ABSTRACT
The participle (or verbal adjective) combines characteristics of verb and adjective. Participles are most common in writing. In a sentence, long-form participles function like long-form adjectives and can qualify any noun in a sentence. Only passive participles can have a short form. A short-form participle is the predicate to the subject of a sentence. Long-form participles combine the grammatical characteristics of verbs and long-form adjectives. Both transitive and intransitive verbs can form active participles. However, only imperfective participles can be formed in the present tense. Both perfective and imperfective participles can be formed in the past tense. Only transitive verbs can form passive participles. Therefore, reflexive verbs, some verbs of motion and any other intransitive verbs do not have passive participles. In a sentence, the short-form participle functions as a predicative passive verb. It must agree with the subject of the sentence in number and gender.
