| 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:—