Participles as Adjectives

Some participles may be used as adjectives before nouns, or after some verbs.
  1. Present participles (ends in -ing)

    • Jack is an annoying young man.
    • The assignment was confusing.

  2. Past participles (ends in -ed, -d, -en, -n, or -t)

    • Jean was an annoyed lady.
    • The student was confused.

It is one thing to be annoying; it is an altogether different matter to be annoyed. So what's the difference?

Present participles

A present participle should describe a person or thing causing the experience.
To remember, think of the -ing ending of a present participle to mean that the noun described has an active role in stimulating the experience.

Jack is an annoying young man = Jack is the one annoying others.

Past participles

A past participle should describe a person or thing undergoing the experience.
Think of the -ed ending to mean that the noun described as having a passive relationship with something else.

Jean was an annoyed lady = Jean is the one who was annoyed (by Jack?).


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