XCIII. SUMMARY OF PARTICIPLES

365.

I. Definition.—A participle is a verbal adjective.

II. Forms.—

1. Of intransitive verbs.

Present, going.

Past, gone.

Perfect, having gone, having been going.

2. Of transitive verbs.

Present, seeing, being seen.

Past, seen.

Perfect, having seen, having been seeing, having been seen.

III. Uses.

1. To form the perfect tenses, the passive voice, and the progressive conjugation.

I have trusted you.

You were trusted by me.

I am trusting you.

2. As an adjective modifier of a noun or a pronoun.

(a) Restrictive.

Barking dogs seldom bite.

The picture painted by Leonardo da Vinci was stolen.

(b) Unrestrictive.

(1) Used in place of an adjective clause.

The silver moon, shining in the rosy eastern sky, must have looked upon the setting sun.

(2) Used in place of a clause of time or cause.

Having built a magnificent church, we had to have a magnificent organ.

3. As subjective complement of a verb.

Christ is risen.

Everybody is gone.

4. As an accompaniment of a verb.

Then the blind girl came nearer, reaching out her hands toward my face.

5. As part of an absolute phrase.

The roast turkey having received due attention, the boys were ready for mince pie.

IV. Modifiers and Complements.

Participles have the same modifiers and complements as verbs.

Having earned the money, I spent it.

Growing tired, we walked slower.

Calling me a coward, he went on.

Turning sharply to the right, he struck the tree.

V. Agreement.

1. The construction of a sentence should leave no doubt as to what word a participial phrase modifies.

2. Dangling participles should be avoided.

Make two good sentences to illustrate each use of the participle.