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Present participles and past participles used as adjectives

Both present participles and past participles may be used as adjectives. The present participle always ends in -ing. Past participles usually end in -ed, -d, -en, -n, or -t.

PRESENT PARTICIPLES	confusing, speaking, boring
PAST PARTICIPLES	confused, spoken, bored

Like all other adjectives, participles can come before nouns; they also can follow linking verbs, in which case they describe the subject of the sentence.

Example sentence: Last night we saw a depressing movie. Explanation: The present participle “depressing” is used because the movie caused depression.

Example sentence: The rock star was excited after his national tour drew huge crowds. Explanation: The past participle “excited” is used because the rock star experienced excitement.

Choosing present vs. past participle

Use a present participle to describe a person or thing causing or stimulating an experience.

Example sentence with editing. Original sentence: The bored lecture put us to sleep. Revised sentence: The boring lecture put us to sleep. Explanation: The past participle “bored” was replaced with the present participle “boring.”

The lecture caused boredom.

Use a past participle to describe a person or thing undergoing an experience.

Example sentence with editing. Original sentence: The audience was boring by the lecture. Revised sentence: The audience was bored by the lecture. Explanation: The present participle “boring” has been replaced with the past participle “bored.”

The audience experienced boredom.

Participles that describe emotions or mental states often cause the most confusion.

annoying/annoyed	exhausting/exhausted
boring/bored	fascinating/fascinated
confusing/confused	frightening/frightened
depressing/depressed	satisfying/satisfied
exciting/excited	surprising/surprised

Example sentence with editing. Original sentence: Our hike was exhausted. Revised sentence: Our hike was exhausting. Explanation: The past participle “exhausted” has been replaced by the present participle “exhausting.”

Exhausting describes the hike, which caused exhaustion.

Example sentence with editing. Original sentence: The exhausting hikers reached camp at sunset. Revised sentence: The exhausted hikers reached camp at sunset. Explanation: The present participle “exhausting” has been replaced by the past participle “exhausted.”

Exhausted describes the hikers, who experienced exhaustion.

Exercises:

Present vs. past participles 1

Present vs. past participles 2