Participle Clauses
English Language: KS3, topic 3.8.8
Participles
Participles are verb forms that don’t express tense. In other words, participles don’t tell you if the verb is in the past, present or future tense.
Types of participle
- There are 2 types of participle:
- The present participle which always ends in ‘ing’.
- The past participle which normally ends in ‘ed’ (unless it’s an irregular verb).
Present participles
- Present participles are verbs that don’t express tense and end in ‘ing’.
- E.g. In ‘running on the beach, I felt great’, 'running' is the present participle.
- The word 'running' doesn’t tell you when the action is taking place but 'running' is still an action.
Past participles
- The past participle normally ends in ‘ed’ (unless it’s an irregular verb).
- E.g. In ‘excited to be voted in, Elizabeth jumped for joy’, 'excited' is the past participle.
- The word 'excited' doesn’t tell us when it happened but it is still a verb.
Irregular past participles
- The past participle normally ends in ‘ed’ (unless it’s an irregular verb).
- E.g. In ‘broken by the exam, Simon cried’, 'broken' is the past participle.
- The word 'broken' doesn’t tell us when the action happened but it is still an action.
Participle phrases
- A phrase contains a verb, or a subject, but NOT both.
- Phrases CANNOT stand alone as a sentence.
- A complete sentence needs to have a main clause (subject and verb).
- Participle phrases are phrases that contain
- Participle verbs.
- But no subject.
- E.g. 'Understanding the game was over, Simon dropped to the ground.’
Test yourself on Participle Clauses
What are the two types of participle?
Which participle is included in this sentence?
'Fighting for her life, she took a deep breath'Which of these sentences contain a past participle?
Which participle is included in this sentence?
'Finding her way in the dark, she found a tree'Which participle is included in this sentence?
'Broken from the journey, Freddie fell asleep'