5. Participles as Modifiers

Present participles and past participles can act as modifiers of nouns . These participles can in turn be modified by adverbs as the following will show.

Present participle

A present participle, that is a verb that ends in –ing, can be used to modify nouns. It usually comes before the noun that it modifies. If the present participle is part of a modifying phrase, it comes after the noun that it modifies.

Examples:

  • She got a dancing doll for her birthday.
    (The present participle  dancing  modifies the noun  doll .)
  • That was her daughter dancing in her room.
    (The present participle phrase  dancing in her room  modifies the noun  daughter .)

The reverse is also possible, that is an adverb modifies the present participle with the adverb coming before it.

Examples:

  • My soundly sleeping grandfather will soon get up for his dinner.
  • There is a man soundly sleeping on the couch in the doctor's office.

    (In both examples, the adverb  soundly  modifies the present participle  sleeping . In the first example, the present participle  sleeping  modifies and comes before the noun  grandfather . The second example shows the present participle modifies and comes after the noun.)

Past participle

A past participle can be used to modify nouns. It usually comes before the noun that it modifies. But if the past participle is part of a modifying phrase, it comes after the noun that it modifies.

Examples:

  • The beaten home team was booed as soon as the match ended.

    (The past participle beaten  modifies the noun home team .)
  • The three of us got into the boat rented for a fishing trip.

    (The past participial phrase rented for a fishing trip  modifies the noun boat .)

Adverb modifying past participle coming before or after the noun that they modify. 

Examples:

  • His badly swollen leg makes it difficult for him to walk.
  • My leg badly swollen from a bite by a snake is quite painful.

    (In the first example, the adverb  badly  modifies the past participle  swollen , and it comes before the noun  leg  that it modifies. In the second example, the past participle swollen  and its modifier badly  comes after the noun.)