Participle Adjectives
Discover the rules for using participle adjectives like 'tired' and 'tiring'. Detailed explanations and a quiz to test your knowledge.
What Are Participle Adjectives?
Participle adjectives are adjectives that are formed from the participle form of a verb. Like any other adjective, they modify nouns and can be modified by adverbs.
Types of Participle
The two types of participles in English are:
Present Participle (verb + -ing)
Past Participle (verb + -ed/-en)
Present Participles
Present participle adjectives are formed by adding the suffix '-ing' to the base form of the verb. These adjectives often indicate that something is causing a feeling or performing an action. Look at the examples:
The movie annoys me. → The movie is annoying.
The play amused us. →The play was amusing.
Here, the play causes the feeling of amusement.
The bird that flew had blue feathers. → The flying bird had blue feathers.
Here, The bird is performing the action of the verb "fly."
Past Participles
Past participle adjectives are usually formed by adding the suffix '-ed' or '-en' to verbs. However, sometimes the past participle form is irregular. These adjectives show that the noun or pronoun they modify undergoes the experience or feeling denoted by the past participle. Accordingly, they are usually used to describe living things because non-living objects cannot experience feelings or actions.
The stunned boy did not say a word.
I was pleased after talking to the young lady.
I think I am a little confused now.
He is always misunderstood.
He was killed for an unknown reason.
Participle Adjectives: Usage
Participle adjectives can be used as:
Attributive adjectives (prepositive and postpositive)
Predicative adjectives
You can't fix a broken heart.
pre-positive attributive adjective
I am left with nothing but a heart broken by his actions. (post-positive)
post-positive attributive adjective
My heart was broken and I know that yours was too.
predicative adjective
Participle Adjecitve vs. Verb Forms
Both present and past participle are verb forms, used in formation of different tenses as well as the passive voice. Participle adjectives have the exact same form as the corresponding verb forms and this can make it difficult to distinguish between the two in sentences, especially when used after the verb "be." Compare the examples:
They were entertaining the crowd.
The show was entertaining.
First of all, note how in the first example the present participle "entertaining" has a direct object "the crowd." So, it must be a verb form, part of the past continuous tense. Additionally, in the second example, we can add modifying adverbs like "very" or "extremely," but you can't do that to the first example: "They were very entertaining the crowd" does not make sense because "very" is a degree adverb that modifies gradable adjectives, not verbs. So, the second example is using the present participle as an adjective. Take a look at another pair of examples using past participles:
He was surprised by his friends for his birthday,
He was surprised that all his friends showed up for his birthday.
The first sentence is actually an example of passive voice, signaled by the addition of the agent using the preposition "by." The same sentence in the active voice would be "His friends surprised him for his birthday" where "surprise" is clearly a verb with a direct object (him) in the past simple tense. In the second sentence, however, "surprised" is an adjective that can be modified by a degree adverb like "very" and has an adjective complement (that all his friends showed up) which shows the cause of his surprise.
The Verb 'Seem'
Another way to find out whether the participle is used as an adjective or verb form is to replace the verb 'be' with the verb "seem." If the participle is acting as an adjective, the verb "be" must be acting as a linking verb and so it must be interchangeable with "seem" which is another linking verb that takes an adjective as the subject complement.
They seemed entertaining the crowd.
The show seemed entertaining.
He seemed surprised by his friends for his birthday,
He seemed surprised that all his friends showed up for his birthday.
Compound Participle Adjectives
Hyphen
When forming compound participle adjectives, don't forget to insert a hyphen between the participle adjective and the preceding word.
Review
'Participle adjectives' are present participle or past participles formed from a verb that ends in '-ing' or '-ed'.
They can be used attributively or predicatively and as part of a compound adjective.
He looked exhausted but still smiled.
predicative
The exhausted child went straight to bed.
attributive
She's now a very well-known director.
compound adjective
Quiz:
Which sentence uses a present participle adjective correctly?
The boring student fell asleep during the lecture.
The children are playing in the park.
The confusing tourist asked for directions.
The breaking news shocked everyone.
Which sentence uses a predicative participle adjective?
The exciting news spread quickly.
The news was exciting to everyone.
The excited crowd cheered loudly.
The flying bird landed on the branch.
Complete the table by choosing whether the participle is used as an adjective or verb form?
Housing prices are rising rapidly. | |
He was disappointed with the results. | |
The professor was boring the students. | |
The child had broken the vase. | |
The book was so entertaining. |
Fill the blanks with the correct form of the verb in parentheses.
The
(excite) children couldn't sleep before the trip.
The
(bark) dog kept the neighbors awake.
The
(confuse) instructions frustrated everyone.
The
(frighten) movie made us jump.
She served us
(burn) toast for breakfast.
Sort the words to form a correct sentence with a compound participle adjective.
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