Once you are able to recognize the Past Participle by its form, we can move on to its functions, i.e. the work it does in sentences. Some of its functions are similar to those of the Present Participle and some are different.
In perfect tenses, the past participle is part of the finite verb phrase, as in...
has sung had sung will have sung |
has been sung had been sung will have been sung |
In all the passive voice forms of finite verb phrases, the past participle is the main verb...
is sung was sung will be sung is being sung |
was being sung has been sung had been sung will have been sung |
Past participles too behave like adjectives (participial adjectives) in the same way as the present participles do...
healed person written instructions trained teacher beaten path |
risen sun fallen angels |
In the four examples on the left column of the table above, please note:
So each past participle in these examples has a passive meaning.
But less frequently, you can find past participles with active meanings...
as in the two examples in the right column above...
The verbs rise and fall, from which risen and fallen are formed, are both intransitive; so, rising and falling cannot be done to the sun or the angels.
Like the present participle, the past participle too can function as the head of a participial phrase. What we mean by this is that just like any verb, the past participle can have an object and can be modified by modifiers.
See this example:
In this sentence, the word English is the object and the adverb lovingly modifies the past participle taught, which is the head of the participial phrase 'lovingly taught English by her father'.
Like the present participle, the past participle shares the nature of an adjective, in that it can be modified by a degree modifier.
In the participial phrase 'fully healed of his own bad memories', the past participle healedis modified by the degree modifier fully.
The meaning which this participle conveys is of an action-based description, where the action is completed action.
This and the previous page on the past participle have together shown you:
page 1 | page 2
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