Study the following sentences.
- He stood by the table. He was examining some papers.
We can combine these two sentences into one.
- He stood by the table examining some papers.
Exercise
1She walked out ...............
Wrong!
Use the present participle "smiling" to describe what she was doing as she walked out.
2He lived alone, ............... by everybody.
Wrong!
Use the past participle "forgotten" because he received the action of being forgotten.
3The old man sat outside, ............... his pipe.
Wrong!
Use the present participle "smoking" to describe what the old man was doing while he sat outside.
4The girl entered the room, ............... a song.
Wrong!
Use the present participle "singing" to describe what the girl was doing as she entered the room.
5The boy stood up, ............... everyone his drawing.
Wrong!
Use the present participle "showing" to describe the boy's action after he stood up.
6There is a woman ............... her eyes out over there.
Wrong!
Use the present participle "crying" to describe the woman who is there now.
7Not ............... what to do, I phoned the police.
Wrong!
Use the present participle "knowing" after "not" to mean that I did not know what to do.
Exercise complete
0 out of 7
correct answers
Answers
- She walked out smiling
- He lived alone, forgotten by everybody.
- The old man sat outside, smoking his pipe.
- The girl entered the room, singing a song.
- The boy stood up, showing everyone his drawing.
- There is a woman crying her eyes out over there.
- Not knowing what to do, I phoned the police.
Notes
- There are two types of participles – present participles and past participles. Present participles always end in –ing.
- Past participles may end in –d, -ed, -en, or –t.