📌The Nature of Participles

Participles — The Participles

⚠️ Important: These are not verb tenses

Many people believe that "present participle" and "past participle" are tenses (like present or past). They are not. They are forms of the verb that are used in different structures.

Present participle (-ing)

• Uso 1: Tiempos continuos: I am working. / She was eating.
• Use 2: After verbs of perception: I saw her running.
• Use 3: As an adjective: a boring movie, an interesting book.
• Use 4: Gerund (as a noun): Swimming is fun.

Past participle (-ed / irregular)

• Uso 1: Tiempos perfectos: I have eaten. / She had finished.
• Uso 2: Voz pasiva: The car was stolen. / The house is being built.
• Use 3: As an adjective: a broken window, written instructions.
• Use 4: After "get": I got tired.

Rules of the past participle

Verbos irregulares: pasado = participio (muchos)

Verbos donde Past ≠ Past participle

💡 Participles are pieces that are combined with auxiliaries: have + pp (perfect), be + pp (passive), be + -ing (continuous).