participle

Borrowed from Old French participle (1388), variant of participe, from Latin participium.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /pɑːˈtɪsɪpəl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈpɑɹtɪˌsɪpəl/

• Audio (US)

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participle (plural participles)

1. (grammar) A form of a verb that may function as an adjective or noun. English has two types of participles: the present participle and the past participle. In other languages, there are others, such as future, perfect, and future perfect participles.

Participles can be combined with the auxiliary verbs have and be to form the perfect aspect, the progressive aspect, and the passive voice. The tense is always expressed through the auxiliary verb.

• I have asked. (present tense, perfect aspect)
• I am asking. (present tense, progressive aspect)
• I am asked. (present tense, passive voice)

When not combined with have or be, participles are almost always adjectives and can form adjectival phrases called participial phrases. Nouns can occasionally be derived from these adjectives:

• the following items
• the following
• the dying victims
• the dying

In English, participles typically end in -ing, -ed or -en.

A present participle ending in -ing has the same form but a different function from a verbal noun called a gerund. Sometimes a present participle (adjective) is mistakenly called a gerund (noun).

• active participle
• future participle
• passive participle
• past participle
• perfect passive participle
• present participle