Page 175 - Basic English Usage

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234 participles: ‘present’ and ‘past’ participles
(-ing and -ed)

‘Present’ participles:
breaking going = drinking «making beginning
opening working stopping
For rules of spelling, see 321; 322.
When -ing forms are used like nouns, they are often called gerunds. For
details, see 180.1.

‘Past’ participles:
broken gone drunk made begun opened
worked stopped
The names ‘present’ and ‘past’ participle are not very good (although
they are used in most grammars). Both kinds of participle can be used
to talk about the past, present or future.
She was erying when | saw her. (past)
Who's the man talking to Elizabeth? (present)
This time tomorrow I'll be lying on the beach. (future)
He was arrested in 1972. (past)
You're fired. (present)
The new school is going to be opened next week. (future)

We use participles with auxiliary verbs to make some tenses.
What are you doing?
I've broken my watch.

For other ways of using participles, see the next two sections.

235 participles used as adjectives

We can often use participles as adjectives.
It was a very tiring meeting.
There are broken toys ail over the floor.
| thought the film was pretty boring.
You look terribly frightened.
Don't confuse pairs of words like tiring and tired, interesting and
interested, boring and bored, exciting and excited.
The present participle (_... -ing) has an active meaning: if something
is interesting it interests you.
The past participle (_... -ed) has a passive meaning: an interested
person is interested by (or in) something.