§ 2 The Forms of the Participles

a) The forms of Participle I are shown in the table below:

	Active	Passive
Indefinite	completing	being completed
Perfect	having completed	having been completed

The Indefinite forms of Participle I express the action simultaneous with that of the main verb:

While completing the project we were very busy,

while the Perfect forms express the action prior to that of the main verb of the sentence:

The project having been completed, we all went on holiday.

b) Participle II has only one form – the 3d form of the verb: completed, thought, expressed, placed etc.:

The idea expressed in this film is not new.

§ 3 The Functions of the Participles

There are several common functions of the Participles:

1) Attribute: Participle I: I know the reporter covering the news.

Participle II: The news covered in the report deal with the

situation in the Middle East.

2) Predicative: Participle I: Your offer sounds embarrassing.

Participle II: He sounds embarrassed.

3) Complex Object:

Participle I: I heard him playing the tune.

Participle II: I heard the tune played.

4) Adverbial Modifiers of:

a) Time Participle I: (While/when)/ Asking about the accident the

girl started crying.

Participle II: When asked about the accident the girl

started crying.

b) Comparison:

Participle I: She looked as if waiting for an answer.

Participle II: He stopped as if struck by the news.

5) Parenthesis:

Participle I: Frankly speaking, I don't know the answer.

Participle II: As mentioned above, there are three main types of companies.

There are some functions of the Participles that do not coincide. Only Participle I performs the functions of:

a) Manner: She stopped looking at the ad.

b) Cause: Being ill at ease, he couldn't utter a word.

Only Participle II performs the functions of:

a) Condition: If broken, her heart wouldn't stand it.

b) Concession: Though surprised, she didn't show it.

6 ) Participle I and Participle II can be used in Absolute Participial Constructions where the subject of the main clause and the subject of the participle don't coincide (they are different):

They went to bed, the work left for the next morning.

The work being over, they went to bed.

E x e r c i s e s

1. Complete the sentences using either Participle I or Participle II as an Attribute from the verbs in brackets.

1. Do you know the woman ..... to Tom? (talk)

2. The boy ..... in the accident was taken to hospital. (injure)

3. The police ..... the crime are looking for three men. (investigate)

4. Some of the people ..... to the party can't come. (invite)

5. Who were those people ..... outside? (wait)

6. Most of the goods ..... in this factory are exported. (make)

7. The road ..... the two villages is very narrow. (join)

8. The police never found the money ..... in the robbery. (steal)

9. I live in a pleasant room ..... the garden. (overlook)

10. There was a big red car ..... outside the house. (park)

11. There were some children ..... in the river. (swim)

12. We've spent nearly all the money. We've only got a little ..... . (leave)