a more economical
way. We can use participle clauses when the participle and the verb in the main clause have the same subject.
For example:

Waiting for John, I made some tea.

Waiting for John, the kettle boiled. [This would suggest that the kettle was waiting for John!]

Forming participle clauses

Participle clauses can be formed with the present participle (-ing form of the verb) or past participle (third
form of the verb). Participle clauses with past participles have a passive meaning:

Shouting loudly, Peter walked home. [Peter was shouting]

Shouted at loudly, Peter walked home. [Someone was shouting at Peter]

If we wish to emphasise that one action was before another then we can use a perfect participle (having +
past participle):

Having won the match, Susan jumped for joy.

Having been told the bad news, Susan sat down and cried.
 

The meaning and use of participle clauses

Participle clauses give information about condition, reason, result or time. For example:

Condition (in place of an if-condition):

Looked after carefully, this coat will keep you warm through many winters.

Compare: If you look after it carefully, this coat will keep you warm through many winters.

Reason (in place of words like so or therefore):

Wanting to speak to him about the contract, I decided to arrange a meeting.

Compare: I wanted to speak to him about the contract so I decided to arrange a meeting.

Result (in place of words like because or as a result):

I had no time to read my book, having spent so long doing my homework.

Compare: I had no time to read my book because I had spent so long doing my homework.

Time (in place of words like when, while or  as soon as):

Sitting at the cafe with my friends, I suddenly realised that I had left the oven on at home.

Compare: While I was sitting at the cafe with my friends, I suddenly realised that I had left the oven on at
home.

Participles
Present and Past Participles Explained

There are two types of participles in English and each type is used in a variety of ways.

PRESENT PARTICIPLES

The first type of participle is the present participle. The present participle is often referred to as the '-ing' form
of the verb. Here are some examples of present participles in italics:

The sun was shining so I went for a walk.

The man speaking English is our teacher.
That movies was extremely exciting.

PAST PARTICIPLES

Past participles are used in a similar manner to present participles. Here are some examples of past participles
in italics:

He has flown to Chicago twice.

The broken spirited boy returned home without a prize.
That man looks  lost.

PARTICIPLES USED AS THE MAIN VERB

Participles are used with auxiliary verbs in a variety of tenses. It is important to remember that the changes in
the conjugation of the verb are made to the auxiliary verb. The participle form remains the same. 
Present participles are used for continuous (or progressive) tenses. These include the present continuous, past
continuous and future continuous.

Present Continuous - They are watching TV at the moment.

Past Continuous - Mary was talking on the telephone when I came home.
Future Continuous - I'll be playing golf tomorrow at three o'clock.
Present Perfect Continuous - He has been working in the garden for twenty minutes.

Past Perfect Continuous - They had been waiting for thirty minutes when he finally arrived.
Future Perfect Continuous - Jack will have been studying  for four hours by six o'clock.

Past participles are used with simple perfect tenses (continuous perfect or progressive perfect tenses take the
participle 'been' + the present participle - have been playing, will have been working, etc.).

Present Perfect - She's already eaten lunch.

Past Perfect - They had left for California before she called.
Future Perfect - I will have bought the clothes by tomorrow evening.

PASSIVE VOICE AND PARTICIPLES

Past participles are also used in all passive voice sentences. To quickly review the passive voice structure:

Passive Subject + be (conjugated) + past participle

Present passive - Tom was taught  by Frankie.

Past passive - My car was  made  in Germany.

PARTICIPLES USED AS ADJECTIVES

Participles can also be used as adjectives to describe nouns. The difference between the present participle and
the past participle can make quite a difference in meaning:

The bored man went to sleep during the discussion.

The boring man put other people to sleep during the discussion.

In the first sentence the past participle 'bored' is used to mean that the man himself was bored, in the second
sentence the present participle 'boring' is used to mean that the man was boring to others.

The past participle is used as a passive adjective. The passive adjective expresses who someone feels. 

Any  interested student should apply in the office. 

The overly excited boys need to calm down!

The present participle is used as an active adjective.

The active adjective describes the effect on people or things:

He's an interesting professor. I'd like to take a class with him. 

She's a boring speaker. Let's leave!interesting

PARTICIPLES USED AS ADVERBS

The present participle is sometimes used as an adverb to describe the manner in which a verb is performed.
Here are a few examples:
She taught pounding the grammar into their heads!
Angelo works considering all angles.

Notice how the present participle could be preceded with 'by' to give the same meaning:

She taught (by) pounding the grammar into their heads!

Angelo works (by) considering all angles.

PARTICIPLES USED LIKE CLAUSES

Finally, participles are also used in short phrases that function as clauses. In some cases, the phrase
containing the participle drops the relative pronoun:

Who's that boy playing the piano? - (Who is that boy who playing the piano?)
That's the man remembered by his friends. - (That is the man who was remembered by his friends.)

These structures can also introduce sentences with either the present participle or the past participle:

Spending all his free-time in the library, he continued to learn outside of class.

Left alone with no where to go, Mary decided to return home a few days early.

PRESENT PARTICIPLES AND GERUNDS

The present participle is often confused with the gerund which is also casually referred to as the 'ing' form of
the verb. The difference between the gerund and the present participle can be confusing. The main difference
is that a gerund is used as a noun:

Taking a vacation is important to your mental health.

We enjoy watching romantic comedies. 

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Participles

PARTICIPLES | PAST PARTICIPLE | PERFECT PARTICIPLE | PRESENT PARTICIPLE

What is a participle?
A participle is a word formed from a verb that can function as part of a verb phrase.

For example:-

has  been

Or independently as an adjective.

For example:-

working woman
hot water bottle

There are three forms of participle: The present participle, the past participle and the perfect participle.
!Note - We use past participles (-ed) to describe how we feel. We use present participles [-ing] to describe
what caused the feelings.

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PAST PARTICIPLES

PARTICIPLES | PAST PARTICIPLE | PERFECT PARTICIPLE | PRESENT PARTICIPLE

What is a past participle?

A past participle indicates past or completed action or time. It is often called the 'ed' form as it is formed by
adding d or ed,  to the base form of regular verbs, however it is also formed in various other ways for irregular
verbs.

It can be used to form a verb phrase as part of the present perfect tense.

For example:-

I have  learnt English. (Learnt is part of the verb phrase 'have learnt')

It can be used to form the passive voice.

For example:-

Her hair was well brushed.

It can also be used as an adjective.

For example:-

As an adjective: He had a  broken arm. (Broken is used here as an  adjective.)

Here is a comprehensive list of irregular verbs.

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PERFECT PARTICIPLES

PARTICIPLES | PAST PARTICIPLE | PERFECT PARTICIPLE | PRESENT PARTICIPLE

What is the perfect participle?

The perfect participle indicates completed action. You form the perfect participle by putting the present
participle having in front of the past participle.

For example:-

having done, having finished, having read, having spoken

It can be used to form the passive voice.

For example:-

Having improved  her English Pia's promotion prospects were much better.

Here is a comprehensive list of irregular verbs.

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PRESENT PARTICIPLES

PARTICIPLES | PAST PARTICIPLE | PERFECT PARTICIPLE | PRESENT PARTICIPLE

What is the present participle?

The present participle is a participle that ends in ing. It can be used with the auxilliary verb 'to be' to form
the continuous tense. It always takes the ‘ing’ form of the verb, even irregular verbs have an ‘...ing’ form, in
fact virtually all English words that end with ‘ing’ are present participles.

For example:-

I am learning English. (Learning is part of the continuous verb phrase 'am learning')

We were running  through the woods. (Running is part of the continuous verb phrase 'were running' ).

It can also be used as an adjective.

For example:-

As an adjective: I am a  working  woman. (Working is used here as an  adjective.)

!Note :-
The present participle can also be used as a noun denoting the action of a verb a gerund. But remember the
present participle can be used as a verb or an adjective whilst the gerund is used as a noun.

THE VERB “TO BE”

Select from the following

The Forms of “To Be”

The Greek sea god, Proteus, was (like the sea) capable of changing
form in an instant. In order to get any decent information out of him, you
had to grab him and hold on tight while he went through his various forms
— lion, wild boar, snake, tree, running stream — it wasn't easy. The verb
“To be” is said to be the most protean of the English language, constantly
changing form, sometimes without much of a discernible pattern.
Considering that we use it so often, it is really too bad that the verb “To be”
has to be the most irregular, slippery verb in the language.

Present Tense
 I am We are
You are You are
He/She/It is They are

Past Tense
I was We were
You were You were
He/She/It was They were

Perfect Form (past participle) Progressive Form (present participle)

I have been, etc. I am being, etc.

We must choose carefully among these various forms when selecting the proper verb to go with our
subject. Singular subjects require singular verbs; plural subjects require plural verbs. That's usually an easy
matter. We wouldn't write “The troops was moving to the border.” But some sentences require closer
attention. Do we write “The majority of students is (or are) voting against the referendum"? Review carefully
the material in our section on Subject-Verb Agreement, and notice how often the choices we make require
a familiarity with these forms of the “To be” verb.

Simple Questions

We create simple yes/no questions by inverting the order of subject and the “To be” verb.

 Is your brother taller than you?

 Am I bothering you?
 Were they embarrassed by the comedian?

The same inversion takes place when “To be” is combined with verbs in the progressive:
 Am I working with you today?
 Is it snowing in the mountains?
 Were your children driving home this weekend?

The Linking and Existential 'To Be'

The verb “To be” most frequently works in conjunction with another verb: “He is playing the piano,” “She
will be arriving this afternoon.” Occasionally, though, the verb will stand by itself, alone, in a sentence. This is
especially true in simple, brief answers to questions.

“Who's going to the movies with me?”

“I am”

“Who's responsible for this mess in the bathroom?”

“She is.”
In sentences such as these, the subject usually receives the intonation stress and the voice falls off on
the verb.

An auxiliary can be combined with the base form of “To be” to provide simple answers to questions that
use forms of “to be.”

“Is Heitor in class this morning?”

“Well, he might be.”
“Is anyone helping Heitor with his homework?”
“I'm not sure. Suzanne could be.”
The verb “To be” also acts as a linking verb, joining the sentence subject with a subject
complement or adjective complement. A linking verb provides no action to a sentence: the subject
complement re-identifies the subject; the adjective complement modifies it. (For further information and
additional vocabulary in dealing with linking verbs, visit the hyperlinks in this paragraph.)

 Professor Moriber is the Director of Online Learning.

 Our trip to Yellowstone was fantastic!

In Passive Constructions

A form of the verb “To be” is combined with a past participle to form the passive. Passive verb
constructions are useful when the subject of an action is not as important as what the subject did (the
action of the sentence) or when the subject is unknown. For instance, the police might report that “The
professor was assaulted in the hallways” because they do not know the perpetrator of this heinous crime. In
technical writing, where the process is more important than who is doing the activity, we might report that
“Three liters of fluid is filtered through porous glass beads.” Regardless of the verb's purpose, only the
auxiliary form of “To be” changes; the participle stays the same. The “To be” will change form to indicate
whether the subject is singular or plural:

 The foundation is supported by enormous floating caissons that keep it from sinking into the
swamp.
 They were constructed by workers half submerged in the murky waters.

Notice how the information about who did the action is frequently found in a prepositional phrase beginning
with “by.” Passive constructions do not always include this information:

 Wooden caissons were used until fiberglass structures were developed in the 1950s.
 Caissons were also designed to function under water in the construction of bridges.

The “To be” will also change to indicate the time of the action and the aspect of the verb (simple,
progressive, perfect).

 Water is pumped out of the caisson to create an underwater work chamber. (simple present)
 Some caissons were moved to other construction sites. (simple past)
 While the water was being pumped out, workers would enter the top of the waterproof chamber.
(past progressive)
 Many other uses of caisson construction have been explored. (present perfect)
 Caissons had been used by the ancient Romans. (past perfect)
 Other uses will be found. (future)

The “To be” verb can be combined with other modal forms (along with the past participle of the main
verb) to convey other kinds of information. See the section on modals for the various kinds of information
conveyed by modals (advisability, predictability, guessing, necessity, possibility, etc.).

 The wall joints may be weakened if the caissons can't be rebuilt.

 Perhaps the caissons should be replaced; I think they ought to be.
 These ancient, sturdy structures might have been rotted by constant exposure to water.

Visit our section on the passive for advice on when to use the passive and when to substitute more
active verb forms.

When “To be” verbs are combined with modal forms in this manner, the construction is called a phrasal
modal. Here are some more examples:
  Rosario was able to finish her degree by taking online courses.
 She wasn't supposed to graduate until next year.
 She will be allowed to participate in commencement, though.
 She is about to apply to several graduate programs.
 She is going to attend the state university next fall.

Sometimes it is difficult to say whether a “To be” verb is linking a subject to a participle or if the verb and
participle are part of a passive construction. In “Certain behaviors are allowed,” is "are” linking “behaviors” to
"allowed" (a participle acting as a predicate adjective) or is “are allowed” a passive verb? In the final analysis,
it probably doesn't matter, but the distinction leads to some interesting variations. Consider the difference
between

 The jurists were welcomed. 

and
 The jurists were welcome.

In the first sentence, the participle “welcomed” (in this passive construction) emphasizes the action of
welcoming: the smiles, the hearty greetings, the slaps on the back. In the second sentence, the predicate
adjective “welcome” describes the feeling that the jurists must have had upon being so welcomed.

Progressive Forms

Click HERE for a thorough discussion of the progressive verb forms. Progressive forms include a form of
“To be” plus a present participle (an -ing ending). Frodesen and Eyring** categorize progressive verbs
according to the following functions:

 to describe actions already in progress at the moment "in focus" within the sentence, as in “I was
doing my homework when my brother broke into my room, crying.” or “I will be graduating from
college about the same time that you enter high school.”
 to describe actions at the moment of focus in contrast to habitual actions, as in “We usually buy
the most inexpensive car we can find, but this time we're buying a luxury sedan.”
 to express repeated actions, as in “My grandfather is forever retelling the same story about his
adventures in Rangoon.”
 to describe temporary situations in contrast to permanent states, as in “Jeffrey goes to the
University of Connecticut, but this summer he is taking courses at the community college.”
 to express uncompleted actions, as in “Harvey and Mark are working on their deck.”

Tag Questions with “To Be”

Click HERE for a description of tag questions, a device by which a statement is turned into a question.
When we use “To be” verbs in a tag question, the basic formula follows: the verb is combined with a pronoun
and sometimes with not (usually in a contracted form). Positive statements are followed by negative tags;
negative statements by positive tags.

 Robert Frost was America's favorite poet, wasn't he?

 He wasn't widely accepted in this country at first, was he?
 You were going to skip this poem, weren't you?
 There were several typographical errors in this anthology, weren't there? (Be careful here. It's not
“weren't they.”)
 I am not a very good reader, am I?
 I'm a better reader than you, aren't I?

(Don't try to make sense of this last construction. It is acceptable. In very formal text, you might write
“am I not” instead. “Ain't” is not regarded as acceptable except in text attempting to duplicate substandard
speech.)

Order with Adverbs

 Notice that adverbs of frequency normally appear after forms of the verb “To be”:

 As a student, he was seldom happy.

 Arturo is always first in line.
 They were never on time.

Notice that the adverb still appears after “To be” verbs but before other main verbs:

 My brother-in-law still works for the bank.

 He is still a teller after twenty years.

An adverb can be interposed between the infinitive “To be” and a participle, as in the following sentences. The
fear of splitting an infinitive is without grounds in this construction.

 This medicine has to be carefully administered.

 She turned out to be secretly married to her childhood sweetheart.

Unnecessary Uses of “To Be”

Even a casual review of your writing can reveal uses of the verb “To be” that are unnecessary and that
can be removed to good effect. In a way, the “To be” verb doesn't do much for you — it just sits there — and
text that is too heavily sprinkled with “To be” verbs can feel sodden, static. This is especially true of “To be”
verbs tucked into dependent clauses (particularly dependent clauses using a passive construction) and
expletive constructions (“There is,” “There were,” “it is,” etc.). Note that the relative pronoun frequently
disappears as well when we revise these sentences.

 He wanted a medication that was prescribed by a physician.

 She recognized the officer who was chasing the crook.
 Anyone who is willing to work hard will succeed in this program.
 It was Alberto who told the principal about the students' prank. (Notice that the “it was” brought
special emphasis to “Alberto,” an emphasis that is somewhat lost by this change.)
 A customer who is pleased is sure to return. A pleased customer is sure to return. (When we
eliminate the “To be” and the relative pronoun, we will also have to reposition the predicate
adjective to a pre-noun position.)

An expletive construction, along with its attendant “To be” verb, can often be eliminated to good effect.
Simply omit the construction, find the real subject of the sentence, and allow it to do some real work with a
real verb.

 There were some excellent results to this experiment in social work. (Change to . . . .) This
experiment in social work resulted in . . . .
 There is one explanation for this story's ending in Faulkner's diary. (Change to . . . .) Faulkner's
diary gives us one explanation for this story's ending.

On the other hand, expletive constructions do give us an interesting means of setting out or organizing the
work of a subsequent paragraph:

 There were four underlying causes of World War I. First, . . . .

Fuzzy Verb Phrases with "Be"

The following information is taken, with permission, from Garner's Modern American Usage by Bryan Garner.
Copyright 2003. Published by Oxford University Press.
Verb phrases containing "be" verbs are often merely roundabout ways of saying something better said
with a simple verb. Thus "be supportive of" for "support" is verbose.
 The following circumlocutory uses of "be" verbs are common in stuffy writing. The simple verb (in
parentheses) is usually better:

be abusive of (abuse) be in existence (exist)

be applicable to (apply to) be influential on (influence)
be benefited by (benefit from) be in possession of (possess)
be derived from (derive from) be in receipt of (have received)
be desirous of (desire or want) be in violation of (violate)
be determinative of (determine) be operative (operate)
be in agreement (agree) be productive of (produce)
be in attendance (attend) be promotive of (promote)
be indicative of (indicate) be supportive of (support)
be in error (err)
Many such wordy constructions are more naturally phrased in the present-tense singular: "is able to"
("can"), "is authorized to" ("may"), "is binding upon" ("binds"), "is empowered to" ("may"), "is unable to"
("cannot").

Stative and Dynamic Forms

Martha Kolln* suggests that we think of the difference between stative and dynamic in terms of “willed”
and “nonwilled” qualities. Consider the difference between a so-called dynamic adjective (or subject
complement) and a stative adjective (or subject complement): “I am silly” OR “I am being silly” versus “I am
tall.” I have chosen to be silly; I have no choice about being tall. Thus “Tall” is said to be a stative (or an
“inert”) quality, and we cannot say “I am being tall”; “silly,” on the other hand, is dynamic so we can use
progressive verb forms in conjunction with that quality.

Two plus two equals four. Equals is inert, stative, and cannot take the progressive; there is no choice, no
volition in the matter. (We would not say, “Two plus two is equaling four.”) In the same way, nouns and
pronouns can be said to exhibit willed and unwilled characteristics. Thus, “She is being a good worker”
(because she chooses to be so), but we would say “She is (not is being) an Olympic athlete” (because once
she becomes an athlete she no longer “wills it”). For further definition of this interesting distinction,
click HERE.

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/to_be.htm
PROGRESSIVE, STATIVE
AND DYNAMIC VERBS

Select from the following

THE PROGRESSIVE FORMS OF A VERB INDICATE THAT SOMETHING IS HAPPENING or was happening or will be

happening. When used with the past, the progressive form shows the limited duration of an event: "While I
was doing my homework, my brother came into my room." The past progressive also suggests that an action
in the past was not entirely finished. (Compare "I did my homework." to "I was doing my homework.") This is
even more evident in the passive progressive construction: "He was being strangled in the alley" suggests an
action that was not finished, perhaps because the act was interrupted by a good citizen, whereas the simple
past "He was strangled in the alley" suggests an action that was finished, unfortunately.

A neat categorization of the uses of the progressive can be found on the page describing the "To Be"
Verb.

The progressive forms occur only with dynamic verbs, that is, with verbs that show qualities capable of
change as opposed to stative verbs, which show qualities not capable of change.* For instance, we do not
say, "He is being tall" or "He is resembling his mother" or "I am wanting spaghetti for dinner" or "It is
belonging to me." (We would say, instead: "He is tall," "He resembles his mother," "I want spaghetti," and "It
belongs to me.") The best way to understand the difference between stative and dynamic verbs is to look at a
table that lists them and breaks them into categories and then to build some sentences with them, trying out
the progressive forms to see if they work or not.

These categories and lists are derived from Randolph Quirk and Sidney Greenbaum's A University
Grammar of English (used with the publisher's permission). The examples are our own. The lists are not meant
to be complete.

DYNAMIC VERBS

Activity Verbs 
I am begging you. I was learning French. They
will be playing upstairs..
Virtually identical in meaning to simple tense
forms:
I beg you. I learned French. They will play
upstairs.

abandon eat play throw

ask help rain whisper
beg learn read work
call listen say write
drink look at slice

Process Verbs
The corn is growing rapidly. Traffic is slowing
down.
Virtually identical in meaning to simple present
tense forms:
The corn grows rapidly. Traffic slows down.

change grow slow down widen

deteriorate mature

Verbs of Bodily Sensation 

"I feel bad" and "I am feeling bad" are virtually
identical in meaning.

ache feel hurt itch

Transitional Events Verbs 

Progressive forms indicate the beginning of an
event,
as opposed to the simple present tense.
"She was falling out of bed [when I caught her]"
as opposed to 
"She falls out of bed every night."

arrive fall leave lose

die land

Momentary Verbs 
Progressive forms indicate little duration and
suggest repetition.
She is hitting her brother. 
He is jumping around the house.

hit kick nod tap

jump knock

STATIVE VERBS

Verbs of Inert Perception and Cognition*

I detest rudabaga, but not I am detesting
rudabaga.
I prefer cinnamon toast, but not I am preferring
cinnamon toast.

abhor guess mind satisfy

adore hate perceive see
astonish hear please smell
believe imagine prefer suppose
desire impress presuppose taste
detest intend realize think
dislike know recall understand
doubt like recognize want
feel love regard wish
forgive mean remember
Relational Verbs 
I am sick, but not I am being sick.
I own ten acres of land, but not I am owning ten
acres.
My brother owes me ten dollars" but not 
My brother is owing me ten dollars.

depend involve possess

be*
on lack require
belong to
deserve matter require
concern
equal need resemble
consist of
fit owe seem
contain
have own sound
cost
include
*Kolln suggests that we think of the difference between stative and dynamic in terms of "willed" and
"nonwilled" qualities. Consider the difference between a so-called dynamic adjective (or subject complement)
and a stative adjective (or subject complement): "I am silly" OR "I am being silly" versus "I am tall." I have
chosen to be silly; I have no choice about being tall. Thus "tall" is said to be a stative (or an "inert") quality,
and we cannot say "I am being tall"; "silly," on the other hand, is dynamic so we can use progressive verb
forms in conjunction with that quality.

The same applies to verbs. Two plus two equals four. Equals is inert, stative, and cannot take the
progressive; there is no choice, no volition in the matter. (We would not say, "Two plus two is equalling four.")
In the same way, nouns and pronouns can be said to exhibit willed and unwilled characteristics. Thus, "She is
being a good worker" (because she chooses to be so), but we would say "She is (not is being) an Olympic
athlete" (because once she becomes an athlete she no longer "wills it").

RESOURCES

A University Grammar of English by Randolph Quirk and Sidney Greenbaum. Longman Group: Essex,
England. 1993. (46-47). Used with permission.

Understanding English Grammar by Martha Kolln. 4rth Edition. MacMillan Publishing Company: New
York. 1994. (89-90).

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/progressive.htm#stative
 Participles
There are three kinds of participles in English: present participle, past participle and perfect participle. You
probably know the first two from certain tenses and adjective forms. Apart from that, participles are also used
to shorten sentences.
Present Participle
The present participle is the ing-form. You surely know this form:
 from progressive / continuous tenses (e. g. Present Progressive) – I am speaking.
 as an adjective form – The film is interesting.
 as a gerund – He is afraid of flying.
Not the exceptions in spelling when adding 'ing':
Exception Example

final e dropped (but: ee is not changed) come – coming (but: agree -

agreeing)

final consonant after short, stressed vowel is doubled sit – sitting

final consonant l after vowel is always doubled (in British travel – travelling

English)

final ie becomes y lie – lying

The present participle can be used to describe the following verbs:

come, go, sit
Example: The girl sat crying on the sofa.

The present participle can also be used after verbs of the senses if we do not want to emphasise that the
action was completed. (see Infinitive or Ing-Form)
feel, find, hear, listen to, notice, see, smell, watch
Example: Did you see him dancing?

Furthermore, the present participle can be used to shorten or combine active clauses that have the same
subject.
Example: She left the house and whistled. – She left the house whistling.

Past Participle
The past participle is the participle that you find in the third column of lists with irregular verbs. You surely
know this form:
 from perfect tenses (z. B. Present Perfect Simple) – I have spoken.
 from passive voice – The letter was written.
 as an adjective form – I was bored to death.
For irregular participle forms see third column of irregular verbs. Regular verbs form the past participle by
adding ed, however, note the following exceptions in spelling:
Exceptions when adding ed Example

after a final e, only add d love – loved

final consonant after a short, stressed vowel admit –

 or l as final consonant after a vowel is admitted
doubled travel – travelled

final y after a consonant becomes i hurry – hurried

The past participle can also be used to shorten or combine passive clauses that have the same subject.
Example: The boy was given an apple. He stopped crying. – Given an apple, the boy stopped crying.

Perfect Participle
The perfect participle can be used to shorten or combine clauses that have the same subject if …
 … one action (the one where the perfect participle is used) is completed before the next action starts.
Example: She bought a bike and cycled home. – Having bought a bike, she cycled home.

 … one action has been going on for a period of time when another action starts.
Example: He had been living there for such a long time that he didn't want to move to another
town. – Having lived there for such a long time, he didn't want to move to another town.

The perfect participle can be used for active and passive voice.
 active voice: having + past participle (Having cooked, he set the table.)
 passive voice: having been + past participle (Having been cooked, the food looked delicious.)
Use of Participle Clauses
If a clause is shortened using a participle construction, the clause is called participle clause.
Example: Watching TV, she forgot everything around her.

In English, participle clauses are mainly used in writing in order to put a lot of information into one sentence.
When shortening or combining clauses with a participle construction, keep the following rules in mind:
 Both clauses should have the same subject.
 The less important part becomes the participle clause. Important information should always be in the main
clause.
 Make sure, you use the correct participle form (see above).
 The conjunctions as, because, since and relative pronouns who, which are left out.
 The conjunctions before, when are used in the participle clause.
 The conjunctions after, while can be used or left out.
Participle Clauses with different Subjects
Sometimes participle clauses can be used even if the clauses to be combined do not have the same subject.
This is the case for example if the main clause contains one of the following verbs + object:
feel, find, hear, listen to, notice, see, smell, watch
Example: I heard him playing the guitar.

Here, the participle clause must directly follow the object it is relating to. (Note: Some of the verbs mentioned
here can also be used with the infinitive. For further information see Infinitive or Ing-Form)
A participle construction is also possible, if both subjects are mentioned (often the word 'with' is put before
the subject in the participle clause). This is very formal, however, and not often used.
Example: Mrs Jones went to New York. Mr Smith took up her position.
→ (With) Mrs Jones going to New York, Mr Smith took up her position.

Incorrect Participle Clauses

Apart from the exceptions mentioned above, participle clause and main clause should have the same subject.
Otherwise the sentences might sound rather strange.
 Example: I was driving on the motorway, when the baby started to cry.
→ Falscher Partizipialsatz: Driving on the motorway, the baby started to cry.

In this example you get the feeling that the baby has driven the car. So these participle clauses are
considered wrong in standard English. In colloquial English, these 'incorrect participle clauses' are usually
okay, and you can even find an example in Shakespeare's Hamlet:
Now, Hamlet, hear. ’Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard, a serpent stung me.

As the text goes, it is said that Hamlet's father was bitten by a snake. Strictly speaking, however, the snake
was asleep when it bit Hamlet's father.
Exercises and Tests
Present Participle
 Form of Present Participle 
 Combine Sentences using the Present Participle 
 Participles after certain Verbs 
Past Participle
 Form of Past Participle 
 have something done 
 Combine Sentences using the Past Participle 
Perfect Participle
 Combine Sentences using the Perfect Participle 
 Active or Passive Voice 
Participle Mix
 Participles (Mix) 
 Participles (Mix) 
 Combine Sentences using Participle Constructions 
 Combine Sentences using Participle Constructions 
 Combine Sentences using Participle Constructions (with Conjunctions)  
 Replace Relative Clauses by Participle Constructions  
 Rewrite Sentences without using the Participle Constructions  
https://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/participles