What Are Present Participles?

A participle is a word formed from a verb which can be used as an adjective.

There are two types of participles:

 The Present Participle

(ending -ing)

 The Past Participle

(usually ending -ed, -d, -t, -en, or -n)

The "Note" section on the right explains how to form present participles.

Examples of Present Participles Being Used As Adjectives

Here are some examples of present participles being used as adjectives:

The Verb The Present Participle

To run running water

To flourish flourishing business

To discourage discouraging glance

Present Participles in Participle Phrases

It is really common to see present participles in participle phrases. A participle phrase also acts like
an adjective. In the examples below, the participle phrases are shaded and the present participles
are in bold:

 My mother is next to the lady wearing the red hat.

(The participle phrase wearing the red hat describes the lady.)

 I know a pond teeming with fish.

(The participle phrase teeming with fish describes a pond.)

 Frantically shuffling through her coppers, Jackie hoped to find another silver coin.

(The participle phrase Frantically shuffling through her coppers describes Jackie.)

 Relying on Mark's inability to cast accurately, Lee plonked his bait exactly where Mark had
just caught the small pouting.

(The participle phrase Relying on Mark's inability to cast accurately describes Lee.)
Read more about participle phrases.

More Examples of Present Participles Used as Adjectives

Here are some real-life examples of present participles (shaded) being used as adjectives:

 Always be wary of any helpful item that weighs less than its operating manual. (Terry
Pratchett)

 Somewhere on this globe, every ten seconds, there is a woman giving birth to a child. She
must be found and stopped. (Sam Levenson, 1911-1980)

 Love is the big booming beat which covers up the noise of hate. (Margaret Cho)

 All existing business models are wrong. Find a new one. (Hugh Macleod)

Present Participles Used in Verb Tenses

As well as being used as adjectives, present participles are also used to form verb tenses. Here are
the verb tenses (present participles shaded):

The 4 Past Tenses Example

simple past tense I talked

past progressive tense I was talking

past perfect tense I had talked

past perfect progressive tense I had beentalking

The 4 Present Tenses Example

simple present tense I talk

present progressive tense I am talking

present perfect tense I have talked

present perfect progressive tense I have beentalking

The 4 Future Tenses Example

simple future tense I will talk

future progressive tense I will be talking

future perfect tense I will have talked

future perfect progressive tense I will have beentalking

Do a test on verb tenses

Do Not Confuse Present Participles with Gerunds

Present participles should not be confused with gerunds,which are nouns formed from verbs.
Gerunds also end -ing. For example:

 I stopped believing in Santa Claus when my mother took me to see him in a department
store, and he asked for my autograph. (Shirley Temple)

(This is a gerund not a present participle.)