A: Why is the door closed?
B: I closed it because I was cold.
What are Participles?
There are two kinds of participles: past and present. Present participles are the ~ing form of a verb. Past participles end in ed except for irregular verbs:
| Verb | Present Participle | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| enjoy | enjoying | enjoyed |
| go | going | gone |
| work | working | worked |
| swim | swimming | swam |
| play | playing | played |
| try | trying | tried |
Of course, you are already very familiar with both present and past participles. We use present participles with continuous tenses and gerunds. Past participles are used in passive sentences and perfect tenses:
Present Participles
- Instead of using your car to drive to work, why don't you take the bus?
- She's been working on that engine for many months.
- What movie are you watching?
- Please continue doing your work.
Past Participles
- This car was made in California.
- Have you ever tried drifting?
- The food hasn't been eaten yet.
- When I got home, my wife had already made dinner.
Participles as Adjectives
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