The Voice Distinctions of the Participle

Participle I of transitive verbs has special forms to denote the active and the passive voice, e. g.: When writing letters he doesn’t like to be disturbed. Being written in pencil the letter was difficult to make out. Having written some letters he went to post them. Having been written long ago the manuscript was illegible.

Participle II of transitive verbs has a passive meaning, e.g.: a broken glass, a caged bird. Participle II of intransitive verbs has no passive meaning; it is used only in compound tense-forms and has no independent function in the sentence unless it belongs to a verb, which denotes passing into a new state, e.g.: a withered flower, a faded leaf.

FUNCTIONS OF PARTICIPLE I

FUNCTIONS	CONJUNCTIONS	EXAMPLES
PART of a SIMPLE VERBAL PREDICATE		My son is playing in the garden. He has been playing there since morning.
ATTRIBUTE		The whipping waves roared through the night. The waves, whipping the shore savagely, roared through the night.
PARENTHESIS		Generally speaking, he is a satisfactory student.
ADVERBIAL MODIFIER OF TIME *	when ** while/whilst **	(While) waiting for another question, he was silent. Having finished the repairs, the plumber is preparing to leave.
ADVERBIAL MODIFIER OF CAUSE *		Being late for classes, I ran up the stairs. Having sold their house, they were free to leave.
ADVERBIAL MODIFIER OF ATTENDANT CIRCUMSTANCES		He lay in bed reading.
ADVERBIAL MODIFIER OF CONCESSION	though/although	Though knowing what was there, he took the paper out and walked to the window to read.
ADVERBIAL MODIFIER OF MANNER		He spent his morning reading “The Morning Star”.
ADVERBIAL MODIFIER OF COMPARISON	as if/as though	For a moment he stood as if waiting for another question.
* In these functions Perfect Participle I may occur. ** These conjunctions are optional.

When a participial phrase is used as attribute it follows the modified noun. Its verbal character is evident from its verbal combinability and sometimes from the passive form itself. A participial phrase may be (a) non-detached or (b) detached:

a) We went along the street leading to the seashore.

Emma sat in the armchair facing the door.

Another factor concerns the formality of the language being taught.

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

A detached participial phrase is set off from the modified noun by a comma (or commas) in writing and by a pause (or pauses) in speech.

When a single participle is used as attribute, it generally functions as a premodifier. Here we usually find only participle I active of intransitive verbs. Its verbal character is clear from the processual meaning of the verb itself: living people, a sleeping dog.

Participle I as a premodifying attribute differs from the gerund in the same function. The noun serves as the subject of the action expressed by the participle, as in a living man = a man who lives, a burning house = a house that is burning, a dancing girl = a girl who is dancing (or dances). The gerund suggests the destination of the object or a person’s occupation, as in writing paper =paper for writing, dancing hall = a hall for dancing, a singing teacher = a teacher of singing. Note also the difference in stress patterns. There are two stresses in the pattern with the participle (a 'burning 'house), the second being the main stress, while in the pattern with the gerund only the first (gerundial) element is stressed (a ' dancing hall); if there are two stresses, the first component has the main stress, as in a 'speaking 'habit, a 'writing 'career.

When a prior action is meant no participle I can be used as attribute, only an attributive clause is used. Thus when we translate sentences with the Russian perfective participle active with the suffix-вш into English we must use an attributive clause: спроси вш ий - who has asked, переводи вш ий (ранее) - who has translated or who has (had) been translating, уеха вш ий - who has gone, верну вш ийся - who has (had) returned or who returned, depending on the context or situation:

Я разговаривал со студентами, верну вш имися с практики. – I’ve just talked to the students who have come back from their teaching practice.

Я разговаривал со студентами, верну вш имися с практики на прошлой неделе. – I’ve talked to the students who came back from their school practice last week.

Женщина, стоя вш ая 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 verb) But: Я обратился к женщине, стоя вш ей на крыльце. - I addressed the woman standing on the porch (simultaneous actions).

 

FUNCTIONS OF PARTICIPLE II

FUNCTIONS	CONJUNCTIONS	EXAMPLES
PREDICATIVE		The door was locked. The doll lay deserted on the porch.
PART OF A SIMPLE VERBAL PREDICATE		The door was always locked by Tom. The plant was withered.
ATTRIBUTE		He answered through the locked door. There was no evidence left.
ADVERBIAL MODIFIER OF CAUSE		Overcomeby grief, he sat speechless.
ADVERBIAL MODIFIER OF TIME	when till until	He spoke when spoken to.
ADVERBIAL MODIFIER OF CONDITION	if unless	He didn’t usually utter a word unless spoken to.
ADVERBIAL MODIFIER OF CONCESSION	though/although even if/when though even when wherever whether … or	Though addressed to, he sat silent. Whether telecast or not, the game isn’t worth missing.
ADVERBIAL MODIFIER OF COMPARISON	as if/as though	For a moment he stood as if puzzled.

 

Predicative Constructions with the Participles

 

The Subjective Participial Construction

It is a construction in which the participle is in predicate relation to a noun in the Common Case or a pronoun in the Nominative Case, which is the subject of the sentence. The children were seen running to the river. They were heard talking together.

In this construction the relation between the children/they and running/talking is that of secondary subject and secondary predicate and the whole construction

the children …running, they … talking is the complex subject to the predicate of the sentence were seen/were heard.

It is used:

1. chiefly after verbs of sense perception (in the Passive), both Part.I and Part.II are used: He was heard mentioning the matter. He was seen entering the house. The matter wasn’t heard mentioned.

2. after verbs of mental activity (in the Passive), only Part. II is used: The problem is considered solved.

3. after the verbs to seem, to appear, only Part.II is used: His attention seemed absorbed by the book.

4. after causative verbs, such as to keep, to find, to leave, to catch, etc. (in the Passive), both Part.I and Part.II are used: She was found sitting under a big tree. The door was left locked.