Participles

Participles are non-finite verb forms that can function as adjectives or as parts of verb tenses and voices in English. The two basic participle types are the present participle, formed with the suffix -ing, and the past participle, which typically ends in -ed for regular verbs and has various irregular forms (gone, seen, written, etc.). Participles are distinct from gerunds, which are verbal nouns.

The present participle is used to form continuous aspects (I am running), to modify nouns as adjectives (a running stream), and to introduce participial phrases that provide additional information (Walking along, she hummed). These phrases can modify a noun or the whole sentence.

The past participle is used to form perfect tenses (she has eaten), to form the passive voice (the letter was written), and as adjectives (a broken vase, interesting news). It also appears in reduced relative clauses, where the relative pronoun and auxiliary are omitted (The book written by the author is popular).

A special use is the perfect participle: having plus a past participle indicates an action completed before the main verb (Having finished the work, they left). Some languages employ analogous constructions with different particles or sequences.

Usage notes include avoiding dangling modifiers: a participial phrase should clearly attach to the intended word. Participles vary in form across languages and may create ambiguity if placed awkwardly in a sentence.