Participle II

Participle II is a non-finite form of the verb which possesses verbal and

adjectival features and denotes a state or a result of some action or an action

itself. It stands apart from the other non-finites in that it does not have their

morphological categories. Nevertheless, being a verb form, it possesses the

potential verbal meanings of voice, aspect and perfect. These meanings depend

upon the meaning of the verb Participle II is formed from and are realized in the

context.

The verbal character of Participle II is manifested in its combinability.

Thus Participle II of transitive verbs combines with a by-object denoting the

doer of the action: Antonia was walking along the aisle accompanied by her

admirer. Participles II of phrasal verbs retain their composite structure: an

orphan brought up in a clergyman’s family. Participle II may be accompanied

by an adverbial modifier expressed by adverbs or phrases combining with

verbs: the road repaired two years before, the squirrel hidden in the bush, a

scandal long forgotten. One of the main verbal features of Participle II is

revealed in its functioning as part of the compound verb forms of the passive

voice and the perfect.

The adjectival nature of Participle II manifests itself in its function in the

sentence, which is usually that of either attribute or predicative. Instead of the

negation not, Participle II is often negated with the prefix un-: untouched,

unfinished.

The adjectival nature of Participle II is traced in adjectivized participles

with a form different from the verbal Participle II. These forms occur as

attributes in such phrases as on bended knees, a drunken man, a lighted candle, 49

torch, match), molten lava (lead, steel), roast meat, a rotten apple, a shaven

head, a well-shaven man, sodden clothes, sunken eyes; to be panic-stricken,

poverty- stricken (but thunder-struck, theatre-struck).

Note the sentences in which Participle II has the passive meaning:

Portuguese is one of the languages taught at our college (denoting an action);

The date is fixed (denoting a state, which is the result of an action); She felt

relaxed (denoting a pure state).

Syntactic functions of Participle II

 Participle II as attribute (may function either as premodifier or

postmodifier):

Celina kicked aside the clothes scattered on the floor, making one big pile, and

took the washtub with the rinsed linen; Things seen are mightier than things

heard; He entered the abandoned house.

When Participle II or a participle phrase is detached, its position in the

sentence is not fixed. Detached attributes are separated from the noun by a

coma in writing and by a pause in speech:

Impressed by the news, I went out to make a call; The new Scottish Parliament,

designed by the Catalan architect, looks like a series of upturned boats; And

people hurried by, hidden under their dreadful umbrellas;

 Participle II as predicative:

The customer looked perplexed and troubled; The investigator was puzzled by

the clues (in this function Participle II denotes a state). Occasionally we come

across Participle II with an active meaning: Everybody is gone;

 Participle II as adverbial modifier (used in place of clauses with a passive

meaning if the main and subordinate clauses have the same subject):

Halted at a police road block, we could hear two feuding gangs firing shots

ahead of us (of time); Weakened by his long stay in space the space tourist will

have difficulty walking (of reason); He watched her movements as if hypnotized

(of manner); Jill will speak for hours, unless interrupted; If picked green

peaches won’t ripen (of condition).

Predicative constructions with Participle II

The Objective Participial Construction

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

pronoun in the objective case and Participle II forming a syntactical complex –

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

causative meaning, with verbs of physical perception, with verbs of wish:

You must get your tickets registered; I won’t have my name dragged through

the dirt by the press; Have you ever heard their dean’s name mentioned before?

I want the invitation sent at once; I’d like my car serviced, please.50

The construction have/get something done is generally used when we

want to say that somebody arranges for something to be done (he/she employs,

pays, asks, persuades another person to do something): I’m going to have my

hair dyed; Laura got her watch mended. However, there are some more usages

to be considered:

We use have … We use get …

1. when we are concerned with the process of

something happening: I love having my

shoulders massaged;

2. if we want to focus on the result of the action:

The patient has his arm broken or to emphasize

that the task was not easy to fulfil: I have this

program implemented;

3. if it is clear that the person referred to in the

subject of the sentence is not responsible for or

has no control over what happens (about

accidents and misfortunes): She has just had

her tonsils removed; The old lady had her

purse stolen; The Smiths had their car broken

into again (however, in informal speech it’s

normal to use get in sentences like this);

4. if we want to employ the perfect form: Oh, you

have had your hair dyed.

1. when we are more concerned with

the preparatory arrangements: I got

the car serviced this morning

(there is an assumption here that I

took the car to the garage);

2. when we say that the person

referred to in the subject of the

sentence causes what happens

accidentally or is to blame for it:

Sue got her fingers trapped in the

bicycle chain.

The Nominative Absolute Participial Construction with Participle II

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

nominative case and Participle II which form a syntactical complex, the

nominal element and Participle II being in subject-predicate relation:

The preparation completed, we started off; We began to talk, but my attention

distracted by the surroundings, I took small notice of him.

Prepositional Absolute Construction with Participle II

It is introduced by the preposition with and its nominal element is hardly

ever presented by a pronoun; it is more closely related to the predicate verb and

is seldom set off by a comma: It is unhealthy to sleep with the windows shut

(adverbial modifier of attendant circumstances); He can’t walk with his leg

broken (adverbial modifier of reason).

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