Read the following conversations and notice the positions of -ing verbs.
Pikul : Do you like birds, Raja?
Raja : Oh sure! I love them.
Pikul : What bird is your favourite?
Raja : Parrot. I've a singing parrot! (singing modifies parrot)
Mitu : Hi, ever smiling boy! Why are you sad today?
Shanto : I've lost my new English book.
Mitu : How did you lose it?
Shanto : I went over there. Some students were laughing at a crying girl. She was holding a melting ice-cream bar in her hand. When I came back, the book was gone!
Grammar Focus
As indicated above, a participle can be made by adding ing to a verb. However, it becomes a participle only when adding ing to the verb makes it function as an adjective. A participle is also called a verbal adjective as it looks like a verb but functions like an adjective; it modifies a noun or pronoun.
singing parrot smiling boy crying girl a melting ice-cream bar
What type of parrot ? a singing parrot. singing works as an adjective
What type of boy? a smiling boy smiling works as an adjective
What type of girl? a crying girl? crying works as an adjective
What type of ice cream? a melting ice-cream bar melting works as an adjective
Activity 1
Read the following text and fill in the gaps using participle. Pick the suitable words from the box below. The first one is done for you.
| run | love | fly | shine | look |
Raja has a singing parrot. It's a nice bird. His uncle brought this bird from his village. Now the bird lives in a ________ cage. Everyday Raja feeds the bird and looks after him. Raja feels very good when the bird sings. Sometimes Raja takes the bird under ________ water to bathe him. Raja loves the bird but he doesn't like seeing birds in the cage. Raja likes free ________ birds. But due to his ________ uncle he can't do anything. Raja has decided to discuss the matter with his uncle.
Activity 2
Read the following text and fill in the gaps using participles of the verbs in the box below.
| roar | chirp | smile | sleep |
| walk | jump | cook | fry |
Tuli went to her (a) ______ mom. Mom is cooking a special dish for them. Tuli felt tempted seeing the (b) ______ fish. She wanted to have one piece. Her (c) ________ mom told her to wait a bit. Tuli told her mom about her zoo visit experience the last day. She saw some (d) _________ elephants, (e) _______ tigers, (f) _______ lions, (g) _____ jumping monkeys, (h) ______ birds and many other things there. Tuli requested her mom to take her there again.
Grammar Point
Gerund vs Participle
Gerund
People are confused about the use of gerund and participle because of their similarities in form. Both are formed by adding ing to a verb. There is another similarity, and that is the fact that both gerund and particle indicate some action or state of being. However, there are differences between them which is highlighted here.
Participle
As seen above, present participles are formed by adding ing to a verb. However, it becomes a participle only when adding ing to the verb makes it function as an adjective. It is also called a verbal noun.
| What is the difference between Gerund and Participle? A gerund is a verbal noun (verb made noun by adding ing) that looks like a verb but functions as a noun. It is called a verbal noun. • A (present) participle is also formed by adding 'ing' to base form of an action verb, but it functions like an adjective. It is a a verbal adjective. They are structurally the same, but functionally different. A gerund functions as a noun, but a participle functions as an adjective. |
