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Participles
Overview
Learning to use the "-ing," the infinitive ("to" + base form of the verb), and the past participle (in
regular verbs, this is formed by adding "-ed" to the end of the verb) verb forms correctly can be
challenging. When do you use "finishing" versus "to finish" versus "finished"? The information on
this page can help.
To find more information about when to use an "-ing," an infinitive, or a past participle, look up
the word in an online dictionary such as Merriam Webster (http://www.merriam-webster.com/),
or use a corpus, such as The Corpus of Contemporary American English
(http://corpus.byu.edu/coca/). Although there are some rules to follow, some of them simply
have to be memorized.
"-ing"
Here are six common uses of the "-ing" form:
I am doing my homework.
I have been writing all day.
I was writing when the pizza arrived.
Admit
Avoid
Consider
Deny
Discuss
Practice
Recall
Suggest
The verb in the following sample sentences is italicized, and the gerund is bolded:
5. Adjectives are sometimes formed using "-ing". The "-ing" in the following example sentences
is bolded:
The woman wearing a dress is sitting by the window. (The woman who is wearing a
dress is sitting by the window.)
The pens sitting on the desk belong to the teacher. (The pens that are sitting on the desk
belong to the teacher.)
Infinitives
Here are four common uses of infinitives ("to" + base form of the verb):
Agree
Choose
Claim
Decide
Expect
Manage
Need
Offer
Plan
Prove
Refuse
Want
Wish
The verb in the following example sentences is italicized, and the infinitive is bolded:
I decided to go to a movie.
He expected to obtain reliable results.
She offered to help.
2. The infinitive is also used after certain verb + direct object structures. Some verbs that use
this pattern are the following:
Advise
Allow
Ask
Encourage
Help*
Need
Persuade
Require
In the following example sentences, the verb is italicized, the direct object is bolded and
italicized, and the infinitive is bolded:
Difficult
Easy
Impossible
Wrong
The adjective in the following example sentences is italicized, and the infinitive is bolded:
4. Infinitives are used to express purpose (in order to do something). The infinitive in the
following sample sentences is bolded:
Begin
Continue
Hate
Like
Love
Start
The verb in the following example sentences is italicized, and the infinitive or gerund is bolded:
She likes to read.
She likes reading.
However, for some other verbs that can be followed by either a gerund or infinitive, the choice of
the gerund or infinitive creates a difference in meaning:
Forget
Remember
Stop
Try
The verb in the following example sentences is italicized, and the gerund or infinitive is bolded:
He did not remember going to the store. (He went to the store, but he did not recall that
he had been there.)
He did not remember to go to the store. (He intended to go to the store, but he did not do
it.)
Past Participles
In a regular verb, the past participle is formed by adding "-ed". However, there are many
irregular verbs in English, and these past participle forms must be memorized. Here are four
common uses of past participles:
3. The past participle is sometimes used in a phrase to supply additional information. These
participial phrases come from relative clauses
(https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/grammar/clauses) with a passive
(https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/scholarlyvoice/activepassive) meaning. The
past participle in the following example sentences is bolded, and the full relative clause is
italicized:
The ideas presented at the conference are important to remember. (The ideas that were
presented in the conference are important to remember.)
The drinks served at that bar are delicious. (The drinks that are served at that bar are
delicious.)
Taken by surprise, Alice hugged her long lost friend. (Alice, who was surprised, hugged
her long lost friend.)
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