Participles

Participles are forms of the verb that can function as adjectives or form the past perfect. In modern English there is a present participle ending in -ing, and a past participle ending in -ed. For example, in the sentences below, 'eating' is modifying the noun 'contest' and 'listened' modifies the verb 'have'. Though the past participle and past tense may look similar, the past tense indicates time while the past participle is a specific verb form which modifies a verb or noun and can't be used on its own.

In Old English, there are also two participles. The present participle ends in -ende and the past particple often ends in -ed or -od, though there are several notable exceptions to this rule. You may also notice the past participle often has the prefix ge-. However, the present and past participles can be used in a few different ways.

Participles Used as Verbals

Verbals are verbs that act as another part of speech. The past and present participles are used in the formation of verbal constructions, where auxilliary verbs like 'habban - to have' or 'beon - to be' are used with a participle. For example, 'Hit wæs ofer stan getimbrod - It was built on stone', 'Hie ymb þa gatu feohtende wæron - They were fighting around the gate' or 'Þu hæfst burh getimbrod - You have built a fortress'.

Participles Used as Adjectives

In addition to functioning as verbals, participles can also be used as adjectives. In Old English you commonly find participles used as adjectives, such as in the phrase 'slæpende mann - a sleeping man'. When participles are used as adjectives, they also decline like adjectives and follow the grammar of the noun they modify. So, in the sentence 'He gefeng slæpendne mann - He siezed a sleeping man', the present participle of 'slæpan - to sleep', slæpende, takes the accusative, masculine -ne ending of strong adjectives.