There are three types of verbals: participles, infinitives, and gerunds. These words are based on verbs and consequently express action or a state of being although they function as adjectives and nouns.
A participle is a verbal that has the same properties of an adjective and some of the same as a verb. Similar to an adjective, participles are used to modify nouns and/or pronouns. Like a verb, a participle sometimes requires an object.
There are three types of participles: present participles, past participles, and past perfect.
- Present participles are occurring now and end in ing.
- Past participles signify an event that began and ended at a specific time in the past. Past participles end in ed, en, d, t or n.
- Past perfect participles indicate an event in the past that was completed before another activity was begun.
Examples:
- Present Participles
- The crying student asked for extra time for the test.
- Cry is a verb but an ing has been added so that it can modify the noun, students.
- Past Participles
- Shaken, the students limped away from the Greek test.
- Shake is a verb that, here, describes the students’ demeanor because of what occurred in the past.
- Past Perfect Participles
- The students partied all night after having passed the Greek test.
- Having passed shows action occurring and finishing before the present action (the party).
