The past participle in English grammar describes an activity initiated and finished in the past. It is the third principal component of a verb and is formed by changing a regular verb’s basic form by adding the suffixes -ed, -d, or -t. Has had or had been are standard auxiliaries (or aiding) verbs used with the past participle to convey the perfect aspect, a verb structure that expresses past events connected to a future time, often the present. The past participle may also be used as an adjective or in the passive voice in addition to the nice part (or perfect tense).,
Past Participles of Regular Verbs
First, grasp how to produce a verb past tense to comprehend past participles. Add ed, d, or t as in the following instances, which display the verb on the left and the simple past tense on the right, to achieve this:
- Jump > jumped
- Sleep > slept
- Touch > touched
It’s also easy to change the following verbs into past participles: As in the following instances, which list the simple past on the left and the past participle on the right, make the verb past tense and put it before an auxiliary verb:
- Jump > have jumped
- Sleep > have slept
- Touch > have touched
The past participle and ordinary past tense are distinct, even if they seem identical. The past participle always contains two or more parts, unlike the regular past, which only has one and often calls for an auxiliary verb. For example, “I assisted my buddy in providing an example of a standard verb phrase.” You may still assist your buddy at some point in the future, even though you already assisted her.
The identical statement would be: “I have assisted my buddy” if the verb is in the past tense. That is, You started aiding your pal in the past and finished.
The Past Participle of Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs may have a variety of endings, such as -d (said), -t (slept), and -n (broken). These examples show that irregular verbs are more difficult to produce in the simple past than regular ones.
- Blow > blew
- Freeze > froze
- Go > went
An auxiliary verb must follow these irregular verbs to generate the past participle:
- Blow > has blown, have blown
- Freeze > has frozen, have frozen
- Went > has gone, have gone
Common Irregular Past Participles
Understanding the formation of irregular verbs may be aided by looking at some of the most prevalent irregular verbs and their simple past and past participle forms.
| Verb | Simple Past | Past Participle |
| fly | flew | have flown |
| rise | rose | had risen |
| shrink | shrank | had shrunk |
| feel | felt | had felt |
| bite | bit | has bitten |
| catch | caught | have caught |
| draw | drew | have drawn |
| drive | drove | have driven |
| eat | ate | have eaten |
| fall | fell | have fallen |
In addition, the irregular word wear is a well-known example that might be challenging to utilize as a past participle. For example, if you are expressing an action today, “you could be wearing underpants.” If you are recounting the simple past, “you were wearing underpants yesterday.” On the other hand, you might say, “I have worn my Superman underpants,” to utilize the same irregular verb as a past participle. This suggests that you formerly wore your Superman underpants, but you no longer do.
Consequences and Forms of Past Participles
According to “Essentials of English: A Practical Handbook Covering All the Rules of English Grammar and Writing Style,” the past participle may signify past, present, or future meanings. It has both perfect and progressive forms, as in the following instances:
“He will be angry due to being duped” [both behaviors will occur in the future].
“I’m perplexed by your demeanor, and I can’t assist you” [Both activities are now taking place].
“I could not assist you because of your attitude” [both previous acts].
The participle in the first phrase renames the subject to He, acting as an appositive. He will be enraged, and he (will be) tricked, which are both wholly future events. Remember that the verb “will be” is included in the past participle in its inferred form.
Although “perplexed” is still a past participle in the second phrase, the activity will have begun and ended totally in the present. That is, I cannot assist you because I need clarification on your attitude. Both the (non) activity of not assisting and the action of being perplexed begin and are fully accomplished in the present.
Similar to the second, the third phrase begins with a past participle that refers to an activity that started and ended totally in the past. The past tense also functions as an appositive adjective that modifies the pronoun (and the subject of the sentence). The whole phrase would be: “Having been perplexed by your attitude, I could not assist you.” The second part of the phrase uses the subjunctive mood to describe an action—could not help—that occurred totally in the past.
