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THE PARTICIPLE

The participle is a non-finite form of the verb which has a verbal and an adjectival or and
adverbial character.
There are two participles in English - Participle I and Participle П, traditionally called the
Present Participle and the Past Participle.

The verbal characteristics of the Participle I are as follows:

1) Participle I of transitive verbs can take a direct object. Opening the window, he noticed a
stranger in the garden.
2) Participle I and Participle П can be modified by an adverb. The street was full of people talking
and laughing noisily. Deeply impressed she couldn't help crying.
3) Participle 1 has tense distinctions and Participle I of transitive verbs
has also voice distinctions.
Active Passive
Indefinite writing being written
Perfect having written having been written
Tense distinctions of Participle I are not absolute but relative. The Non-perfect (Indefinite) forms
of the Participle (Active and Passive) show that the action is simultaneous with the action denoted
by the finite form of the verb in the sentence. Seeing that I was late I hurried.
Sometimes Participle I Indefinite denotes an action referring to no
particular time.
They went out into the road leading to the village.
Participle I Perfect (Active and Passive) indicates that the action precedes the action expressed by
the finite verb in the sentence.
Having slept for two hours he felt rested.
Having been warned about the bandits, he left his valuables at home.
Participle II has no tense distinctions; it has only one form which expresses either that the
action of the Participle precedes the action of the finite form of the verb, or that it is simultaneous to
the action. He observed a folded copy of "The Times". The girl invited by his parents was pretty.

Adjectival characteristics of the Participle

Like adjectives the Participle is related to a noun in the sentence as an attribute.
A smiling woman of about forty entered the room.
Greatly excited, the children followed her into the garden.

Adverbial characteristics of the Participle

The adverbial characteristics of the Participle are manifested in its syntactic function of an
adverbial modifier:
While travelling around the country we visited many interesting places.
When left alone, she spends her time at her writing table.

PARTICIPLE I
The Functions of Participle I in the Sentence.
It can be:

1) an attribute
The student answering the question is the best in his group.
In this function it corresponds to the Russian "действительное причастие настоящего времени".
In the function of an attribute Participle I can be in pre-position and in post-position, i.e. it can
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precede the noun it modifies and follow it.

I saw a smiling child.
It was a nice room overlooking a garden.
Participle I Indefinite Passive is very seldom used as an attribute. Participle I Perfect (Active and
Passive) is not used as an attribute!
Participle I in the function of an attribute cannot express priority; only an attributive clause is used.
The boy who broke the window has left.
I've just talked to the students who came back from London yesterday.

2) as adverbial modifier (corresponds to деепричастие)

All forms are used here.

a) of time Approaching home I saw him. Having finished his work he left home.
With some verbs of sense perception (to see, to hear), motion (to enter, to come, to arrive, to turn,
to leave) and some terminative verbs (to put(on), to take (off), to open, to close, to seize, to grasp)
Participle I Indefinite (not Perfect) is used even when priority is meant.
Hearing a noise in the yard, I looked out of the window.
Entering the room that evening Mary found a letter from her son.
Taking off our shoes, we tiptoed into the nursery.

The Perfect Participle of the same verbs is used when there is an interval of time between the two
actions.
Having failed twice, he didn't want to try again.
Having seen the girl long ago, I didn't recognize her.
It is also used when the first action covered a period of time.
Not having seen her for a long time I didn't recognize her.
Having been his own boss for such a long time, he found it hard to accept orders for another.
If the action expressed by Participle I Indefinite Active is simultaneous with the action expressed
by the finite verb, the conjunction when or while is often used.
While reading the text I noticed some mistakes.
Don't forget articles when speaking English.

Note: Participle I Indefinite of the verb to be is not used as an adverbial modifier of time. Clauses
of the type "Когда он был в Лондоне,..", "Когда он был ребенком,.." are translated "When in
London...", "When a child...". It means "When he was in London,..", "When he was a child.."

b) of cause (or reason). All forms of Participle are used here.

Having left school at twelve he had no qualifications.
The most frequently used Non Perfect Participle I of verbs denoting mental perception and
emotions are: knowing, realizing, remembering, hoping, expecting, fearing and also the Participle being
and having.
Hoping to meet her, he left the house.
Being hungry, he rushed to the fridge.
Having plenty of time we didn't hurry.
Not knowing where to go I turned back

Note: Participle I of the verb to be {being) when used as an adverbial modifier will always be an
adverbial modifier of cause.
Being a stranger in the town, he had to ask the way - As he was a stranger in the town, ...

c) of manner or attending circumstances. In this function Participle I Indefinite is mostly used.

She began to walk carefully counting her steps.
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He was silent, looking at his hands.

d) of unreal comparison (as if; as though)

She looked at me as though seeing me for the first time.
He spoke as if translating from a foreign language.

e) as a part of Complex Object (with verbs of physical and mental

perception: to feel, to hear, to see, to watch; to imagine, to find, to
understand.)
I saw him crossing the river.
They found me working in the garden.

f) as a part of Complex Subject (mainly after verbs of sense perception)

A car was heard arriving.
He was found sleeping.

g) as a part of analytical tense from

He is writing a new novel now.
They have been waiting for us for a long time.

h) as a predicative
The story was amusing.
She remained standing.

PARTICIPLE II
Participle П has only one form and usually expresses an action already completed. Participle П
of transitive verbs, when it is not part of a perfect form, is always passive in meaning: invited,
broken, built, translated.
Participle П can be used in pre-position (without any accompanying words) and in post-
position (with one or more accompanying words).
He went toward the lighted window.
I rode about the country on a horse lent me by my friend.
Participle П of intransitive verbs which denotes passing into a new stage is always active in
meaning. Mainly Participle П of intransitive verbs has no independent function in the sentence:
come, slept, smiled; they may be used to form Perfect tenses. Only Participle П of verbs of
motion or change of state can be used independently, mostly as attributes. These are Participle П
of the verbs to arrive, to go, to rise, to fall, to fade, to wither, to vanish e.g. arrived delegations, faded
leaves, a fallen star, a retired president.
Some Participle can be used either transitively or intransitively: hidden, returned, diminished,
increased: a returned traveler, the boy hidden behind the tree, an increased population.

The Functions of Participle II:

1) an attribute
a broken cup, books taken from the library.

2) a predicative
The door is locked.
I was greatly frightened.
The door remained locked for many years.

3) an adverbial modifier
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a) of time (conjunctions when ,while, until)

When asked about it he refused to answer.
She won't stop talking until interrupted.

b) of manner (conjunctions as, with)

I did as requested.
She sat for a while with her eyes closed
.
c) of condition (conj. if, unless)
I'll do it, if required.
She'll talk for hours unless interrupted.

d) of comparison (conj. as if, as though)

As if torn with inner conflict, he cried.

e) of concession (conj. though, although)

Her spirit, though crushed, was not broken.
4) as a part of Complex Object (after verbs of sense perception or wish)
/ heard my name mentioned.
They found the door locked. I want this work done at once.
After the verbs "to have, to get" only Participle П is use. It shows that the action expressed by
Participle П is not done by the person denoted by the subject but is done for the benefit of the
person denoted by the subject.
I want to have my hair cut.
I want to have my photo taken.
You can get a dress made here.

In interrogative and negative sentences the auxiliary verb to do is used.

Why don’t you have your hair cut?
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The Nominative Absolute Participial Construction.

- is a predicative complex which consists of two elements, nominal and verbal, which are in a
predicate relation. The nominal element is as noun in the common case or a pronoun in the
nominative ease. The verbal element is Participle I in any of its forms or Participle II.
This construction is mainly used in fiction and scientific literature.
It is always marked by a comma.
This construction is always used as an adverbial modifier:
a) of time
The question being settled, they parted.
The work completed, he had three months' leave.

b) of condition
The weather being fine, we'll go for a walk.

c) of cause
The river having risen at night, the crossing was impossible.

d) of attending circumstances
She quickly went away, John silently following her.
She was smoking now, her eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

The Participle I of the verb " to be" may be omitted and then we have a construction without
Participle I.
The lecture (being) over, we left the hall.
Everybody (being) at home, we set down to dinner.
He sat by fire, pipe in mouth, (a pipe being in his mouth)

The Prepositional Absolute Participle Construction

This construction differs from the nominative absolute participle construction in that it is
introduced by the preposition with.
The main syntactical function of the construction is that of an adverbial modifier of manner or
attending circumstances.
And still she sat there with her hands lying loosely in front of her.
It is unhealthy to sleep with the window shut