The Aspectual Meaning of Participle п and Correlation

The original aspectual meaning of participle II is perfectivity. It is evident in terminative verbs and verbs of double aspectual meaning.

In transitive terminative verbs the passive meaning of participle II is combined with perfectivity. Thus participle II can be opposed to participle I in their aspectual meanings of perfectivity/imperfectivity: taking-taken, asking-asked, writing-written, telling-told (берущий — взя­тый, спрашивающий — спрошенный, etc.).

The original meaning may be modified by the context, as can be seen by comparing the following sentences: The story told by the hostess amused everybody (история, рассказанная хозяйкой...). Why don't we believe stories told by hunters and fishermen? (истории, рассказываемые охотниками, т. е. которые рассказывают охотники)

There is a growing tendency in present-day English to use par­ticiple I passive as an attribute to emphasize the processual character of the action. Thus we may paraphrase the last sentence, saying, "Why don't we believe stories being told by hunters?"

Participle II of intransitive verbs or verbs used intransitively is always perfective in meaning and can be opposed to participle I indefinite: rising-risen, decaying-decayed, going-gone, arriving-arrived, retiring-retired, as in; the rising moon-the risen moon, the retiring director-the retired director. The, same in the auctioneer's formula: Going! Going! Gone! (Продается! Продается! Продано!)

The meaning of perfectivity/imperfectivity results in the potential meaning of correlation. The idea of priority and simultaneousness is suggested by the aspectual character of the verb and is realized in the given context.

In many cases, however, the ideas of priority and simultaneousness become fused, since the action is prior to and the resulting state is simultaneous with the action of the main verb or the moment of speech. Thus in the sentence First of all she went to the bombed building the action of bombing is prior to the action of the finite verb "went", but the resulting state of the action is simultaneous with it.

Syntactical Functions of Participle II

As part of the sentence participle II may stand alone or be the headword of a participial phrase. It may function as an attribute (close or detached), predicative or as an adverbial modifier.

Participle II as Attribute

Participle II usually functions either as premodifier when it stands alone (a) or forms a very short participial phrase containing an adverb (b). The verbal character of the participle in the first case is made clear only by its lexical meaning:

a) First of all she went to the bombed building.

b) Our minds should meet in a serious, mutually needed search for common understandings.

It was a neatly written letter.

Sometimes the preposition is kept:

The room even had a faint perfume about it which gave it a lived-in air.

As a postmodifier participle II manifests its verbal character more explicitly, even when it stands alone. It may be accompanied by a preposition, by an agentive by-object, an adverb and prepositional phrases as adverbial modifiers.

Things seen are mightier than things heard.

The dictionary referred to is to be found in our library.

These are cities inhabited by their creators.

Two women dimly seen in the shadow are talking softly.

When participle П or a participial phrase is detached, its position is not fixed. It may occupy the initial position, the mid-position or the final position in the sentence. Detached attributes are separated from the noun by a comma in writing and by a pause in speech. They are confined to literary style only.

Greatly excited, the children followed her into the garden.

Johnson, left In charge of both officers, marched about for a little while.

And people hurried by, hidden under their dreadful umbrellas.