Present tense | talk | work | |
Past participle | talked | worked | |
Present participle | talking | working |
For a list of 110 Irregular verbs with past, past participle and present participle, please click here.
The present participle is often used as a verbal noun, gerund or adjective. Please refer to the previous handout for more information on this aspect.
The present participle is also used in the progressive or continuous form.
Present | I am reading | Past | I was reading | |
Future | I will be reading | Present perfect | I have been reading | |
Past perfect | I had been reading | Future perfect | I will have been reading |
Generally, this form is used in the active voice. There are cases where the passive voice may be used, but if possible most experts say to avoid it. Personally, I think saying This page was written in Japan. is perfectly fine.
Other points to consider for the test:
- A participle may look like a verb, but it acts like an adjective:
- The man swimming in the polluted lake died from the contamination.
- Both past and perfect participles can indicate action that was completed in the past:
- PAST: The grammar point studied just last week was on the TOEIC yesterday.
- PERFECT: Having studied that point just last week, the students were surprised to see it on the TOEIC yesterday.
- Idiomatic use of going and going to has come to indicate a future event.
- I am going may mean I am leaving NOW,
- but I am going to go to America or I am going to America may mean next week, month or year.
- Participial phrases are not preceded by be, was, been:
- WRONG: Everyone was doing their best was sure to progress.
- RIGHT: Everyone doing their best was sure to progress
See notes for information on navigating, links, copyright (my own as well as any possible inadvertant infringement on my part) and photo usage, etc.
TOEIC is the registered trademark of Educational Testing Service.