Participle and Participial Phrases

1. Participle and Participial Phrases • There are two types of participles: present participle and past participle. • The present participle is indicated by “ing” attached to a verb (“ing” form), and the past participle is generally indicated by “ed” attached to a verb (except for irregular verbs that have special form of past participle). • These participial forms can function as adjectives (called verbal adjectives), such as: hard working farmer, increasing price, cultivated land, broken tree, etc. • Like adjectives, they qualify nouns or pronouns, and like verbs, they may take objects and may be described by adverbial qualifiers. • Therefore, a participle with qualifiers or objects is called participial phases. • However, participles are commonly used as qualifiers of the nouns that follow them. In the following examples, observe several positions of the participles and participial phases, and the nouns and pronouns they qualify.

2. Present and past participles The following are some examples of sentences employing present and past participles. Increasing price of fertilizers and pesticides will impose high production cost on agricultural products. (“increasing” is a present participle qualifying the noun “price of fertilizers and pesticides”). The government introduces the biological control as a part of integrated pest management program. (“integrated” is a past participle qualifying the noun “pest management program”). Fifty percent of germinating seeds died due to high temperature. (“germinating” is a present participle qualifying the noun “seeds”).

3. Participial phrases In the following examples you will see that the participial phrases may come before of after the noun or pronoun they qualify. However, the participial word in the phrase should clearly indicate the noun or pronoun it qualifies. The “ani-ani” is a traditional tool used by farmers in harvesting local rice variety. (“used by farmers” is a participial phrase qualifying the noun “traditional tool”). Most farmers living in transmigration area came from Java. (“living in transmigration area” is a participial phrase qualifying the noun “farmers”). Plants grown in a glasshouse are normally free from pest and disease problems. (“grown in a glasshouse” is a participial phrase qualifying the noun “plants”). Plants showing the symptoms of virus disease should be eradicated as soon as possible. (“showing the symptom of virus disease” is a participial phrase qualifying the noun “plants”).

4. Assignment 1 Make your own sentences employing present participle, past participle, and participial phrases (5 each).