Present Participle and Past Participle: Uses, Differences, and Examples

Understanding the difference between present participle and past participle is an important part of learning English grammar. Many English learners know that present participles usually end in -ing and past participles often end in -ed or -en, but they may still have difficulty using them correctly.

For example:

• The movie is boring.

• I am bored.

Why do we say boring for the movie but bored for the person?

The answer becomes much clearer when we understand how present participles and past participles work.

In this article, we will learn the meaning, formation, uses, and differences between present participles and past participles, with plenty of examples.

What Is a Participle?

A participle is a form of a verb that can be used in several different ways in English. Participles can be used to:

• form verb tenses

• describe nouns

• create participial phrases

• form passive constructions

There are two main types of participles in English:

1. Present participle

2. Past participle

Although they have different forms and uses, both can function as adjectives or as parts of verb phrases.

What Is a Present Participle?

A present participle is the -ing form of a verb.

Examples:

Base Verb	Present Participle
work	working
play	playing
study	studying
run	running
swim	swimming
write	writing
make	making

The present participle is commonly formed by adding -ing to the base verb, although spelling changes sometimes occur.

Examples in sentences:

• She is reading a book.

• They are playing football.

• I am studying English.

• He was driving to work.

In these examples, the present participle is part of the continuous verb form.

How Is the Present Participle Used?

The present participle has several important functions in English grammar.

1. Present Participle in Continuous Tenses

One of the most common uses of the present participle is to form continuous tenses.

Present Continuous

be + present participle

She is working now.

They are watching television.

Past Continuous

was/were + present participle

I was sleeping when you called.

They were playing outside.

Present Perfect Continuous

have/has been + present participle

She has been studying English for three years.

Future Continuous

will be + present participle

I will be working tomorrow morning.

Therefore, the -ing form is an essential part of continuous verb constructions.

2. Present Participles as Adjectives

A present participle can also describe a noun.

Consider these examples:

It was a boring movie.

The lesson was interesting.

We saw a crying baby.

She gave an inspiring speech.

Here, boring, interesting, crying, and inspiring describe nouns.

Notice an important idea:

The present participle often describes the person, thing, or situation that produces an effect or feeling.

For example:

The movie is boring.

The movie causes people to feel bored.

The teacher is interesting.

The teacher makes the lesson interesting.

What Is a Past Participle?

A past participle is the third form of a verb. It is commonly associated with -ed for regular verbs, but irregular verbs have different forms.

Regular verbs

Base Verb	Past Participle
work	worked
play	played
clean	cleaned
interest	interested
surprise	surprised

Irregular verbs

Base Verb	Past Participle
go	gone
write	written
eat	eaten
see	seen
take	taken
break	broken
speak	spoken

The past participle is often called the third form of the verb (V3).

How Is the Past Participle Used?

The past participle has several important functions.

1. Past Participles in Perfect Tenses

Past participles are used with have, has, or had to form perfect tenses.

Present Perfect

have/has + past participle

I have finished my homework.

She has gone to school.

They have seen that movie.

Past Perfect

had + past participle

She had finished her work before lunch.

They had left before I arrived.

The past participle is therefore essential when forming perfect tenses.

2. Past Participles in Passive Voice

Past participles are also used in passive sentences.

The basic structure is:

be + past participle

For example:

Active:

The chef cooked the meal.

Passive:

The meal was cooked by the chef.

More examples:

English is spoken in many countries.

The house was built in 2010.

The documents have been signed.

The car is being repaired.

In passive constructions, the past participle is used with a form of be.

3. Past Participles as Adjectives

Past participles can also function as adjectives.

Examples:

• a broken window

• a closed door

• a tired student

• an excited child

• an interesting book

• a confused learner

For example:

The door is closed.

I am tired.

She looks excited.

The students are confused.

When a past participle functions as an adjective, it often describes the state or condition of a person or thing.

Present Participle vs. Past Participle

One of the most common problems for English learners is understanding the difference between adjectives ending in -ing and -ed.

Compare:

The lesson is boring.

The students are bored.

These two words have different meanings.

-ING adjectives

The -ing form generally describes the cause of a feeling or reaction.

-ED adjectives

The -ed form generally describes the person or thing experiencing the feeling or resulting state.

Compare these examples:

Present Participle (-ing)	Past Participle (-ed)
boring	bored
interesting	interested
exciting	excited
confusing	confused
tiring	tired
surprising	surprised
frightening	frightened
disappointing	disappointed
amazing	amazed
worrying	worried

Compare the Meaning

Boring vs. Bored

The movie is boring.

The movie causes boredom.

I am bored.

I experience the feeling of boredom.

Interesting vs. Interested

The book is interesting.

The book creates interest.

I am interested in the book.

I have an interest in the book.

Exciting vs. Excited

The football match was exciting.

The match caused excitement.

The fans were excited.

The fans experienced excitement.

Confusing vs. Confused

The instructions are confusing.

The instructions cause confusion.

The students are confused.

The students experience confusion.

An Easy Way to Remember the Difference

A useful rule for learners is:

-ING = the cause

-ED = the feeling or result

For example:

The teacher is boring.
The students are bored.

The teacher causes the feeling.

The teacher is interesting.
The students are interested.

The teacher causes interest.

The exam was challenging.
The students were challenged.

The exam creates the challenge, while the students experience it.

However, remember that this is a useful learning rule rather than a rule that explains every possible participial adjective.

Present Participles in Participial Phrases

Present participles can also be used to create participial phrases.

A participial phrase usually gives additional information about a noun.

Example:

Walking to school, John saw his teacher.

The phrase walking to school gives information about John.

More examples:

Smiling happily, the child opened the present.

Looking out of the window, Sarah saw a bird.

Running down the street, the boy dropped his bag.

Participial phrases can make writing more concise and sophisticated.

Compare:

Sarah was walking to school. She saw her teacher.

With:

Walking to school, Sarah saw her teacher.

The second version is more concise.

Past Participles in Participial Phrases

Past participles can also be used in participial phrases, particularly when the meaning is passive or describes a completed condition.

Examples:

Shocked by the news, she couldn't speak.

Tired after the journey, they went straight to bed.

Built in 1920, the house has a long history.

Written in simple English, the article is easy to understand.

Notice that these phrases describe the noun that follows or relates to the phrase.

Common Mistakes with Present and Past Participles

English learners often make several mistakes when using participles.

Mistake 1: Using -ed instead of -ing

Incorrect:

The movie was very bored.

Correct:

The movie was very boring.

The movie causes boredom, so we use boring.

Mistake 2: Using -ing instead of -ed

Incorrect:

I am very boring.

This sentence means that I make other people bored.

If you want to say that you feel boredom, say:

I am very bored.

Compare:

I am boring. = I make other people bored.

I am bored. = I feel bored.

Mistake 3: Confusing the Past Participle with the Simple Past

For regular verbs, the simple past and past participle often look the same.

For example:

I worked yesterday.

Here, worked is the simple past.

I have worked here for five years.

Here, worked is the past participle.

The form looks identical, but its grammatical function is different.

With irregular verbs, the difference is often easier to see:

I went to Jakarta yesterday.

I have gone to Jakarta.

Went is the simple past, while gone is the past participle.

Present Participle and Past Participle: Quick Comparison

Feature	Present Participle	Past Participle
Common form	verb + -ing	V3
Example	working	worked
Irregular example	going	gone
Continuous tenses	✓	✗
Perfect tenses	✗	✓
Passive voice	✗	✓
Can function as an adjective	✓	✓
Example adjective	interesting	interested

Examples in Everyday English

Let's look at some common examples.

Present participles

The barking dog woke me up.

I watched a crying baby.

The movie was exciting.

She gave an inspiring presentation.

Past participles

The broken chair needs to be repaired.

The closed shop opens at 9 a.m.

I was surprised by the news.

The students were excited about the trip.

Present and Past Participles in Academic English

Participles are particularly useful in academic and professional writing because they can make sentences more concise.

Instead of:

Students who are interested in business English can join the program.

We can write:

Students interested in business English can join the program.

Instead of:

The data that were collected from the survey were analyzed.

We can write:

The data collected from the survey were analyzed.

This type of structure is common in academic writing, reports, articles, and formal English.

Present Participle & Past Participle Quiz

Choose the best answer. Each question is worth 10 points.

1. The movie was so ______ that everyone fell asleep.

A. bored B. boring C. bore D. was bored

Bored describes someone who experiences boredom. The movie causes the feeling, so boring is needed.

Boring is correct because the movie causes the feeling of boredom.

Bore is the base form of the verb and cannot function as the adjective here.

Was bored describes a person experiencing boredom, not the movie causing it.

2. Which sentence correctly uses a present participle in the present continuous tense?

A. She is studying English. B. She has studied English. C. She studied English. D. She is study English.

Studying is the present participle used with is to form the present continuous.

Has studied uses a past participle and forms the present perfect.

Studied is the simple past form, not a present participle in a continuous construction.

The present continuous requires the -ing form: is studying.

3. Which sentence correctly uses a past participle in the present perfect tense?

A. They have finish the work. B. They have finishing the work. C. They have finished the work. D. They are finished the work.

After have, the verb needs its past participle form: finished.

Finishing is a present participle and cannot directly follow have to form the present perfect.

Finished is the past participle of finish and correctly follows have.

The present perfect requires have or has plus the past participle.

4. Which sentence uses a past participle in the passive voice?

A. The chef is cooking the meal. B. The chef cooked the meal. C. The meal was cooked by the chef. D. The chef has cooked the meal.

Cooking is a present participle used in the present continuous active voice.

Cooked is the simple past in an active sentence.

Was cooked uses a form of be plus the past participle and forms the passive voice.

Has cooked is present perfect active voice, not passive voice.

5. Choose the correct sentence.

A. I am very interesting in English. B. I am very interested in English. C. I am very interest in English. D. I am very interests in English.

Interesting describes something that creates interest. A person who experiences interest is interested.

Interested describes a person who experiences interest, so this sentence is correct.

Interest is a noun or verb, not the adjective required here.

Interests is a verb or plural noun and cannot function as the adjective here.

6. Which sentence contains a present participle functioning as an adjective?

A. The broken window needs repair. B. The students were excited. C. The crying baby needs attention. D. She has written a letter.

Broken is a past participle describing the window.

Excited is a past participle functioning as an adjective.

Crying is a present participle describing the baby.

Written is a past participle used in the present perfect.

7. Choose the correct past participle of the verb “write.”

A. wrote B. writing C. written D. writes

Wrote is the simple past form of write.

Writing is the present participle of write.

Written is the past participle, or third form, of write.

Writes is the third-person singular present form.

8. Choose the correct adjective: “The students were ______ by the difficult instructions.”

A. confusing B. confused C. confuse D. confuses

Confusing describes something that causes confusion, such as the instructions.

Confused describes people who experience confusion, so it correctly describes the students.

Confuse is the base form of the verb and cannot function as the adjective here.

Confuses is a third-person singular verb form.

9. Which sentence contains a participial phrase using a present participle?

A. Tired after the journey, they went to bed. B. Walking to school, Maria met her teacher. C. The letter was written yesterday. D. They have finished their homework.

Tired is a past participle describing their condition.

Walking to school is a participial phrase beginning with the present participle walking.

Written is a past participle used in a passive construction.

Finished is a past participle used in the present perfect.

10. Which sentence correctly uses a past participle as an adjective?

A. The broken chair needs to be repaired. B. The breaking chair needs to be repaired. C. The break chair needs to be repaired. D. The breaks chair needs to be repaired.

Broken is the past participle of break and describes the resulting condition of the chair.

Breaking suggests an action happening rather than the completed condition described here.

Break is the base form and does not function as the adjective needed here.

Breaks is a third-person singular present verb form.

Final Takeaway

Understanding present participle and past participle becomes easier when you focus on their forms and functions.

The present participle usually ends in -ing and is commonly used:

• in continuous tenses

• as an adjective

• in participial phrases

The past participle is the third form of a verb and is commonly used:

• in perfect tenses

• in passive voice

• as an adjective

• in participial phrases

When -ing and -ed adjectives describe feelings, remember this useful distinction:

-ING → causes the feeling
-ED → experiences the feeling

For example:

The lesson is interesting, so the students are interested.

Once you understand this distinction, many common English grammar mistakes become much easier to avoid.

References

British Council. (2022). Participles (present and past). TeachingEnglish. https://africa.teachingenglish.org.uk/classroom/grammar/participles

British Council. (2023). Participle clauses. LearnEnglish. https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/free-resources/grammar/c1/participle-clauses

Cambridge Dictionary. (n.d.). Participle. Cambridge University Press. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/participle

Cambridge Dictionary. (n.d.). Present participle. Cambridge University Press. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/present-participle

Cambridge Dictionary. (n.d.). Verb forms. Cambridge University Press. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/verb-forms

Murphy, R. (2019). English Grammar in Use: A self-study reference and practice book for intermediate learners of English (5th ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-45765-1. Cambridge University Press – English Grammar in Use

Purdue Online Writing Lab. (n.d.). Irregular verbs: Overview and list. Purdue University. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/grammar/irregular_verbs/index.html