Past Participles – Lesson
Past participles are a fundamental component of English grammar, often used in perfect tenses and passive voice constructions. They are forms of verbs that typically end in -ed, -d, -t, -en, or -n (though there are many irregular verbs that do not follow this pattern). Understanding past participles is crucial for ESL students as they enable the formation of perfect aspect tenses, passive constructions, and can also function as adjectives. Mastery of past participles leads to more advanced and nuanced English language use.
present, past, past participle
be, was or were, been
sing, sang, sung
drink, drank, drunk
do, did, done
go, went, gone
make, made, made
find, found, found
talk, talked, talked
eat, ate, eaten
swim, swam, swum
read, read, read
write, wrote, written
give, gave, given
Now let’s practice the past participle by using the present perfect tense. It shows something that started in the past, but continues until now.
has/have (not) + past participle
Examples:
She has done her homework.
They have gone for a walk.
Julia hasn’t eaten anything today.
The men haven’t talked about the women.
Practice Quiz on Past Participles
Test your understanding of past participles with this 9-question quiz. Each question will challenge your ability to identify, form, and correctly use past participles in various sentences. Remember, mastering past participles is key to improving your English language skills, particularly in constructing perfect tenses and passive sentences. Good luck and enjoy the challenge!
Check Your Understanding Without looking back, try to fill in the blanks using the past participle. Use have or has.
- She ________ (eat) all of the cookies.
2. Maxwell ________ (write) his essay.
3. Thomas ________ (find) a new friend.
4. George and Kerry ________ (go) to the mountains.
5. The president ________ (not/ make) his speech yet.
6. Carolyn ________ (not/ talk) to Richard.
7. The teachers ________ (give) us the homework.
8. The cowboys ________ (drink) all the beer.
9. The swimmers ________ (swim) across the lake.
Bonus: (Do you know these?)***
a. The boy ________ (fall) down.
b. We ________ (choose) to meet with Mr. Green.
c. You ________ (wear) that dress for 5 days.
d. We ________ (not/ drive) the truck since 1999.
Answer Key:
- has eaten
- has written
- has found
- have gone
- hasn’t made
- hasn’t talked
- have given
- have drunk
- have swum
a. has fallen
b. have chosen
c. have worn
d. haven’t driven
Frequently Asked Questions About Past Participles
A past participle is a form of a verb that is used in perfect tense constructions and passive voice. It is also used as an adjective in some cases. Regular verbs form their past participle by adding -ed to the base form, while irregular verbs have unique past participle forms.
Past participles and simple past tense forms are often identical for regular verbs (e.g., walked). However, irregular verbs may have different forms (e.g., “go” has the simple past “went” and past participle “gone”). The key difference is in usage: simple past tense denotes an action completed in the past, whereas past participles are used in perfect tenses and passive voice.
No, past participles cannot stand alone as the main verb in a sentence. They are typically used with auxiliary verbs (like have, has, had) to form perfect tenses or with be/was to form passive voice constructions.
Irregular verbs do not follow a standard pattern, so their past participle forms must be memorized. Common examples include: eat (eaten), write (written), and see (seen).
Yes, common mistakes include using the wrong form for irregular verbs, confusing past tense with past participle in perfect tenses, and omitting the auxiliary verb in perfect tense constructions.