Forgive me now for my overuse of adjectives to come! But what is the world without descriptive adjectives? How can we talk about the world around us without the amazing, exciting and sometimes confusing adjectives that are at hand in English? Especially when we are describing a world that leaves us amazed, excited and confused all at the same time!
Which one is it: bored or boring? Terrifying or terrified? Annoying or annoyed? Discover more in this lesson about "participle adjectives", adjectives that we derive from the different parts of the verb. To use the "active/actor" present participle or the "passive/receiver" of the past participle? As Shakespeare would say, that is the question.
When we break down the verb (almost any verb), we have all of its parts, five at most, three at least. Let's take a look at one:
- INFINITIVE (WITHOUT "TO"): to know
- PAST SIMPLE: knew
- PAST PARTICIPLE: known
- PRESENT PARTICIPLE: knowing
- 3rd PERSON SINGULAR: knows
We get this kind of adjective from the participles, PAST and PRESENT. The past participle "known" is used for adjectives and passive voice. It carries with it a "passive" charge that makes things the receiver of their adjectiveness and passiveness, as in "Despite being a known criminal, the police did nothing to apprehend him."
The present participle "knowing" lends an active charge to the adjective, giving it a feeling of action and progression, the source of the adjectiveness: "She realized that I knew what she was going to say, and gave me a knowing look before revealing the identity of the assassin!"
You can use this technique to derive countless adjectives from countless verbs, and create countless descriptions. Watch the lesson to discover when and how to use them correctly to avoid mistakes, and increase your vocabulary at the same time!