Linguistic Overview
In some education settings, the term participle is used specifically in reference to -ing adjectives. At Insights to English, we use participle with a much broader definition (as do most linguists). First, we distinguish between the Active Participle and the Perfect/Passive Participle. Second, we define Active Participle as a combination of a) its -ing form rooted in verbs, and b) its active or in-progress meaning. This broader definition helps draw the connection between all the different applications of the –ing form.
Active Participles aren’t just adjectives; they can be verbs, nouns, or heads of entire modifier clauses.
Visit the Participles page for a more in-depth linguistic explanation.
Form
Verbs take on the -ing suffix for their Active Participle form. For example, the verbs ‘smile’, ‘dry’, and ‘chat’ become ‘smiling’, ‘drying’, and ‘chatting’, respectively.
There are two additional considerations regarding the spelling:
- When the base verb ends with a silent e, that e is dropped before adding the -ing suffix. (eg: ‘smile‘ → ‘smiling’)
- When the base verb is only 1 syllable and ends with 1 verb followed by 1 consonant, we usually double that consonant. (eg: ‘chat’ → ‘chatting’)
Applications
Active Participles communicate either that the verb is in progress (whether in an immediate sense or occurring roughly around that time) or that enacting the verb is characteristic of the pertinent noun (whether that’s the subject of a verb or it’s the referent of an active modifier). In many cases, it’s both. There is usually emphasis placed on the event or duration of the verb, and sometimes on its cause.
Continuous Tenses
Continuous tenses — also referred to as Progressive tenses — are used to express that a verb lasts for a sustained period of time, extending beyond the bounds of the context. The verb may be in progress precisely at the relevant moment, may be ongoing around that moment, or both.
- The sentence, “Petra is performing on Stage 6,” could be taken two ways. First, it might mean that Petra is on stage at that very moment, giving her performance. Second, it could mean that at various times across the the run of the festival, Petra may be performing … and when she is, she can be found on Stage 6. It’s entirely possible that both interpretations are true at the same time. In any case, the greater context of this conversation should shed light onto the best way to understand ‘is performing’.
In Continuous tenses, the auxiliary BE comes immediately before the Active Participle. The form of BE depends on subject-verb agreement, on whether the verb is past, and on whether any modal verbs are included. In all cases, the verb that follows a form of BE should always be in the Active Participle form.
- “Ahmed is swimming in the pool.” [Present Continuous]
- “Ahmed’s friends are swimming in the pool.” [Present Continuous]
- “Ahmed was swimming in the pool.” [Past Continuous]
- “Ahmed will be swimming in the pool.” [Future Continuous]
Verb Patterns
A Verb Pattern is a pair of verbs in which the first is the main verb of the clause and the second is its verbal complement, usually in the form of either the Full Infinitive or the Active Participle.
-ing Verb Patterns tend to denote that the second verb is in progress — much like Continuous tenses — in or around that moment (whereas to ___ Verb Patterns are more likely to denote forthcoming verbs). Active Participle Verb Patterns also tend to denote that the second verb is real (whereas the second verbs in Infinitive Verb Patterns are more likely to be hypothetical, or even counterfactual).
- “Stop dancing when the song ends.”
- “During the game, Hilda mimed pedaling a bicycle.”
- “I dread getting my hands dirty.”
In additional to standard Verb Patterns, Active Participles may be used in Reporting Verb Patterns (like “He denied breaking the vase.”) in Causative Verb Patterns (like “It’s time we get this party going.”), and in expressions about engaging in activities (like “We went shopping last weekend.”).
Gerunds
Gerunds are -ing words that serve as nouns but that retain properties of verbs. For instance, they can be modified with adverbs, and they can hold direct and indirect objects. But despite these verbal properties, Gerund phrases play the role of nominals (like nouns and pronouns) within their sentence.
In the following examples, the Gerund phrase is bold while the Gerund itself is underlined:
- “My favorite winter activity is skiing.”
- “Eating several helpings of vegetables each day is recommended for a balanced diet.”
- “I’ll never forget climbing to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro!”
Some grammar sources consider Gerunds to be separate from -ing participles, but Insights to English regards Gerunds as a subset of Active Participles for the following reasons: the form is identical to the Active Participle form, and Gerunds maintain the same active meaning as other -ing forms.
Active Adjectives
Participle Adjectives behave the same way as most other adjectives. For instance, they can come before the noun they modify, or they can come after a linking verb.
Active Participle Adjectives suggest that the referent has initiated or is otherwise carrying out the verb of the participle (which typically isn’t also that clause’s verb).
- “The car came to a screeching halt.” ← (‘screech’ is not the main verb of this sentence, but it’s an incidental action that the halt enacted)
- “The blistering heat is too much to bear!” ← (although ‘blister’ in not the main verb, the heat blisters those outside)
- “This new software seems really confusing.” ← (‘confuse’ isn’t the main verb, but the software may in fact confuse some of its users)
Participial Phrases
Participial Phrases are modifier phrases that have a participle as the nucleus of the phrase. The active version of these have an -ing participle at their nucleus, and they express an action that occurs simultaneous to the main verb of that clause.
- “Glancing around the room, you may notice several cracks in the walls.”
- “Petra can be found performing on Stage 6.”
Participial Phrases can modify nouns, but they most often modify verb phrases or entire clauses, much like adverbs do.
Adpositions
Certain Active Participles can function as adpositions (usually prepositions, though notwithstanding can also be a postposition). Not every verb taking the -ing form can be an adposition; only select terms. Such terms include:
barring • concerning • counting • excluding • failing • following • including • notwithstanding • pending • regarding
Teaching Tips
Redefining Terms
The most common term for this verb form is ‘Present Participle’. However, this term can be confusing for language learners, and it’s even misleading in most applications. This participle may be used in tenses that are not present. And conversely, some present tenses don’t use this participle. In other words, there is a weak correlation, if any, between this participle and present tenses, despite the implication of the term ‘Present Participle’.
We strongly advise that teachers instead use either ‘Active Participle’ or ‘Progressive Participle’, since these terms better reflect both the meaning that the participle conveys and the grammar topics in which it is featured.
Drawing Connections
It may be helpful to draw a connection between multiple applications of the Active Participle form.
For instance, there is a lot of overlap between “My sister is so annoying,” (Active Adjective), “My sister is annoying everyone else,” (Present Continuous), and “My sister won’t stop annoying me,” (Verb Pattern). These three examples not only sound similar to one another, but they also share very similar meanings.
No matter how it’s used, the Active Participle communicates that the pertinent noun initiates or carries out that Action Verb. Or, if it doesn’t do so in that particular instance, it is characterized as doing so.
Further Reading
| Related Concepts | Applied Grammar Topics |
|---|---|
Infinitives & Participles
Types
Bare Infinitives • Full Infinitives • Active Participles • Perfect/Passive Participles
Full Infinitive topics
Active Participle topics
Active Adjectives • Future Continuous • Gerunds • Participial Phrases • Past Continuous • Present Continuous • Present Perfect Continuous • Verb Patterns
Perfect Participle topics
Future Perfect • Perfect Modals • Participial Phrases • Past Perfect • Present Perfect • Present Perfect Continuous
