Participle Adjectives
Participle adjectives are the same form as participles with the same characteristics with adjectives.
What Are Participle Adjectives?
Types of Participle
Participles can be used as attributive adjectives. They cannot object complements or modifiers, but they are can take adverbs such as 'very' or 'slightly.' Take a look at the examples to understand:
The problem
In the first sentence 'confusing' acts as a non-finite verb that takes the object 'him.'
Math is a very
In the second sentence 'confusing' acts as a pre-positive adjective that can be modified by adverbs such as 'very.'
The two types of participle in English are:
- Present Participle (-ing form)
- Past Participle (-ed/-en form)
Present Participles
The 'present participle adjectives' are formed by adding the suffix -ing to the verb form. If you want to know how it works, follow the examples:
The movie annoys me. → The movie is
The play amused us. →The play was
The bird that flied had blue feathers. → The
Past Participles
'Past participle adjectives' are usually formed by adding the suffix -ed or -en to the verbs. However, sometimes the past participle is irregular. Usually, these adjectives are used for living things because non-living objects cannot feel.
The
I was
I think I am a little
He is always
He was killed for an
Adjective Participles: Functions
Adjective participles are used as follows:
- As a pre-positive adjective
- As a post-positive adjective
You can't fix a
I am left with nothing but a heart
Compound Participle Adjectives
Adding a noun, adverb, or adjective at the beginning of a participle adjective makes a compound Participle adjective that is still considered a participle adjective. Look at the following examples:
There is a
They create
Use a hyphen between the word and the participle adjective while creating compound participle adjectives.
Review
'Participle adjectives' are present participles or past participles formed from a verb that ends in -ing or -ed.
They are usually used to express feelings, however, they can be used in different cases. So it is better to consider them descriptive adjectives.