participle

participle — noun

1. a verb-based word such as "broken" or "smiling", used like an adjective or along

1.nounC2
Definition

a verb-based word such as "broken" or "smiling", used like an adjective or alongside another verb to make a tense.

Example

In "a broken window," broken is a participle describing window.

participle used like an adjective

Ms. Huang asked the class to circle the participle in each line.

a participle in [a line / sentence]

Common collocations
  • present participle
  • past participle
  • participle phrase
  • dangling participle
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

the participle of [a verb]

a participle in [a sentence / phrase]

present participle

past participle

Usage Note

Most often appears in the fixed terms present participle and past participle. Distinguish from gerund: the same -ing form is usually called a gerund when it works as a noun, as in "Swimming is good exercise."

Common Mistakes

The participle of go is went.
The past participle of go is gone.
'went' is the past tense form, not the past participle.
Walking" in "Walking is good exercise" is a participle.
Walking" there is a gerund.
when the -ing form works as a noun, it is usually called a gerund instead.

Word family

  • participial
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A participle comes from a verb, but it does not behave exactly like a normal verb. Compared with a gerund, the important difference is function: a gerund acts as a noun, while a participle usually works like an adjective or helps build a verb tense. An infinitive is another non-finite verb form, but it normally appears as to + verb or the base verb after certain verbs. A plain adjective only describes something; a participle still keeps a clear link to the verb it came from. So in "the broken cup," broken is a participle, but in "Breaking cups is expensive," breaking is a gerund.

participle ↗gerundinfinitiveadjective ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • present participle
  • past participle
  • participle phrase
  • dangling participle

Phrases

  • use a participle as an adjective
  • form the past participle

Prepositions

  • participle of [a verb]
  • participle in [a phrase / sentence]

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

English got participle through French from Latin participium. The Latin name meant a form that shares in more than one class of word, which matches how a participle behaves partly like a verb and partly like an adjective.