Download Literary Skills: Characterization Conclusions

Verbs: Principal Parts, Helping Verbs, and Verb Phrases
Verbs have four principal parts: the verb itself, the present participle, the past, and the past participle. All tenses of
a verb can be formed from the principal parts and helping verbs.
The present participle is formed by adding –ing to the verb. The past participle is formed by adding –ed to the
verb.
Base Form (Infinitive)
to clean
to hope
to inspect
to slip
Present Participle
[is] cleaning
[is] hoping
[is] inspecting
[is] slipping
Past
cleaned
hoped
inspected
slipped
Past Participle
[have] cleaned
[have] hoped
[have] inspected
[have] slipped
When they are used to form tenses, the present participle and the past participle forms require helping verbs (forms of be and
have).
However, as you will remember from our earlier studies, the present and past participles can be used without the
helpers to act as adjectives.
Present participles end in –ing:
Mr. Sanchez rescued three people from the burning building.
adj
n
I woke my sleeping father to ask about mosquitoes.
adj
n
Past participles usually end in –d or –ed. Some past participles are formed irregularly:
Discouraged, the fans went home.
adj
n
We skated on the frozen pond.
adj
n
The participial phrase consists of a participle together with its modifiers and complements. The entire phrase is
used as an adjective.
Stretching slowly, the cat jumped down from the windowsill.
adj
adv
n
The tornado predicted by the meteorologist did not hit our area.
n
adj
prep. phrase
Reading the assignment, she took notes carefully.
adj
n
Exercise 1: Underline the participles and participle phrases. Draw an arrow to the noun or pronoun described.
1.
The whistling youngster skipped happily down the road.
2.
The lake, frozen solidly, looked like a shining mirror.
3.
The man playing the trombone in the rehearsal hall is my brother, and he is preparing for a challenging audition with
the New York Philharmonic.
4.
The fire, fanned by high winds, threatened the entire area, populated by campers.
5.
Confused by the directions, we couldn’t locate the street.
6.
The boy gathering information on the Hopi went to the library.
7.
Practicing my part in the play, I bowed to the imaginary audience.
8.
Followed closely by my younger brother, the cat climbed the tree.
9.
Born in Tahiti, she moved here last year.
10. The mover holding the Ming vase walked carefully across the room.
Often a principal part of a verb is combined with a helping verb in a verb phrase to form other tenses. A helping verb
helps the main verb to name an action or make a statement. A verb phrase consists of one or more helping verbs followed
by a main verb. It names the action or tells what the subject is or is like.
The present participle is usually used with forms of the helping verb be.
Carl is hiking in the woods today.
He was hiking by the pond yesterday.
The past participle is usually used with forms of the helping verb have.
He has hiked on many trails.
He had hiked by the pond before.
Exercise 2: Write the helping verb in parentheses that correctly completes each sentence. Then draw a line under the
participle. Write Present Participle if it is a present participle. Write Past Participle if it is a past participle.
______________________ 1. I __________ hiking with friends today. (am, have)
______________________ 2. We __________ hiked for an hour. (were, have)
______________________ 3. Roy __________ counted the most animals. (was, had)
______________________ 4. My brother __________ counting squirrels now. (is, has)
______________________ 5. The hikers __________ smiling before. (were, had)
______________________ 6. The animals __________ disappeared quickly. (were, had)
______________________ 7. Karen __________ hiking well now. (is, has)
______________________ 8. Susan __________ helping another hiker now. (is, has)
______________________ 9. Earlier some hikers __________ passed a deer. (were, had)
______________________ 10. Before, Rosa __________ pushed away a rock. (was, had)
______________________ 11. My sister __________ sketching a picture now. (is, has)
______________________ 12. Roy __________ climbing a small hill in the morning. (was, had)
______________________ 13. Explorers __________ hiked on this trail long ago. (was, had)
______________________ 14. Last week my parents __________ hiking here (were, had)
______________________ 15. Our friends __________ hiked on this trail before. (were, had)
______________________ 16. They __________ introduced us to the trail. (were, had)