participle

[ pahr-tuh-sip-uhl ]

noun

, Grammar.

1. a form derived from a verb, used in English as an adjective to express participation in the action or state of the verb, or combined with an auxiliary verb to construct any of various tenses, as in a burning candle, a known fact, I am freezing, She has gone: a participle does not specify person or number, but may have a subject or object, show tense, etc.

participle

/ ˈpɑːtɪsɪpəl; ˌpɑːtɪˈsɪpɪəl; pɑːˈtɪsɪpəl /

noun

1. a nonfinite form of verbs, in English and other languages, used adjectivally and in the formation of certain compound tenses See also present participle past participle

participle

1. The verb form that combines with an auxiliary verb to indicate certain tenses . The present participle is formed by adding -ing to the infinitive; it indicates present action: “The girl is swimming ”; “I am thinking .” ( Compare gerund .) The past participle usually ends in -ed ; it indicates completed or past action: “The gas station has closed ”; “The mayor had spoken .” Participles may also function as adjectives : “Your mother is a charming person”; “This is a talking parrot”; “ Spoken words cannot be revoked.”

Grammar Note

See dangling participle, misplaced modifier.

Notes

A “dangling” participle is one that is not clearly connected to the word it modifies: “ Standing at the corner, two children walked past me.” A better version of this example would be, “ While I was standing at the corner, two children walked past me.”

Derived Forms

• ˌpartiˈcipially, adverb
• participial, adjectivenoun

Word History and Origins

Origin of participle¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle French, variant of participe, from Latin participium, derivative of particeps “taking part,” from parti- (stem of pars “piece, portion”; part ) + -ceps “taking” (combining form of capere “to take”)

Word History and Origins

Origin of participle¹

C14: via Old French from Latin participium, from particeps partaker, from pars part + capere to take

Example Sentences

When the case was argued, a government lawyer told the justices that the term was “the equivalent of the past participle form of the paradigmatic profane word in our culture.”

From New York Times

Dederer is continually trying — not in the adjectival sense, but as the present participle: showing us her thought process, correcting as she goes and experimenting with different forms.

From New York Times

I'm sure she'll find a way to point out my dangling participles and awkward syntax.

From Literature

Correct French would not have used the infinitive “tuer,” but rather the past participle, ending with an “e” to agree with the female writer, Ms. Marchal.

From New York Times

Aside from being the past participle of wake, for decades, it meant conscious and aware – but the slang word has come to represent an embrace of progressive activism, as well.

From Fox News