Participles are verb forms that function as adjectives, nouns or as part of a compound verb tenses. They are also used to form participle clauses which shorten complex sentences.
There are three types of participles in English grammar: present, past, and perfect participle. Past participle is the third verb form in the tables of irregular verbs.
Usage
Rule 1: We use the past participle to form the perfect tenses.
Rule 2: We use the past participle to create the passive voice.
Rule 3: We can use the past participle to change passive voice into participle clause.
Rule 4: We use the past participle as an adjective to describe a feeling.
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Conjugation
Rule 5: To conjugate the past participle of regular verbs, we add -ed.
Here are a few examples:
- cook - cooked,
- show - showed,
- jump - jumped.
Rule 6: To conjugate the past participle of irregular verbs, you should find the correct forms in the third column of the verb tables.
Here are some of the most common English irregular verbs and their past participle forms:
| Base Form | Past Tense Form | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| go | went | gone |
| say | said | said |
| make | made | made |
| take | took | taken |
| come | came | come |
Quiz
1/4Form the past participle to finish the sentence. We were ___ (tell) to be quiet.