Timeline for Example of a Verb that is NOT a participle
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
7 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 3, 2019 at 20:39 | comment | added | BillJ | You must realise that participles (both the ing-forms and the past participles) are verb forms that function as heads of verb phrases, which in turn function as predicates in clauses. Some participles can also function as adjectives, as in the example I gave in my last comment. | |
| Jun 3, 2019 at 16:48 | comment | added | BillJ | @WesleyKohn Participles are secondary verb forms, i.e. untensed. They occur in non-finite clauses, passive clauses, the progressive aspect and in the perfect tense, but not normally as modifiers of other words except as part of a clause. | |
| Jun 3, 2019 at 14:15 | comment | added | Edwin Ashworth | The word 'modify' is not well-defined, with conflicting definitions in use (though some will claim the CGEL usage is 'correct'). But in 'To think is to do', many would argue that there are no nouns being addressed. | |
| Jun 3, 2019 at 13:44 | answer | added | Hugh | timeline score: 1 | |
| Jun 3, 2019 at 12:40 | comment | added | Wesley Kohn | @BillJ Can you give me a better definition of "participle" then? Because the wiki definition would seem to include all verbs. | |
| Jun 3, 2019 at 12:35 | comment | added | BillJ | Wiki is being silly about this. Verbs don't modify nouns or any other word categories, but function as heads of verb phrases. Most participles are verb forms, but a few can be adjectives (called participial adjectives). Compare We're entertaining the neighbours this evening (verb form) ~ "The show was very entertaining" (adjective). | |
| Jun 3, 2019 at 12:21 | history | asked | Wesley Kohn | CC BY-SA 4.0 |