Participle. Verbs have two forms called participles, past and present. Past participles are made by adding ed to most main verbs paint, painted walk, walked and “kick, kicked There are, however, many irregular verbs whose past participles are not predictable from the main form and need to be checked in a reference source: “be, been do, done and write, written.” Present participles are formed by adding “ing” to the main form be, being” “walk, walking do, doing See conjugation for more details on forming participles. Participles have a multitude of functions adjectives, parts of other verb forms, and so on. P ARTICIPLE A DJECTIVES By themselves participles can modify nouns: I saw a painted barn and a walking horse Here painted and walking are, respectively, past and present participial adjectives. In this adjectival function, participles work just as do other adjectives, requiring adverbs to modify them, linking together in compounds, and so on: “Standing on a hill surrounded by softly billowing clouds, I looked at a cheerfully painted, extravagantly decorated, and oddly structured barn See modifier and compound words.
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