participle

Language

2022

We explain what the participle is, how it is composed, its various uses and characteristics of each type. Also, sentences with a participle.

Some participles serve as adjectives.

What is the participle?

In Spanish, the participle is one of the three impersonal forms of the verbs (also called verboids), together with the gerund and the infinitive. They are called nonpersonal forms because they are not usually conjugated, and they are ways in which verbs adapt to very specific senses, similar to those of other types of words.

Unlike its two companions, the participle is composed by adding the suffixes -ado (accommodation-ado) or -gone (farewell-gone) to the root of regular verbs, while in the cases irregular presents specific forms that can be very different from each other (as di-cho instead of "i decide"Or die-to instead of "died").

The participle is a very important verb form in Spanish and in other Romance languages, since among its uses is to form compound verbs, by incorporating an auxiliary verb (in Spanish, the verb “haber”), as in case of the phrases "we have partgone"Or" what they have recordadored”.

Uses of the participle

The uses of the participle in Spanish are several and very important for the language:

  • In the construction of compound verb tenses. Simple verb tenses are those that do not require an auxiliary (the verb to have), while compounds do require your participation. In the latter cases, the auxiliary is conjugated and the main verb is placed in the form of a participle. Here are some examples:
    • We have accordadored not fight again (past perfect compound).
    • He there was suffergone a very long illness (past perfect).
    • As soon had unraveladored the mystery (past past).
    • Tomorrow already there will be leftadored to rain (future perfect).
    • It would have havegone to confess (perfect conditional).
  • What adjective inside of prayer. All verboids have a sense similar to that of other categories of words: the infinitive operates as a verb-noun, the gerund as a verb-adverb and the participle as a verb-adjective. This means that many times the participle is enough by itself to operate as an adjective, that is, to qualify a noun. In those cases, you will need to coordinate your gender and number with the accompanying noun. For example: "My mother was so excitedada to see me "or" Yesterday your brothers were angryados with you".
  • As part of conjunctions. It is common to find the participle within connecting phrases such as “visto what "," dadored what "or" debgone to what".
  • In formulating the passive voice. Unlike the active voice (the one normally used), the active voice converts the subject sentence in a passive recipient of the action, and for this requires that he exchange his place with the direct object of the sentence, and that the verb is replaced by a particular formulation that exceptionally uses the auxiliary to be and the participle. In this case, it must also match the patient subject. For example: “Criminals They were stopgone by the police ”or“ The party it was suspendgone by rain ”.
  • In the verbal periphrasis. This is the name given to certain types of speeches or "made" phrases that help us to express ourselves more effectively, and in which the participle is usually combined with other verbs that fulfill the role of auxiliaries, to form a structure that is used in a fixed way. For example: “The war is gave for lostGoing"Or" The game is gave by endadored”.

Participle types

There are two types of participle, depending on whether the verbs in question are regular or irregular.

Regular participles. Those in which the rule of replacing the verbal ending by the suffix is ​​fulfilled -ado for verbs ending in -ar; and the suffix -gone for verbs ending in -er or -go. Thus, "speak" corresponds to speakadored, but "eat" with comgone and "sleep" with dormgone.

Irregular particulars. These are participles that do not follow the previous norm and that demand to be treated in a particular way. For example:

  • In cases where the stem of the verb ends in a vowel, and the suffix corresponds to it -gone to form the participle, the letter i must be stressed, to break the diphthong. As in the cases of reading (legone), bring (tragone).
  • In other cases, verbs may have two participles, one regular and the other irregular, although usually only one is "canonical" or accepted by the academy, or they may even be used in different contextual situations. This is the case of the verb fry (fregone or frito) or provide (provegone or provisto).
  • Finally, there are the verbs that require an irregular participle, such as ver (visto), return (vloose), die (mport), say (dicho), open (abtrue).

Sentences with participle

Below, and as an example, some sentences with verbs in the participle in their different roles:

  • My mother has asked me not to be so moody.
  • We have sent a team of rescuers to search for the lost ship.
  • Soldiers have seen a lot of destruction in the invaded country.
  • They found the book that I had lost at school.
  • It is time to end the exam.
  • Your nephew would have liked to see you at his graduation.
  • I could have arrived early, had a pipe not broken at home.
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