The participle
The participle is a non-finite form of the verb which has a verbal and an adjectival or and adverbial character.
There are two participles in English - Participle I and Participle П, traditionally called the Present Participle and the Past Participle.
The verbal characteristics of the Participle I are as follows:
-
Participle I of transitive verbs can take a direct object. Opening the window, he noticed a stranger in the garden.
-
Participle I and Participle П can be modified by an adverb. The street was full of people talking and laughing noisily. Deeply impressed she couldn't help crying.
3) Participle 1 has tense distinctions and Participle I of transitive verbs has also voice distinctions.
Active Passive
Indefinite writing being written
Perfect having written having been written
Tense distinctions of Participle I are not absolute but relative. The Non-perfect (Indefinite) forms of the Participle (Active and Passive) show that the action is simultaneous with the action denoted by the finite form of the verb in the sentence. Seeing that I was late I hurried.
Sometimes Participle I Indefinite denotes an action referring to no
particular time.
They went out into the road leading to the village.
Participle I Perfect (Active and Passive) indicates that the action precedes the action expressed by the finite verb in the sentence.
Having slept for two hours he felt rested.
Having been warned about the bandits, he left his valuables at home.
Participle II has no tense distinctions; it has only one form which expresses either that the action of the Participle precedes the action of the finite form of the verb, or that it is simultaneous to the action. He observed a folded copy of "The Times". The girl invited by his parents was pretty.
Adjectival characteristics of the Participle
Like adjectives the Participle is related to a noun in the sentence as an attribute.
A smiling woman of about forty entered the room.
Greatly excited, the children followed her into the garden.
Adverbial characteristics of the Participle
The adverbial characteristics of the Participle are manifested in its syntactic function of an adverbial modifier:
While travelling around the country we visited many interesting places.
When left alone, she spends her time at her writing table.
Participle I The Functions of Participle I in the Sentence.
It can be:
1) an attribute
The student answering the question is the best in his group.
In this function it corresponds to the Russian "действительное причастие настоящего времени".
In the function of an attribute Participle I can be in pre-position and in post-position, i.e. it can precede the noun it modifies and follow it.
I saw a smiling child.
It was a nice room overlooking a garden.
Participle I Indefinite Passive is very seldom used as an attribute. Participle I Perfect (Active and Passive) is not used as an attribute!
Participle I in the function of an attribute cannot express priority; only an attributive clause is used.
The boy who broke the window has left.
I've just talked to the students who came back from London yesterday.
2) as adverbial modifier (corresponds to деепричастие)
All forms are used here.
a) of time Approaching home I saw him. Having finished his work he left home.
With some verbs of sense perception (to see, to hear), motion (to enter, to come, to arrive, to turn, to leave) and some terminative verbs (to put(on), to take (off), to open, to close, to seize, to grasp) Participle I Indefinite (not Perfect) is used even when priority is meant.
Hearing a noise in the yard, I looked out of the window.
Entering the room that evening Mary found a letter from her son.
Taking off our shoes, we tiptoed into the nursery.
The Perfect Participle of the same verbs is used when there is an interval of time between the two actions.
Having failed twice, he didn't want to try again.
Having seen the girl long ago, I didn't recognize her.
It is also used when the first action covered a period of time.
Not having seen her for a long time I didn't recognize her.
Having been his own boss for such a long time, he found it hard to accept orders for another.
If the action expressed by Participle I Indefinite Active is simultaneous with the action expressed by the finite verb, the conjunction when or while is often used.
While reading the text I noticed some mistakes.
Don't forget articles when speaking English.
Note: Participle I Indefinite of the verb to be is not used as an adverbial modifier of time. Clauses of the type "Когда он был в Лондоне,..", "Когда он был ребенком,.." are translated "When in London...", "When a child...". It means "When he was in London,..", "When he was a child.."
b) of cause (or reason). All forms of Participle are used here.
Having left school at twelve he had no qualifications.
The most frequently used Non Perfect Participle I of verbs denoting mental perception and emotions are: knowing, realizing, remembering, hoping, expecting, fearing and also the Participle being and having.
Hoping to meet her, he left the house.
Being hungry, he rushed to the fridge.
Having plenty of time we didn't hurry.
Not knowing where to go I turned back
Note: Participle I of the verb to be {being) when used as an adverbial modifier will always be an adverbial modifier of cause.
Being a stranger in the town, he had to ask the way - As he was a stranger in the town, ...
c) of manner or attending circumstances. In this function Participle I Indefinite is mostly used.
She began to walk carefully counting her steps.
He was silent, looking at his hands.
d) of unreal comparison (as if; as though)
She looked at me as though seeing me for the first time.
He spoke as if translating from a foreign language.
e) as a part of Complex Object (with verbs of physical and mental perception: to feel, to hear, to see, to watch; to imagine, to find, to understand.)
I saw him crossing the river.
They found me working in the garden.
f) as a part of Complex Subject (mainly after verbs of sense perception) A car was heard arriving.
He was found sleeping.
g) as a part of analytical tense from
He is writing a new novel now.
They have been waiting for us for a long time.
h) as a predicative
The story was amusing.
She remained standing.