STRUCTURE AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION

SKILL 4 BE CAREFUL OF
PRESENT PARTICIPLES
Present participle as a verb or an adjective.
Basics concerning present
participle
Present participle: -ing
(writing, playing, singing, etc.)
Verb to be
I am
You are
He/She/It is
We are
They are
Sometimes, PP is used as a part of the
verb or an adjective.

Present Participle as a Verb
The PP is used as a verb when it is
preceded by any form of the verb to
be.

The dog is barking to the man.

Present Participle as a Verb
The PP is used as a verb when it is
preceded by any form of the verb to
be.

The dog is barking to the man.

Barking is the verb because it is preceded
by is, which is a form of the verb to be

So, it is a verb.
Present Participle as an
Adjective
The PP is an adjective when it is
not accompanied by any form of the
verb to be

The dog barking to the man has a
red collar.

Present Participle as an
Adjective
The PP is an adjective when it is
not accompanied by any form of the
verb to be

The dog barking to the man has a
red collar.

Barking is an adjective describing the
dog, and the verb in this sentence is
has.
So, it is an adjective.
PAST PARTICIPLES
The past participle usually ends in -ed, as
in called, climbed, interrogated, and
studied. Many verbs, however, have past
participles that do not end in -ed.

Some, for example, end in -en:

write/wrote/(have) written
bite/bit/(have) bitten
take/took/(have) taken


Some end in -t:
mean/meant/(have) meant
creep/crept/(have) crept
sleep/slept/(have) slept

Many irregular verbs, like drink, have
distinctive past participle forms:

drink/drank/(have) drunk
go/went/(have) gone
am-is/was/(have) been
slay/slew/(have) slain

Participles have numerous uses, but right now Im
just looking at how they are used to form the
following verb tenses:

present perfect
present perfect progressive

PRESENT PERFECT
Present Perfect
The helping verbs used with the past participle to
form the present perfect tense are has and have:

The present perfect tense is used to describe

An action that happened at an indefinite time in
the past or was repeated several times in the
past.
Example: I have read that book.
He has studied this lesson over and
over.



Supply the present perfect tense form of
the verbs in parenthesis.

1. I (speak) to him about it
several times.
2. We (finish) all our
homework.
3. We (be) in Florida many
times.
4. We (tell) Ed what you said.
5. We (lend) money to them
several times.
have spoken
have finished
have been
have told
have lent
The simple past tense is most often
used when a sentence mentions or
implies the exact time of an action.
When the present perfect tense is used
to describe an action which happened
at an indefinite time in te past, the
sentences does not usually mention the
exact time of the action.

Examples: He went to Boston
yesterday.
He has gone to Boston
several times.
Supply either the simple past tense or the
present perfect tense form as required by the
meaning.

1. I (go) to bed last night; I (do)
this many times lately.
2. Mr. Ashe (go) to Chicago last
week.
3. I (read) that book several times.
4. I (be) in Norflock many times.
5. When the bell rang, Wade (jump)
from his seat and (run) from the
room.

went have done
went
have read
have been
jumped
ran
The present perfect tense also
describes an action that that began in
the past and continues in the present.

Example: He has worked here for two
years.
He worked here for two years.

Supply either the simple past tense or the
present perfect tense form as required by the
meaning.

1. 1 I (move) to Pine Street in March; I
here for three months now.
2. We (live) in Washington from 1995 to
2000.
3. Before he came to the United States, Emil
(work) as a clerk.
4. Earl (work) hard all his life. (He is
dead.)
5. Eric (work) hard all his life. (He is
alive.)
moved have lived
lived
worked
worked
has worked
PRESENT PERFECT
CONTINUOUS
It is form with have (has) been and the present participle of
the main verb
PRESENT
PARTICIPLE
= ING
The present prefect continuous tense
describes an action that began in the
past and has continued up to present.
In many cases it can be used
interchangeably with the present perfect
tense.

Examples: They have lived here for
five years.
They have been living here
for five years.
Change these present perfect tense verbs
from the simple to the continuous form.
1. He has worked in that firm for many
years.
2. They have talked for more than an
hour.
3. I have traveled all over Europe.
4. He has slept for more than ten hours.
5. It has rained all day long.
6. We have used this textbook since
January.
PERFECT TENSES
Form negatives with the present perfect
continuous and present perfect tenses
by placing not after have (has). The
contractions havent and hasnt are
generally used.

Example: They have not live there long.
They havent lived there long.
You can also form yes or no questions
with perfect tenses by placing have
(has) before the subject.

Example: Have they lived there long.
Or you can also form information
questions with the present perfect and
present perfect continuous tenses by
placing have (has) before the subject and
adding a question word.

Examples: How long has Gabriel worked
here?
How long have we been waiting?