Participle I. Participle I possesses verbal and some adjectival and adverbial features

Participle I possesses verbal and some adjectival and adverbial features

and is formed by adding the suffix –ing to the stem of the verb.

Morphologically the verbal character of Participle I is manifested in the

categories of voice and perfect and syntactically in its combinability (it may

combine with a noun/pronoun as object; with an adverb or a prepositional

phrase as an adverbial modifier; with a noun/adjective as a predicative).

Participle I is used as a pure verb form in the formation of the continuous

aspect forms.

The adjectival and adverbial features of Participle I are manifested in its

syntactic functions as attribute and adverbial modifier (see Syntactic functions

of Participle I below).

The grammatical categories of Participle I

Perfect Active Passive

Non-perfect

arriving

publishing

-

being published

Perfect

having arrived

having published

-

having been published

Look at the woman counting the money; Having picked up some Italian words,

she could give directions to strangers; Being illustrated with attractive photos,

the article caught my eye; Having been sent to the wrong address, the letter

didn’t reach him.

The perfect form of Participle I invariably expresses priority, whereas nonperfect Participle I varies in its meaning according to the context, expressing 39

either a prior or a simultaneous or even a posterior action, immediately

following the first action: Lizzy left the room, banging the door shut.

Non-perfect Participle I passive may denote process: Have you heard anything

of the conference being held at the University? (The phrase the conference held

at the University is ambiguous, because it might be understood as the

conference that has been held or was held or is being held).

Syntactic functions of Participle I

 Participle I as attribute:

1. a single participle used as attribute generally functions as a premodifier

(Participle I active of intransitive verbs): Don’t tease the barking dog!

2. a participle phrase used as attribute follows the modified noun. It may be

non-detached or detached: We went along the street leading to the shore; Once

a month Tommy, arriving separately, came in for a brief drink.

NB: When a prior action is meant no Participle I can be used as attribute, only

an attributive clause is used: The diplomat addressed the students who had

filled the lecture hall (Дипломат выступил перед студентами,

собравшимися в зале). Compare: Женщина, стоявшая на крыльце, вошла в

дом → The woman who had been standing on the porch went into the house

(the action expressed by the participle is prior to that of the finite form);

Я обратился к женщине, стоявшей на крыльце → I addressed the woman

standing on the porch (simultaneous actions);

 Participle I as adverbial modifier of several types:

He contracted malaria while travelling in Africa; Being left alone, Demy and I

kept silence for some time (of time); He’s very conceited, you know, having

parades and things all the time; Not being an expert, I can’t advise you on the

course of action to take (of reason); Deb was silent, fidgeting with the spoon in

her saucer (of attendant circumstances: denotes a parallel action or event);

Florence rushed downstairs gasping for breath (of manner: characterizes the

action of the finite form); He kept shaking his head as if saying, “Don’t trust

her” (of comparison); Although admitting his inefficiency, he still refuses to

cooperate with us (of concession); Helen ought to be there and her absence

might be resented, but being there she wouldn’t know what to say (of condition).

In some cases, however, the functional meaning is not so obvious. For

example, there may be a combination of causal and temporal meaning as in:

Seeing the prosecutor, she stopped (she stopped because she saw the prosecutor

or when she saw him).

NB: Participle I of the verb to be is not used as adverbial modifier of time. Thus

the sentence Будучи в Петербурге, я посетил несколько раз Эрмитаж

should be translated While in Petersburg (or: While I was in Petersburg) I

visited the Hermitage several times. 40

 Participle I as part of the compound verbal predicate:

Participle I non-perfect of verbs expressing motion (run, dance, pour, race,

rush) combined with a verb to come in the past tense forms is a special type of a

compound verbal predicate. In some cases the verbs to come the lexical

meaning of which is greatly weakened serves to give perfective meaning to the

action denoted by the participle: As I walked through the gate, the dog came

racing towards me (подбежала ко мне).

 Participle I as predicative:

! Although keeping the form of the participle, it is treated as an adjective. The

participle in this position gives the qualitative characterization to the person or

thing used: His behavior is annoying; The cartoon we saw yesterday was really

amusing!

The most common participles used as adjectives or predicatives

alarming

amazing

amusing

annoying

astonishing

boring

charming

comforting

confusing

depressing

disturbing

disappointing

discouraging

embarrassing

exciting

fascinating

frightening

frustrating

humiliating

interesting

irritating

pleasing

promising

satisfying

shocking

surprising

tiring

worrying

 Participle I as parenthesis: Strictly speaking, these actions are illegal;

Allowing for our financial status, we can’t hire more staff.

Predicative constructions with Participle I

The Objective Participial Construction

This construction consists of a noun in the common case or a pronoun in the

objective case and Participle I forming a syntactical complex – Complex 44

Object. The objective participial construction is used with verbs of sense

perception (see, hear, feel, watch, notice, find, catch, smell, discover, etc.), with

various verbs of causative meaning (have, get, keep, leave, set, start) and

occasionally with verbs expressing wish (want, like):

We overheard them talking about the closure of the factory; Can you start that

engine going?

NB!

infinitive participle

We saw oil prices rise this year

(suggests a single or complete action)

We saw oil prices rising this year

(suggests a repeated, incomplete or ongoing

action)

I observed him cross the street, and then I dialed

the indicated number.

We watch, hear, etc. the whole action, from start

to finish

I could watch them building a new car park

from my office window.

We watch some of the action, but not from start

to finish

Lily heard him come downstairs and call the

police.

Homogeneous infinitives denote actions in

succession

I saw her bodyguard watching her and smiling

to himself..

Homogeneous participles suggest simultaneous

actions

Participle I as part of Complex Subject

In this construction Participle I follows verbs of sense perception and also some

causative verbs, such as keep, leave, catch in the passive voice:

Linda was heard telling her son off; I was left standing on the stage.

The Nominative Absolute Participial Construction

Sometimes the participle (in any of its forms) has a subject of its own expressed

by a noun in the common case or a pronoun in the nominative case: The rain

having ruined my hat, I had to buy a new one. Although this construction is

formally independent of the sentence it is logically connected with it, serving as

an adverbial modifier to the predicate: She sat looking out, the feeble sun

shining full upon her (adverbial modifier of attendant circumstances); Weather

permitting, we’ll take a boat trip (adverbial modifier of condition); This being

settled, they shook hands and left (adverbial modifier of time).

Sentences with a nominative absolute participial construction are

translated by complex sentences with the corresponding subordinate clauses:

The professor being ill, the lecture was cancelled → Поскольку профессор

был болен, лекцию отменили.

NB! There are nominative absolute constructions without participles: Dinner

over, they withdrew to the study.

Prepositional Absolute Participial Construction

It is introduced by the preposition with and is not necessarily set off by a

comma: The officer sat with his long fine hands lying on the table perfectly still;

The guy crawled into the hut with his knees bleeding.

Note the ways of translating this construction into Russian: With more and

more people losing their jobs, the situation in the labour market is becoming 45

extremely tense → Так как (поскольку) количество людей, потерявших

работу, растёт, ситуация на рынке труда становится чрезвычайно

напряжённой; Just now, with the harvest coming on, everything looks its

richest → Теперь, когда приближается время жатвы, всё вокруг так

красиво; The total value of Japan’s export increased considerably, with

foodstuffs occupying an important place in the exports of the country → Общая

стоимость экспорта Японии значительно увеличилась, причём (при

этом) существенную часть экспорта страны составляли

продовольственные товары.

Participle I versus Gerund

The difference between the two lies in their non-verbal characteristics, that

is in their syntactic functions and non-verbal combinability. Unlike gerund,

Participle I cannot be used as subject or object and is never preceded by a

preposition. When used as an adverbial modifier, the gerund is more varied in its

application then the participle because it is used with different prepositions. The

participle and the gerund are interchangeable when used as adverbials of time

characterizing the verb through simultaneous or prior events: Discussing the plan/

In discussing the plan we heard a lot of helpful suggestions; After discussing the

program/ Having discussed the program we started carrying it out.

The difference between the two is most evident in their function of a

predicative and an adjective:

1. Participle I denotes an action that the person or thing performs or

experiences: the falling snow, a smiling girl, a burning house, whereas the

gerund reveals the meaning of the modified noun; it suggests the destination of

the object or a person’s occupation: a sleeping bag, a walking stick, a writing

career, etc.;

2. As predicative Participle I gives qualitative characteristics to the subject,

thus tending towards an adjective: The sound of the thunder was deafening; the

gerund does not qualify the subject, it rather identifies the subject by revealing

its meaning: Her favourite pastime is embroidering fabulous personages.

Note that there are cases, especially among predicative constructions,

where the – ing form may be treated either as a participle or a gerund, the

difference between them being neutralized: The host didn’t like me leaving so

early.