Past particle

Past Particle is a term used in grammar to describe a specific aspect of language structure.

Overview

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Usage

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Examples

He has eaten. They have gone.

External links

The past particle is a verb form used to indicate a completed action or state that occurred in the past. It is one of the three main verb forms in English, along with the past tense and the present participle.

Formation

The past particle is typically formed by adding the suffix "-ed" to the base form of regular verbs. For example, the base form of the verb "walk" becomes "walked" in the past particle form. However, irregular verbs have their own unique forms. For instance, the past particle of the verb "go" is "gone" and the past particle of the verb "eat" is "eaten".

Usage

The past particle is commonly used in combination with auxiliary verbs to form various tenses and aspects. The most common auxiliary verbs used with the past particle are "have" and "be".

Present Perfect

In the present perfect tense, the past particle is used with the auxiliary verb "have" to indicate an action or state that started in the past and has continued up to the present. For example, "He has eaten" and "They have gone" both indicate actions that started in the past and are still relevant in the present.

Past Perfect

In the past perfect tense, the past particle is used with the auxiliary verb "had" to indicate an action or state that occurred before another action or state in the past. For example, "She had finished her work before he arrived" indicates that the action of finishing the work happened before the action of arriving.

Passive Voice

In the passive voice, the past particle is used with the auxiliary verb "be" to indicate that the subject of the sentence is receiving the action rather than performing it. For example, "The book was written by the author" indicates that the book is the object of the action of writing.

Examples

Here are some examples of sentences using the past particle:

• He has eaten the cake.
• They have gone to the beach.
• She had finished her homework before dinner.
• The book was written by the author.

See also

• Past tense
• Present participle