STRUCTURE AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION

SKILL 4 – BE CAREFUL OF PRESENT PARTICIPLESPresent participle as a verb or an adjective.

Basics concerning present participlePresent participle: -ing

(writing, playing, singing, etc.)

Verb “to be”I am

You areHe/She/It is

We areThey are

Sometimes, PP is used as a part of the verb or an adjective.

Present Participle as a VerbThe PP is used as a verb when it

is preceded by any form of the verb to be.

“The dog is barking to the man.”

Present Participle as a VerbThe PP is used as a verb when it

is preceded by any form of the verb to be.

“The dog is barking to the man.”

“Barking” is the verb because it is preceded by “is”, which is a form of the verb “to be”

So, it is a verb.

Present Participle as an AdjectiveThe PP is an adjective when it

is not accompanied by any form of the verb “to be”

“The dog barking to the man has a red collar. “

Present Participle as an AdjectiveThe PP is an adjective when it is

not accompanied by any form of the verb “to be”

“The dog barking to the man has a red collar. “

“Barking” is an adjective describing the dog, and the verb in this sentence is “has”.

So, it is an adjective.

PAST PARTICIPLES

The past participle usually ends in -ed, as in called, climbed, interrogated, and studied. Many verbs, however, have past participles that do not end in -ed.

Some, for example, end in -en:

write/wrote/(have) writtenbite/bit/(have) bittentake/took/(have) taken

Some end in -t:mean/meant/(have) meantcreep/crept/(have) creptsleep/slept/(have) slept

Many irregular verbs, like drink, have distinctive past participle forms:

drink/drank/(have) drunkgo/went/(have) goneam-is/was/(have) beenslay/slew/(have) slain

Participles have numerous uses, but right now I’m just looking at how they are used to form the following verb tenses:

present perfectpresent perfect progressive

PRESENT PERFECT

Present PerfectThe helping verbs used with the past participle to form the present perfect tense are has and have:

The present perfect tense is used to describe

An action that happened at an indefinite time in the past or was repeated several times in the past. Example: I have read that book. He has studied this lesson over and over.

Supply the present perfect tense form of the verbs in parenthesis.

1. I (speak) to him about it several times.

2. We (finish) all our homework.

3. We (be) in Florida many times.

4. We (tell) Ed what you said.

5. We (lend) money to them several times.

have spoken

have finished

have been

have told

have lent

The simple past tense is most often used when a sentence mentions or implies the exact time of an action. When the present perfect tense is used to describe an action which happened at an indefinite time in te past, the sentences does not usually mention the exact time of the action.

Examples: He went to Boston yesterday. He has gone to Boston several times.

Supply either the simple past tense or the present perfect tense form as required by the meaning.

1. I (go) to bed last night; I (do) this many times lately.

2. Mr. Ashe (go) to Chicago last week.

3. I (read) that book several times.4. I (be) in Norflock many times.5. When the bell rang, Wade (jump)

from his seat and (run) from the room.

went

have done

wenthave read

have been

jumped

ran

The present perfect tense also describes an action that that began in the past and continues in the present.

Example: He has worked here for two years.

He worked here for two years.

Supply either the simple past tense or the present perfect tense form as required by the meaning.

1. 1 I (move) to Pine Street in March; I here for three months now.

2. We (live) in Washington from 1995 to 2000.

3. Before he came to the United States, Emil (work) as a clerk.

4. Earl (work) hard all his life. (He is dead.)

5. Eric (work) hard all his life. (He is alive.)

moved have lived

lived

worked

worked

has worked

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

It is form with have (has) been and the present participle of the main verb

PRESENT PARTICIPLE

= “ING”

The present prefect continuous tense describes an action that began in the past and has continued up to present. In many cases it can be used interchangeably with the present perfect tense.

Examples: They have lived here for five years.

They have been living here for five years.

Change these present perfect tense verbs from the simple to the continuous form.1. He has worked in that firm for many

years.2. They have talked for more than an

hour.3. I have traveled all over Europe.4. He has slept for more than ten hours.5. It has rained all day long.6. We have used this textbook since

January.

PERFECT TENSES

Form negatives with the present perfect continuous and present perfect tenses by placing not after have (has). The contractions haven’t and hasn’t are generally used.

Example: They have not live there long.

They haven’t lived there long.

You can also form yes or no questions with perfect tenses by placing have (has) before the subject.

Example: Have they lived there long.

Or you can also form information questions with the present perfect and present perfect continuous tenses by placing have (has) before the subject and adding a question word.

Examples: How long has Gabriel worked here?

How long have we been waiting?