What is a participle?

A participle is a word formed from a verb that can function as part of a verb phrase (cụm động
từ).

For example:-

has been

Or independently as an adjective.

For example:

working woman

cold water bottle

!Note - We use past participles (-ed) to describe how we feel. We use present participles [-ing]
to describe what caused the feelings.

What is a past participle?

A past participle indicates past or completed action or time. It is often called the 'ed' form as it
is formed by adding d or ed, to the base form of regular verbs, however it is also formed in
various other ways for irregular verbs (động từ bất qui tắc).

It can be used to form a verb phrase as part of the present perfect tense.

For example:-

I have done this work. (Done is part of the verb phrase 'have done')

It can be used to form the passive voice (câu bị động).

For example:-
 Her hair was well brushed.

It can also be used as an adjective.

For example:-

As an adjective: He had a broken leg. (Broken is used here as an adjective.)

What is the perfect participle?

The perfect participle indicates completed action. You form the perfect participle by putting the
present participle having in front of the past participle (quá khứ phân từ).

For example:-

having done, having finished, having read, having spoken

It can be used to form the passive voice.

For example:-

Having improved her English Pia's promotion prospects were much better.

What is the present participle?

The present participle is a participle that ends in ing. It can be used with the auxilliary verb 'to
be' to form the continuous tense (thì tiếp diễn). It always takes the ‘ing’ form of the verb, even
irregular verbs have an ‘...ing’ form, in fact virtually all English words that end with ‘ing’ are
present participles.

For example:-

I am cooking. (Cooking is part of the continuous verb phrase 'am cooking')

We were running through the woods. (Running is part of the continuous verb phrase 'were
running' ).
It can also be used as an adjective.

For example:-

As an adjective: I am a working woman. (Working is used here as an adjective.)

!Note :-

The present participle can also be used as a noun denoting (biểu thị) the action of a verb a
gerund. But remember the present participle (phân từ can be used as a verb or an adjective
whilst the gerund (danh động từ) is used as a noun.