Present Participles are verbs with the ending "~ing". When they are used as adjectives or adverbs, they have an active meaning.
- The firefighters sprayed water on the burning building. (= adjective)
- The student was sitting at the back of the room checking her email. (= adverb)
- Exercise is very tiring. (= adjective)
- Hoping to improve my score, I took extra classes before the test. (= adverb)
Past Participles have a passive meaning when used as adjectives or adverbs.
- The broken monitor was thrown in the garbage. (= adjective)
- She is very interested in the film. (= adjective)
- The damaged car didn't look very good any more. (= adjective)
- Dressed in white, she could not be seen in the snowy field. (= adverb)
Participles can be used after a noun. In this use, they have the same meaning as Defining Adjective Clauses.
- She is the student sitting beside the teacher. (who is sitting beside...)
- Coffee made in Brazil is much stronger than the coffee here. (that is made in Brazil...)
- The student interested in art asked many questions about the art gallery. (that is interested in art...)
Exercise
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