Once you’ve mastered infinitives, the next verbal to move onto is participles. They are also made from verbs, but they are always used as adjectives. That makes them rather easy to pick out.

In the context of sentence classification, they answer the questions what kind, which one, and how many. So, if you find a word made from a verb that answers one of those questions, you definitely have a participle.

Let’s put this in context with a few examples. Be sure to download the grammar memorization questions as a cross-reference. And don’t hesitate to jump through the other lessons for review. They are all linked in the introduction to this series through the table of contents.

SAMPLE LESSON

Participles have four different endings, including -ed, -en, -t, or –ing. To illustrate this, we’ll follow Queen Elizabeth into William Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.

“Excited” is a participle adjective (PAdj) because it is an adjective made from a verb that describes what kind of Globe Theatre.

“Mistaken” is a participle adjective (PAdj) because it is an adjective made from a verb that describes what kind of manners.

“Lost” is a participle predicate adjective (PPAdj) because it is an adjective made from a verb that describes what kind of she.

“Cheering” is a participle adjective (PAdj) because it is an adjective made from a verb that describes what kind of audience.

And this is what those same sentences look like in diagrams.

“Though” sets up a subordinate clause that we connect with a dotted line to the independent clause beginning with “she.” This sentence is formally termed “complex,” which we’ll explain in more detail in a subsequent lesson.

Depending on the publisher, I have seen slight variations of the participle format. The big thing, in my view, is that the word is stretched diagonally across the line. Conceptually, this design is supposed to communicate that a participle is “half adjective” (diagonal line) and “half verb” (horizontal line).

Just like with infinitives, participles need a pedestal when they are on the main horizontal line. Otherwise, they can be neatly tucked beneath it.

PRACTICE SENTENCES

Though it is unlikely Queen Elizabeth dictated the subject matter of any of Shakespeare’s plays, there is little doubt he was constantly catering to her interests. Perhaps that is most obvious in Richard III. A one-time family rival, Shakespeare well-knew that Elizabeth would enjoy seeing Richard villainized on stage while making her grandfather, Henry VII, a hero.  

We will use the storyline of the play for these practice sentences. Once we are through, we will compare the fictional Richard to the historical Richard.

Shakespeare’s storyline was sensational and, to some extent, believed to be historically accurate at the time. In all likelihood, he used St. Thomas More’s biography of Richard III to support his characterization of Richard as such a detestable villain. (Even saints can make mistakes, especially when they are deliberately misled as Thomas was.)

Nevertheless, modern historians have done much to clear Richard’s name since then. Many have persuasively argued that it was Henry Tudor who killed the boys, not Richard. Then, in one of history’s most successful cover-ups, he blamed the murders on Richard.   

No matter where the truth may lie, Elizabeth most certainly liked Shakespeare’s characterization of Richard. Vilifying one of her opponents and glorifying one of her ancestors played right into her political propaganda. One can certainly imagine Elizabeth reveling in the virtuous heroism of her grandfather depicted in the play and bowing before the people of England as if she herself had slayed the monstrous Richard.