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Finding Partciple
First and foremost, a participle is the form of a verb, but it is not a verb. Second, it is an adjective. And finally, it ends in "ing" or "ed" or "en."[In the following examples, the participle is bold and the verb is underlined.]
• As the colonies
became a new nation
dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal, public schools had another purpose.
o First find the subject and verb of each clause: COLONIES BECAME and SCHOOLS HAD. With that done, we can see that DEDICATED is not the subject. Instead, it describes the word NATION. Therefore, it is an adjective. A form of a verb that ends in ED, EN or ING and acts as an adjective is a participle.
•
Transformed by the national economy, urban factories
developed a need for disciplined, obedient workers.
o The subject (factories) DEVELOPED. So what does TRANSFORMED do? It describes FACTORIES.
•
Learning to solve problems in groups, the students
began to understand how to fit within the social structure.
o Identify the subject and verb. What is this sentence about? STUDENTS. What is the verb? BEGAN. What part of the sentence does LEARNING go with? The subject. It describes STUDENTS, so it is a form of the verb acting as an adjective—a participle.
The steps to finding a participle:
1. Find the subject and verb to eliminate any confusion.
o Al Gore, knocked around by Bill Bradley for being "pro-gun," is confidently pushing gun control to the forefront of his presidential campaign.
AL GORE is the subject. IS PUSHING is the verb. KNOCKED is a form of the verb, acting as an adjective, modifying Al GORE - therefore it is participle.
o The activist called for a waiting period for gun purchases to help reduce illegal gun trafficking.
The subject is ACTIVIST. The verb is CALLED. WAITING is a form of the verb, acting as an adjective, modifying PERIOD.
o Headed by conservative media watchdog leader Brent Bozell, the Parents Television Council announced the results of a study.
The subject is THE PARENTS TELEVISION COUNCIL. The verb is ANNOUNCED. HEADED is a form of the verb, acting as an adjective, modifying the subject.- headed is participle .
o The network reported on the springtime ritual of young men and women flocking to warm beaches around the globe.
The subject is NETWORK. The verb is REPORTED. FLOCKING is a form of the verb, acting as an adjective, modifying men and women. It can't act as a verb without an auxiliary verb. For example: Young men and women WERE flocking to warm beaches.
Gerund
Gerund = ing form of the verb.
How to differentiate between Present participle and a Gerund
Present participle = describes present condition
Eg - Typing letters, she has grown old.
This sentence describes present condition – at present she is old.
If – ing form of the verb is there and it does not not describe present situation then it must be a gerund.
Eg- Reading a book is a hobby for many.
Infinitive VS Gerund
Gerunds are used to describe an "actual, vivid, or fulfilled action" whereas infinitives are better used to describe "potential, hypothetical, or future events"
We began working on this project two years ago.- Gerund
We will continue to work on this project for the next four months- infinitive
In case you wish to know how to find the subject of a sentence :
How to find the Subject in a sentenceWhen finding the subject and the verb in a sentence, always find the verb first and then say who or what followed by the verb. Example: The bell rang. Find the verb - rang. Now say who or what rang? The bell rang. Bell is the subject