Participle Adjectives
Participle adjectives are adjectives derived from either the present participle or past participle of a verb. The present participle of a verb in English is formed by adding (-ing) to the infinitive form (base form) of a verb i.e. (interest, interesting), this is true for regular verbs and irregular verbs. The past participle of regular verbs is formed by adding (-ed or just -d) to the infinitive form (base form) of a verb i.e. (interest, interested), however the past participle of irregular verbs must be memorized as there are no rules that define their formation i.e. (broke, broken). The participles of many verbs can be used as adjectives especially verbs that describe emotions i.e. (bore, interest, amaze, stun, love, hate, etc.), however this does not apply to all verbs, especially intransitive verbs (verbs that do not require objects) such as (sleep, arrive, die, breathe, sneeze, etc.) whose participles are generally not used as adjectives.
Present participle adjectives (-ing ending) examples
Note: When the present participle of verbs that describe emotions i.e. (bore, interest, amaze, stun, love, confuse, etc.) are used as present participle adjectives, they are often used to qualify a noun that causes the subject to feel those emotions (these are often subjective opinions).
Note: When the present participle of verbs that do not describe emotions i.e. (run, cut, bark, shine, glow, rise, etc.) are used as present participle adjectives, they are often used to describe an ongoing action a noun is taking or the purpose a noun serves.
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Verbs that describe emotions
Ex: I think it was a boring movie. - The movie caused the speaker to feel bored.
Ex: Interesting books are often best sellers. - Books that cause the speaker to feel interested.
Ex: He offered me a tempting proposition. - A proposition that caused the speaker to feel tempted.
Ex: His story sounded depressing. - A story that caused the speaker to feel depressed.
Verbs not related to emotions
Ex: It's a special type of cutting tool - The purpose a tool serves.
Ex: The shining sun blinded the driver. - Ongoing action.
Ex: The old man used a walking stick to move around - The purpose of the stick.
Ex: The blaring siren woke me up in the middle of the night. - Ongoing action.
Past participle adjectives examples
Note: When the past participle of verbs that describe emotions i.e. (bore, interest, amaze, stun, love, confuse, etc.) are used as past participle adjectives, they are often used to qualify an emotion felt by a noun (non sentient objects cannot feel emotions).
Note: When the past participle of verbs that do not describe emotions i.e. (break, tear, wear, stall, injure, crack, etc.) are used as past participle adjectives, they are often used to describe a quality a noun has.
Verbs that describe emotions
Ex: He seemed mesmerized by the game. - Emotion felt by a subject.
Ex: The upset child started crying. - Emotion felt by a subject.
Ex: Many excited fans were waiting in line to see the movie. - Emotion felt by a subject.
Ex: An interested buyer called me about the house. - Emotion felt by a subject.
Verbs not related to emotions
Ex: It's time I get rid of these worn shoes - Quality a noun has.
Ex: There was a crumpled paper on the desk. - Quality a noun has.
Ex: I love the taste of smoked meat. - Quality a noun has.
Ex: The patient had an injured hand. - Quality a noun has.
Note: Only one of the participles of some verbs are used as adjectives.
Note: Only one of the participles of some verbs are used as adjectives.