Introduction

English verbs can be conjugated into four primary tenses, but luckily there are only two participles: the past participle and the present participle. And to make it even easier, all English present participles are regular! (That is to say, they follow the same formula. Irregular verbs are still irregular, but as participles they are formed the same way as regular verbs.) It's almost too good to be true. The simple past form of the verb does show some variation, but that is dependent on irregular verb forms. So here's our guide to participles past and present.

The Present Participle

When a verb is being used in the present participle form, the verb's ending changes. An -ing is added to the base form of the verb.

Base form + -ing

There are some spelling rules that apply to verbs in the present participle form.

Rule One

If the verb only has one syllable and is written in the form of a consonant + a vowel + a consonant, then the final consonant is doubled and -ing is added.

• let → letting

• set → setting

• cut → cutting

• dig → digging

• put → putting

• run → running

• jog → jogging

• sit → sitting

• win → winning

• beg → begging

Rule Two

If the verb has multiple syllables, the final syllable consists of a consonant + a vowel + a consonant, and if this syllable is stressed, then the final consonant is doubled and -ing is added.

• occur → occurring

• admit → admitting

• begin → beginning

• refer → referring

• forbid → forbidding

• forget → forgetting

There is some variation with verbs that end in an -l. American English just adds the ending -ing to these verbs. British English doubles the -l and then adds the -ing ending to these verbs. There are some verbs in American English that do double up the -l before adding the -ing; all of these verbs have the heaviest stress on the final syllable.

American English

• ravel → traveling

• cancel → canceling

• signal → signaling

British English

• travel → travelling

• cancel → cancelling

• signal → signalling

Both American English and British English

• expel → expelling

• compel → compelling

• propel → propelling

Rule Three

If the verb ends in -ic, it is changed to an -ick and -ing is added.

• panic → panicking

• picnic → picnicking

• mimic → mimicking

• traffic → trafficking

Rule Four

If the verb ends in a silent -e, then the -e is dropped and -ing is added.

• close → closing

• live → living

• move → moving

• have → having

• write → writing

• wake → waking

• thrive → thriving

• take → taking

• strive → striving

• slide → sliding

• ride → riding

• make → making

• lose → losing

• drive → driving

Rule Five

If the verb ends in an -e but the -e is not silent, then the -e remains and -ing is added.

• be → being

• see → seeing

• flee → fleeing

• free → freeing

• disagree → disagreeing

• agree → agreeing

Rule Six

If there is a verb that ends in -ie, then the -ie is changed to a -y and -ing is added.

• die → dying

• lie → lying

• underlie → underlying

• tie → tying

• untie → untying

The Past Participle

The most common rule for verbs in the past participle form is to add an -ed to the ending of the base form. However, this rule is only applied to regular verbs. For irregular verbs, there isn't a standard rule that can apply. For ESL learners, it is best to memorize irregular verbs (as many as possible) or to always have a dictionary handy and use it whenever you are unsure.

Common Irregular Verbs

Three Functions of Participles

Participles can function as three different mechanisms in a sentence: a component of a multi-part verb, an adjective, or a noun.

Multi-part verb: A verb can have as many as four parts. To be called a multi-part verb, a verb must have at least one base or main verb and can have up to three auxiliary or helping verbs.

Adjective: Participles can function as adjectives when they describe and modify nouns.

Noun: Participles can function as nouns; this includes the subject, the direct object, the indirect object, the object of a preposition, and the subject complement of a sentence. When a participle is functioning as a noun it is referred to as a gerund.

Multi-Part Verb Examples

• The lion ran after the gazelle.

ran = simple past tense [no participle]

• The gazelle was crying for its mother.

was = auxiliary verb; crying = present participle

• The lion cubs have been watching the chase intently.

have = auxiliary verb; been = past participle; watching = present participle

• The cubs should have been listening to the rustle of leaves behind them.

should, have = auxiliary verbs; been = past participle; listening = present participle

Adjective Example

Here are some examples of adjective participles.

• The winning team celebrated their victory, while the losing team sadly walked off the field.

Which team celebrated their victory? The winning team. Winning describes and modifies team. Which team sadly walked off the field? The losing team. Losing describes and modifies team in the second part of the sentence. These participles not only describe the teams but also differentiate one from the other.

• The crumpled pieces of paper, the hardened fingertips, and the exasperated sighs indicate that Ned is attempting to write his novel again.

Crumpled describes what state the paper is in; hardened describes how his fingertips look; and exasperated indicates what kind of sigh Ned is making.

Noun Example

• Kevin hates sleeping, while Chris just can't get enough of it.

sleeping = the direct object of the verb hates

• Biking exhilarates Becca, especially when she is riding on mountainous terrain.

biking = the subject of the verb exhilarates

• We gave lawn bowling a chance, but we lost interest very quickly.

lawn bowling = the indirect object of the verb gave

• Joey restrained himself instead of pointing at the man that was tripping over his own feet.

pointing = the object of the preposition instead of

• One of the most dangerous sports in the world is skydiving, especially if you are afraid of heights.

sky-diving = the subject complement of the verb is

Summary

Here are the rules for creating present participles.

1. If the verb only has one syllable and it is written in the form of a consonant + a vowel + a consonant, then the final consonant is doubled and -ing is added.

2. If the verb has multiple syllables, the final syllable consists of a consonant + a vowel + a consonant, and if this syllable is stressed, then the final consonant is doubled and -ing is added.

3. If the verb ends in -ic, it is changed to an -ick and -ing is added.

4. There is some variation with verbs that end in an -l. American English adds the ending -ing. There are some verbs in American English that do double the -l before adding the -ing; all of these verbs have the heaviest stress on the final syllable.

5. If the verb ends in a silent -e, then the -e is dropped and -ing is added.

6. If the verb ends in an -e but the -e is not silent, then the -e remains and -ing is added.

7. If there is a verb that ends in -ie then the -ie is changed to a -y and -ing is added.

The most common rule for verbs in the past participle is to add an -ed to the ending of the base form. Just remember that there are some irregular verbs that don't follow this rule.

Last Updated: 09/29/2022