Uses of the Past Participle

Uses of the Past Participle Uses of the Past Participle Uses of the Past Participle By Maeve Maddox Participle is a grammatical term I fling about quite often. A recent reader’s comment made me realize that not everyone is completely clear about what the word means. Instead of trying to cover both participles in one post, I’ll focus on the â€Å"past participle† in this one and save the â€Å"present participle† for another time. The word participle comes from Latin participium. The definition of the Latin term also applies to the English participle: â€Å"a non-finite part of a verb, having some characteristics of a verb and some of an adjective.† The past participle is one of five basic verb forms called the â€Å"principal parts of the verb.† All the tenses are constructed from these five verb forms: Infinitive: to write Simple Present: write Simple Past (preterite): wrote Past Participle: (has) written Present Participle: writing Only two of these principal parts can be used â€Å"as is† in a sentence: the simple present and the simple past. They are fully functional verbs because they show tense (time). Because their forms contain the idea of time, they are called â€Å"finite verbs.† The other three forms, including the past participle, do not show time. Verb forms that do not show time are called â€Å"non-finite verbs.† Because they cannot function as complete verbs in themselves, they are called verbals, â€Å"words related to verbs.† As a verbal, the past participle retains some functions of a verb while functioning as an adjective. In the following example, written is an adjective qualifying a noun phrase. At the same time, it is modified by prepositional phrases: Written in code between 1660 and 1669, the diary of Samuel Pepys was first published in 1825. The past participle of a regular verb is identical in form to the simple past: both end in -ed: Infinitive: to live Simple Present: live Simple Past (preterite): lived Past Participle: (has) lived Present Participle: living Here, drawn at random from one of the Cadfael novels by Ellis Peters, are some examples of the adjectival use of the past participle: FitzHamon’s marred face curdled into deeper purple. Even thus, frustrated like a mewed hawk, she had a graceful gait. Prior Heribert, shocked and dismayed, fell to prayer. Bewildered and confused by so sudden a reversal, the prior confided and obeyed like a child. He went out through the frozen garden to his herbarium. A common error with this use of the past participle is the â€Å"misplaced modifier.† For example: Stacked by the entrance to the stables, we made our delivery of hay bales. This type of error can be avoided by rewriting the sentence to place the word being described by the participle closer to it: We left our delivery of hay bales stacked by the entrance to the stables. Stacked by the entrance to the stables, the hay bales showed that we’d made the delivery. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Punctuating â€Å"So† at the Beginning of a SentenceItalicizing Foreign WordsGrammatical Case in English

Business strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Business strategy - Assignment Example Objectives -The College aims at the provision of quality education to the whole computer interested fraternity. It also aims at creating competitive individuals in the society, who form the basis of computer development. Another objective is to be a first class university college that offers computer in the country. Lastly, the college has the objective of reaching out to the students through imparting skills that are beneficial and outstanding. Aims -The aim of the college is to increase the availability of the computer education to the growing generation of the computer era. The college also aims at growing to become a recognized institution in both Tripoli and other parts of the world. The running of the college will face many challenges from the external and the internal environment. The change in the landscape of higher education over the years is likely to cause detrimental effects to the college. The global economic crisis is exacerbating the effects of the external environment on the college. The income from the daily activities of the guardians of the potential students continues to deteriorate, causing the decrease in the number of students enrolled in the colleges. The impact of the economy on the family incomes and purported philanthropy has been detrimental over the current years. The families are unable to afford the tuition fees to aid in the education of their children. The philanthropists have also accrued higher expenses prompting them to cut on the endowment aimed towards the higher education. Competition for the available philanthropists has grown tremendously. This causes the reduction in funding the activities of higher learning. Another challenge is the crude alignment of the people towards art related subjects. Most students presume that the art subjects are easy and easy to work with. This causes them to abandon the science subjects such as computer science, and hence leading to inefficiency

Landlord and Tenant Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Landlord and Tenant - Essay Example In the most recent landlord and tenant code, the Code for Leasing Business Premises in England and Wales 2007, break clauses are supposed to be only conditioned on prompt rentals, surrender of occupancy and leave behind no existing subleases whilst other conditionalities referring to the general state of the leased premises should only be dealt with later in the same way they are dealt with in ordinary expiration of normal leases. This is a welcome development in the issue of break clauses because case law is replete of instances when conditionalities have become sources of highly contentious conflicts that posed difficulties in the determination of tenants’ rights to make use of break clauses previously agreed upon between them and their respective landlords. One very outlandish case where failure to totally comply with conditionality to the last letter resulted in the tenant losing his right to exercise a break clause is the case of Osborne Assets Ltd v Britannia Life Ltd [1997]. In this case, the tenant, Britannia Life Ltd, wanted to exercise its right to a break clause which was written into the contract of lease and where such contract conditioned the option on total compliance with, among others, painting the leased premises with three coats of paint. Britannia was able to comply but with only two coats of paint prompting the court to declare it in breach of the condition and the forfeiture of its right to exercise the break option. Fortunately, subsequent case law saw courts applying a more judicious and practical method of determining compliance with conditionalities by stressing on the word ‘material.’ Some earlier cases also followed the similar approach of strictly requiring tenants their absolute compliance with c onditionalities in break options to the extent that even trivial breaches can cause their forfeiture. The cases of Trane (UK) Ltd v Provident Mutual Life Assurance [1995] EGCS 21, Bairstow

Engineering project management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Engineering project management - Assignment Example ble (installing a new machine’s base) will not be produced on time and with budget if necessary corrections actions are taken on time (Panneerselvam & Senthilkumar 2009). However, according to company, the project must go on and the base must be completed on time otherwise the organization will suffer dire consequences which may include losing its customers. It is therefore it is suggested that in order that the expanded project is completed on time, adjustments must be made of the project cost. That is, the organization and/or the contractor should employ more man power and equipment to work on the project within remaining period of time. This increase the rate at which the work will be done and increasing chances of completing the project on time. (Word count: 218) Due to safety concerns associated with asbestos, the scope of the project is likely to be changed (removal of the existing duct and its contents). The changing of the scope would mean that other constrains such as time and cost will be adjusted accordingly (Kanda 2011). This means that the project deliverable (installing a new machine’s base) will not be produced on time. The consequence of not completing this project on time is dire to the company since the organization might lose an important order, and due to the cost investment made on the new equipment the organization might be forced to close down. This means that delaying the installation of the base of the new machine is not an option for the organization. Employees are amongst the most important elements for organizations; therefore, there health should be made priority (CCH 2009). In addition, safety of environments in which employees work must conform to occupational safety and health standards (Lingard & Rowlinson 2005). Compromising the health of workers by making them work alongside these asbestos ducts would affect health, and consequently their productivity will also be affected (CCH 2009). The organization may also risk being

Chinatown Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Chinatown - Assignment Example This report will be based on two major aspects of planning in Chinatown namely politics in planning and urban growth and suburbanization. In regard to the aspect of environmental issues, the role of water in the city will be analyzed. The planning and future of Chinatown is based upon how these many Chinatown roles on politics in planning are weighed. These roles make the area a community since a community is defined as a group of people habitation in the same place or having characteristics in common. Therefore, any planning should be done to benefit the existing and future residents of the area, which is not as the case in Chinatown. Planning politics commenced with the issue of water, then general welfare. Since the Chinese architecture has not changed over the centuries, the same architectural uniqueness is seen in the movie’s buildings. Most buildings are erected on raised platforms as their foundations making them higher than normal buildings. Pillars are also common in most buildings as they give support to vertical structural beams. The roofs are the most interesting part of the buildings where they have roof apexes; that are usually topped with a crest of tiles and statues for both decorative purposes and to weigh down the layer of roofing tiles for stability. The ridges are often well decorated especially for religious buildings or sometimes extended or incorporated from the walls of the buildings to form matouqiung (horse-head walls), which serve as a fire deterrent from drifting embers. These building’s designs are what gives the area it’s name because of the famous Chinese architecture that has been displayed on not only the buildings but also the gates, business premises, sculptures among other things (Chinese chamber of Commerce, 1). According to a proposed plan by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce to preserve and improve existing housing, there are certain prohibitions like conversion of upper-story housing to other uses. It a lso ensures that new buildings enhance Chinatown’s special characteristic. Parts of the area have also been designated a historic district while also setting up strict conditions before housing can be demolished. This ensures that the area maintains its identity of ‘china town’. Water in Chinatown signifies the impact on urbanization and expansion of Los Angeles. Water is a natural resource necessary for daily consumption by man; associated with political issues. In regard to The influence of the Regional Planning Association, the role of water is essential in city planning. (Southworth & Eran 72). According to Southworth (1995) an argument ensued among the officials on the costs of a through-street pavement and mainline utilities; which were not clearly understood (p. 72). According to Chinatown, water symbolizes a substantial and figurative longing which must be relieved. The longing of Los Angeles city is very self-motivated; based on water planning. This is b ecause; locating the water to the city would be very beneficial to the populace, and finances. The role of water in the movie is seen when an isolated part of Los Angeles is all dried up, and a child on a horseback who seems very thirsty is searching for water. Officials are seen in the movie using the allocated water spots as a cover for political actions; disregarding the physical state of the region. Mr. Cross decided to bring water to Los Angeles; with an intention of

Emerging market Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Emerging market - Assignment Example There was a rising tendency in the consumption of strong alcoholic beverages until the end of 1980s; in mid 1990s this trend was reversed. Since then the demand for vodka has been decreasing, whereas the demand for beer and wine has been growing1 (Tabel 1). "Alcohol is often characterized as unconditionally negative in the context of poverty." ("Poverty and Alcohol" - an article by Yoon Hui Kim, 2004). Yet, the same author agrees that arguments have been made for both the benefits and disadvantages of alcohol production and consumption - as an industry, alcohol production has been argued to spur economic growth and alleviate poverty, while as a commodity it has been criticized for exacerbating the conditions of impoverishment. Consequently, for poor people alcohol can have both positive and negative repercussions on economic, political, social, and health factors. Alcohol consumption can act as a financial drain for indigent households by diverting limited funds from expenditures on food, healthcare, and education. White spirits and in particular, vodka, have been on the increase since 1999. Much of the growth has been inspired by younger adults, who are either supplementing or bypassing altogether, beer and wine, in preference3. The alcohol industry is an innovative industry able to use a wide variety of marketing tools to achieve success in the market-place. The various aspects of product marketing include advertising, labeling, consumer promotion, packaging and merchandising, being an integral part of promoting different brands of consumer goods. Alcohol consumption in Poland is comparable to that in other European countries4. Buying of alcohol (frequency & amount) depends on demographic, socio-economic and psychological factors. Statistical data reveal that alcohol consumption is wide spread in Poland. In the period of the last dozen years changes in the quantity and structure of consumption were observed. The most frequently consumed alcohol is currently beer, particularly among young people. In may 2003, a research investigating "The conditions of alcohol consumption among Polish adults" published in Electronic Journal of Polish Agricultural Universities shows that older people seem to prefer wine and v odka. Apart from age, sex also influences preferences: "women more frequently than men drink all kinds of wine and flavoured vodka, "whereas beer, pure vodka and mead are drunk more often by men" (the

Chinatown Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Chinatown - Assignment Example This report will be based on two major aspects of planning in Chinatown namely politics in planning and urban growth and suburbanization. In regard to the aspect of environmental issues, the role of water in the city will be analyzed. The planning and future of Chinatown is based upon how these many Chinatown roles on politics in planning are weighed. These roles make the area a community since a community is defined as a group of people habitation in the same place or having characteristics in common. Therefore, any planning should be done to benefit the existing and future residents of the area, which is not as the case in Chinatown. Planning politics commenced with the issue of water, then general welfare. Since the Chinese architecture has not changed over the centuries, the same architectural uniqueness is seen in the movie’s buildings. Most buildings are erected on raised platforms as their foundations making them higher than normal buildings. Pillars are also common in most buildings as they give support to vertical structural beams. The roofs are the most interesting part of the buildings where they have roof apexes; that are usually topped with a crest of tiles and statues for both decorative purposes and to weigh down the layer of roofing tiles for stability. The ridges are often well decorated especially for religious buildings or sometimes extended or incorporated from the walls of the buildings to form matouqiung (horse-head walls), which serve as a fire deterrent from drifting embers. These building’s designs are what gives the area it’s name because of the famous Chinese architecture that has been displayed on not only the buildings but also the gates, business premises, sculptures among other things (Chinese chamber of Commerce, 1). According to a proposed plan by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce to preserve and improve existing housing, there are certain prohibitions like conversion of upper-story housing to other uses. It a lso ensures that new buildings enhance Chinatown’s special characteristic. Parts of the area have also been designated a historic district while also setting up strict conditions before housing can be demolished. This ensures that the area maintains its identity of ‘china town’. Water in Chinatown signifies the impact on urbanization and expansion of Los Angeles. Water is a natural resource necessary for daily consumption by man; associated with political issues. In regard to The influence of the Regional Planning Association, the role of water is essential in city planning. (Southworth & Eran 72). According to Southworth (1995) an argument ensued among the officials on the costs of a through-street pavement and mainline utilities; which were not clearly understood (p. 72). According to Chinatown, water symbolizes a substantial and figurative longing which must be relieved. The longing of Los Angeles city is very self-motivated; based on water planning. This is b ecause; locating the water to the city would be very beneficial to the populace, and finances. The role of water in the movie is seen when an isolated part of Los Angeles is all dried up, and a child on a horseback who seems very thirsty is searching for water. Officials are seen in the movie using the allocated water spots as a cover for political actions; disregarding the physical state of the region. Mr. Cross decided to bring water to Los Angeles; with an intention of