Watch the explainer video
Participles Explained — Present, Past and Perfect - Verb that moonlights as an Adjective
Watch on YouTubeKeep learning
Deepen your understanding of Verbs and related English skills with these resources:
Deepen your understanding of Verbs and related English skills with these resources:
Discover action words and state-of-being verbs that bring sentences to life.
Verbs do more than show action. They can also link ideas or help another verb. • Action verbs tell what the subject does: run, build, decide, and explain. • Linking verbs connect the subject to a subject complement, which describes or identifies it: be, seem, become, appear, feel, look, sound, taste. • Helping verbs (auxiliary verbs) combine with a main verb to create tenses, questions, negatives, and emphasis: am, is, have, do, will, can, may, must. Verb complements complete the meaning of the verb. A transitive verb needs a direct object: She wrote a letter. An intransitive verb does not take a direct object: He slept deeply. Some verbs can do both depending on meaning: The glass broke (intransitive), but She broke the glass (transitive). A useful test is to ask what or whom after the verb. If you can answer with a noun that receives the action, the verb is transitive. If no object is needed, the verb is intransitive. Linking verbs are different because they do not show action; they connect the subject with a noun or adjective that renames or describes it. • Intransitive verbs can be followed by adverbs or prepositional phrases, but not direct objects. • Linking verbs often use adjectives, not adverbs, after them: The soup smells delicious. • Helping verbs must work with a main verb: She is studying, not She is. Understanding verb type helps you choose the correct sentence structure and avoid object mistakes.
• She painted the room. (transitive verb + object) • The baby slept peacefully. (intransitive verb) • The weather became cold overnight. (linking verb) • They have finished their homework. (helping verb + main verb) • The soup tastes salty. (linking verb with adjective) • He ran quickly to the store. (intransitive verb with adverb phrase)
Ask “what?” or “whom?” after the verb to find a direct object. If there is no answer, the verb may be intransitive or linking. Remember: linking verbs are usually followed by adjectives, not adverbs.
English verbs change form to show tense, aspect, and agreement. Regular verbs usually add -ed for the past and past participle: talk, talked, talked. Irregular verbs do not follow one pattern, so their forms must be learned individually: go, went, gone; write, wrote, written. Verb forms are also used in common tense patterns. The simple present shows habits or general truths: She works every day. The present continuous shows an action in progress: She is working now. The present perfect links past time to the present: She has worked here for three years. The past continuous shows an ongoing past action: She was working when I called. Be careful with spelling changes in regular verbs: • stop → stopped • study → studied • hope → hoped These patterns help form correct past tense and participles. Irregular verbs are frequent in speaking and writing, so they are especially important. Many errors happen because learners mix forms, such as using goed instead of went or have wrote instead of have written. Memorizing the three main forms of common irregular verbs is a strong intermediate skill. • Simple form = base form: work • Past form = for completed past: worked / went • Past participle = used with have/has/had: worked / gone Knowing these forms improves accuracy in perfect tenses, passive voice, and participle phrases.
• She worked late last night. (regular past tense) • He has gone home already. (irregular past participle) • We were studying when the power went out. (past continuous) • The company has grown quickly. (present perfect) • They studied for the exam every evening. (regular verb with -ed) • I wrote three emails before lunch. (irregular past tense)
Learn irregular verbs in groups of three forms: base, past, past participle. For regular verbs, watch spelling changes before adding -ed, especially final -e, consonant doubling, and -y changes.
Verbals are verb forms that act like other parts of speech. Gerunds end in -ing and act like nouns: Swimming is healthy. Infinitives begin with to and can act as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs: To travel is my dream. Participles can act like adjectives or form verb tenses: The broken window, the running water. These forms are not the same as full verbs. A gerund can be the subject or object of a sentence: Reading improves vocabulary. She enjoys reading. An infinitive often follows certain verbs like want, plan, decide, and hope: They decided to leave early. Some verbs can take either a gerund or infinitive, but the meaning may change slightly: stop smoking vs. stop to smoke. Subject-verb agreement becomes important in longer sentences and with tricky subjects. The verb must agree with the true subject, not with a phrase in between: The list of items is on the desk. When subjects are joined by and, use a plural verb: Tom and Ana are here. With singular subjects joined by or/nor, the verb agrees with the nearest subject: Neither the teacher nor the students were ready. • Gerunds function as nouns. • Infinitives often express purpose: She left early to catch the bus. • Participles can form reduced clauses: The man wearing glasses is my uncle. • Agreement depends on the subject, not on nearby nouns or prepositional phrases. Mastering verbals and agreement helps you write more natural, accurate complex sentences.
• Swimming keeps me in shape. (gerund as subject) • She hopes to win the prize. (infinitive after a verb) • The crying child needed help. (present participle as adjective) • The cookies baked this morning smell great. (past participle phrase) • The team is practicing now. (collective noun with singular verb) • Neither the boss nor the employees were informed. (agreement with nearest subject)
If the word ends in -ing but acts like a noun, it is a gerund. To check subject-verb agreement, cross out prepositional phrases and find the true subject before choosing the verb form.