The past participle of a verb is one of two past forms. As an English student who wants to learn English , you’ve probably studied some irregular verbs, mostly seen in a list consisting of three words:
the infinitive | the simple past | the past participle.(check the picture below)
As you can see, the third form of the verb, usually written on the right, is the past participle.
When do we use the past participle?
The past participle is used in two main ways:
to create past verb forms
as an adjective
1-Verb tenses that use the Past Participle
The past participle is used in several tenses, especially perfect forms.
Though they may seem similar, there is a difference between the regular past tense and past participle. The regular past has only one part while the past participle always has two or more parts and generally requires an auxiliary verb.
For example,
Th present participles in verb tenses are highlighted
the Present Perfect – You’ve met Bill before.
the Past Perfect – We had already seen the film.
the Future Perfect – She’ll have finished by 12:00.
the Third Conditional – If the train had arrived on time, I wouldn’t have been late.
Modals in the past – She could have studied more.
the Passive form – The mobile phone was invented by Motorola.
2-Past Participle Adjectives
There are several adjectives in English that are created from the past participle form of the verb. In this case, the past participle becomes a word that describes a noun (a person or an object).
For example,
Th present participles adjectives are highlighted
broken – This computer is broken. It doesn’t work.
interested – She was really interested in the presentation.
bored – I was bored, waiting for the bus.
excited – The children are excited about the party.
motivated – Young graduates are motivated to work hard.
surprised – We were very surprised to hear the news.
tired – He was tired after the match.
Creating the Past Participle
English verbs can be separated into two categories – regular verbs and irregular verbs. Regular verbs follow a simple pattern in which both the past simple and the past participle form of the verb are created by adding -ed.
Here it is ... step by step,
Add "ed" to most verbs:
jump > jumped
paint > painted
If a verb of one syllable ends [consonant-vowel-consonant], double the final consonant and add "ed":
chat > chatted
stop > stopped
If the final consonant is "w," "x," or "y," don't double it:
sew > sewed
play > played
fix > fixed
If last syllable of a longer verb is stressed and ends
[consonant-vowel-consonant], double the last consonant and add "ed":
incur > incurred
prefer > preferred
If the first syllable of a longer verb is stressed and the verb ends [consonant-vowel-consonant], just add "ed":
open > opened
enter > entered
swallow > swallowed
If the verb ends "e," just add "d":
thrive > thrived
guzzle > guzzled
If the verb ends [consonant + "y"], change the "y" to an "i" and add "ed":
cry > cried
fry > fried
So creating past participle from regular verbs is quite easy. Unfortunately there are also irregular verbs in English which don’t follow a fixed pattern. In this case you simply need to learn them. The best way to do this is to learn them gradually as part of a structured course.
Here are some common irregular verbs, with the past participles highlighted on the right.
And some examples of these irregular past participles:
Th present participles are highlighted
We’ve been here for an hour.
You should have come earlier. We’re late now.
Have you done your homework yet?
When I got home my family had already eaten.
This bag was made in Switzerland.
The managers will have seen all the candidates by the end of the day.
She’s taken a day off to do some jobs at home.
Has he written the report?
Other uses of the Past Participle
In formal written English, you can find the past participle used in participle phrases. For example,
Th present participles are highlighted
Driven by ambition, Derek worked up to 14 hours a day.
Exhausted from the marathon, the runner collapsed onto the ground.
Illuminated by multi-colored lights, the skyscraper looked incredible.
The Past Participle is clearly an important form of English verbs and is really useful to learn. Make a start now by trying to use them in your daily dose of English!