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In linguistics, a participle is a non-finite verb form that can be used in compound tenses or voices, or it can be used as a modifier. Participles often share properties with other parts of speech, in particular adjectives and nouns.
Participles in Modern English In the English language, there are two participial forms: Most irregular verbs have a past participle that is distinct from their past tense form. Examples: The present participle in English is an active participle. It has the following uses: The term present participle is sometimes defined more narrowly to exclude gerunds. The same participial form, however, is involved in all cases. The past participle has both active and passive uses: As noun-modifiers, participles usually precede the noun (like adjectives), but in many cases they can or must follow it: Latin Compared with English, Latin has an additional future tense participle: Latin participles decline like adjectives. Old English French There are two basic participles: Compound participles are possible: Spanish In Spanish, the present participle (el gerundio) of a verb is generally formed with one of the suffixes -ando, -iendo; the past participle (el participio) is generally formed with one of the suffixes -ado, -ido. Traditionally, Spanish grammar has regarded the present participle not as an adjective, but as an adverb, and it does not change form to agree with any noun in gender or number. Nonetheless, it is used in much the same ways as the (adjective) present participle in English; for example, Spanish's equivalent of English's progressive aspect (e.g., to be doing) is formed with a combination of the verb estar (to be in a transient sense) and the present participle of the main verb (e.g., estar haciendo). By contrast, the past participle is considered an adjective, and agrees with a noun in gender and number, except when used to express the perfect aspect (e.g., to have done, which in Spanish is haber hecho). Esperanto In Esperanto each transitive verb has two present participles (active and passive), two past participles, and two future participles. Some speakers have also analogously constructed two conditional participles, which are not in widespread use and are not officially sanctioned by the Akademio de Esperanto, but which are nonetheless readily understood. Intransitive verbs have all the same active participles, but of course cannot have passive participles. Participles in Esperanto may be adjectives ending in -a(j)(n) (depending on case and number), or adverbs ending in -e. See also | ||||||||
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