LESSON XXXIX.

THE PARTICIPLE.

Select the words in the following sentences that are used to modify nouns, and also imply action or being:—

1.On came the boy running lightly.
2.Hearing the noise, I went to the door.
3.I have a book written in Old English.

A word that participates in the nature of the verb and the adjective is called a participle; as, Leaving the room, we walked into the garden. I found a treasure hidden in the ground.

A participle qualifies a noun or pronoun, like an adjective, and takes modifiers like a verb. A participle formed from a transitive verb takes an object.

A participle that is used to denote unfinished action is called a present or imperfect participle; as, Jumping the fence, I ran across the field.

A participle that is used to denote finished action is called a past or perfect participle; as, He gave me a pencil painted red.

EXERCISE I.

Classify the participles in the following sentences and tell what each modifies:—

1.Onward they went, carrying death and ruin before them.—Lever.
2.I heard my own mountain goats bleating aloft.—Campbell.
3.The cuirassiers, repulsed, disordered, and broken, had retired beneath the protection of the artillery.—Lever.
4. And, his chief beside,
Smiling, the boy fell dead.—Browning.
5.Truth, crushed to earth, shall rise again;
The eternal years of God are hers.—Bryant.
6.Toiling,—rejoicing,—sorrowing,
Onward, through life he goes.—Longfellow.
7. Poor lone Hannah,
Sitting at the window binding shoes.
Faded, wrinkled,
Sitting, stitching, in a mournful muse.—Lucy Larcom.

EXERCISE II.

Determine the grammatical value of the italicized words in the following sentences, according to the use of each:—

1.Walking is good exercise.
2.Seeing me coming, he came to meet me.
3.This building cost one hundred thousand dollars.
4.Every bleaching breeze chastens her purity.
5.He gave up all hope of recovering his health.
6.The fields are covered with growing grain.
7.A miser gives up all the pleasure of doing good.
8.Kneeling down, I kissed the little flower.