Download Past participles used as adjectives

Past participles
used as
adjectives
Español 2 – Gramática 2
• Verbs have a form called the past
participle.
o In English, many past participles have the
same form as the past tense of the verb.
However, you can tell the difference
because:
• The past tense acts as a verb and has a
subject
“I” = subject I burned my hand.
• The past participle acts as an adjective
and describes a noun
My hand is burned.
“burned” describes
“hand”
• In Spanish, the past participle always
has a different form than the past
tense so they are much easier to tell
apart:
o Me quemé la mano.
o Tengo la mano quemada.
• Either way, both English and Spanish have a
verb form called the past participle.
• In both languages the past participle can
be used as an adjective and can describe
a condition or an injury to a part of the
body.
Torcer as a verb
Me torcí el tobillo.
I sprained my ankle.
Past participle of torcer as
an adjective
Tengo el tobillo torcido.
My ankle is sprained.
• To form the past participles of regular verbs
follow these steps:
o Drop the –AR, -ER, or –IR of the infinitive
o Add “-ado” to –AR verbs and “-ido” to –ER or –IR verbs.
• Hinchar (to swell) => hinchado (swollen)
• Torcer (to twist) => torcido (twisted)
• Herir (to hurt) => herido (hurt)
This is
important!
• AND since we are using these past
participles as adjectives:
o when we use adjectives in Spanish they must agree in number
and gender with the nouns they describe.
• Tiene las rodillas hinchadas.
• Tengo una muñeca herida y unos dedos quemados.
Y, por supuesto, hay
irregulares
• There are a few irregular past
participles that do not follow the
regular set of steps. Some important
ones for this chapter are:
o
o
o
o
o
Romper => roto (broken)
Abrir => abierto (open)
Caer => caído (fallen)
Morir => muerto (dead)
Ver => visto (seen)