Chapter 9
Section 9 of 1001 Questions and Answers on English Grammar. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Theoden Humphrey.
1001 Questions and Answers on English Grammar by Benjamin Hathaway. Participle 1. What is a participle? It is a verbal word retaining the essential character of the verb, partaking also of the
character of some other part of speech, usually a noun or adjective. 2. What does the name mean? Participle means participating, sharing. 3.
What is the difference between a finite verb and a participle? 1. The verb asserts something of a subject. A participle assumes action, being, or condition. 2.
The action, being, or state expressed by the verb is limited to a certain number and person, while that expressed by the participle is general in idea, and therefore the participle is not limited by person and number, as is the ordinary verb form. 3. The finite verb never performs any office but that of the verb.
The participle may perform the office of a noun, adjective, or adverb. 4. Like what other verbal word is the participle? It is very like the infinitive verbal word, in that both express the general idea of action or condition in an unlimited manner.
5. How are participles classified? By different authors variously, some of the best authorities divide them into imperfect, perfect, and pre-perfect participles as learning, learned, having learned. 6.
What is the basis of this classification? They are classified with regard to the progress or completion of the action, being, or state expressed. 7. Define the imperfect participle.
It is one that implies continuance of the being, action, or state as loving, being, loved. 8. Define the perfect participle. It is one that merely denotes completion of the being, action, or state as loved, seen.
9. Define the pre-perfect participle. It is one that expresses the action, being, or state as completed at or before some other action, being, or state as having seen, having been seen. 10.
How is the imperfect or present participle formed? When simple by adding ing to the radical verb. When compound by prefixing being to the perfect participle as reading, being read. 11. Do present or imperfect participles express present time?
No, they merely denote continuance equally in the present, past, or future as sitting by her side is a pretty child, sitting by her side was a pretty child, sitting by her side will be a pretty child. 12. How many and what forms has the imperfect or present participle?
2. A simple and a compound, as the lady writing is my sister, the lesson now being studied is very difficult. 13. How is the perfect participle formed?
It is always simple and when regular, D or ED is added to the radical verb. When irregular, it usually takes N or EN, though not always, as acted, seen, written. 14. How is the pre-perfect participle formed? It is always a compound form.
Having or having been is prefixed to the perfect participle as having spoken, having been seen, been loved. The form having been speaking is sometimes used, but it is not elegant. 15. What are the different classes made by different authors?
Curl and Green make two, present and perfect, as loving being loved, loved having loved, having been loved. Swinton makes two, present and past. Quackenbos and Harvey make three, present, perfect, and compound, as loving being loved, loved having loved, having been loved.
Brown makes three, imperfect, perfect, and pre-perfect, as loving being loved, loved having loved, having been loved. Smith makes three, present perfect and compound perfect, as loving being loved, loved having loved, having been loved. Holbrook makes six participles, three active and three passive.
Present active, past active, always used to form the past and perfect tenses of verbs. Perfect active, present passive, past passive, and perfect passive, as loving loved having loved, being loved, loved having been loved. 16. What is a simple participle?
One that consists of a single word and which may be either a present or a perfect participle, as loving loved. 17. What is a compound participle? A simple participle with the auxiliary participle being, having, or having been combined, as
being loved, having loved, having been loved. 18. When does a participle partially lose its verbal force and become an adjective? When placed before or in the predicate with the noun which it describes, it becomes a participial adjective, as twinkling stars.
He is a reading man. The effect of the music was thrilling. 19. How is the participial or verbal noun distinguished from the participle? 1.
Participial nouns take articles and adjectives before them, and participles do not, as the rehearsing was fine. 2. Participial nouns may govern the possessive case but not the objective. 3.
Participial nouns may be the subjects of verbs or objects of verbs or prepositions, but participles cannot, as reading makes a full man. 4. When I enter school, I wish to take reading and writing classes, but I cannot take the subject of the subject.
5. What is a participle? A participle with the auxiliary participle being, having, or having been combined, having, writing. I am fond of debating.
20. Give alternate sentences in which the same word is first used as a simple present participle and then as a noun. 1. The clerk is engaged in footing up the account.
2. Both parties were placed on an equal footing. 3. Jacob, in blessing his son, placed his hand upon his head. 4.
Health is a very great blessing. 5. The general succeeded in heading the march of the army. 6. I read the heading of the chapter.
21. Why is not tense applied to participles? Because the time is not definite, and the same form may express past, present, or future time as Seeing me, he trembled, past. Seeing me, you tremble, present.
Seeing me, you will tremble, future. 22. When a participle is united with an auxiliary verb, does it retain its participial sense? It does not, but becomes a verb, as he is reading the scriptures. Experience has taught them a lesson.
23. What in general is the function of the participle in the sentence? It is a means of abridging a sentence, as religion, rightly understood and practiced, has the purest of all joys attending it, being equivalent to religion when rightly understood, etc.
End of Participle
