A participle is a verb form used as an adjective or as part of a compound verb tense. The present participle ends in -ing (running, eating). The past participle typically ends in -ed, -en, -t, or has an irregular form (finished, broken, felt, gone).
What Is a Participle?
Participles are verb forms that can act as adjectives or combine with auxiliary verbs to form complex tenses and the passive voice. Every English verb has both a present and a past participle, making them indispensable for fluent, accurate English.
The present participle is formed by adding -ing to the base verb (with spelling adjustments: run → running, write → writing). It is used in continuous tenses ("She is reading"), as an adjective before a noun ("a fascinating story"), and in participial phrases ("Walking to school, I met an old friend").
The past participle of regular verbs is formed by adding -ed (finish → finished, call → called). Irregular verbs have their own forms which must be memorised: break → broken, go → gone, write → written, feel → felt. Past participles appear in perfect tenses ("I have finished"), passive constructions ("The window was broken"), and as adjectives ("a broken promise").
One of the most productive uses of participles is in participial phrases — clauses that reduce a full relative clause to a more compact form. These are especially common in formal and written English, and mastering them can significantly elevate your writing style.
Present vs Past Participle
| Participle type | Form | Example uses |
|---|---|---|
| Present participle | base + -ing | She is running. / A running dog. / Running fast, he caught the bus. |
| Past participle (regular) | base + -ed | I have finished. / A finished product. / Painted by Picasso, the work sold for millions. |
| Past participle (irregular) | varies | She has broken the record. / A broken heart. / Written in haste, the note was barely legible. |
| -ing/-ed adjective pair | — | Boring lecture (causes boredom) / Bored student (feels boredom) |
| Reduced relative clause | — | The man standing by the door = the man who is standing by the door |
Participial Phrases and Reduced Relative Clauses
A participial phrase begins with a participle and modifies a noun or pronoun in the main clause. It can appear before or after the noun it modifies. For the phrase to make grammatical sense, its implied subject must be the same as the subject of the main clause.
| Full relative clause | Reduced with participle |
|---|---|
| The woman who is sitting at the front is our director. | The woman sitting at the front is our director. |
| The letter that was written in 1899 is now in a museum. | The letter written in 1899 is now in a museum. |
| The students who were selected had to pass a test. | The students selected had to pass a test. |
Common Mistakes
Mistakes to Avoid
Walking down the street, the rain started suddenly. (dangling participle — the rain was not walking)
Walking down the street, I felt the rain start suddenly. (participial phrase must match the subject)
The film was very boring, so I felt very boring too.
The film was very boring, so I felt very bored. (-ing describes the cause; -ed describes the feeling)
She has wrote three books.
She has written three books. (use the correct irregular past participle)