Participles & Participle Clauses

Participles are words that look like verbs because they are derived from them, but they act like a combination of verbs and adjectives. They are also used in the construction of passive voice.
The two types of participles are past and present. Past participles most often end in -ed, but there are irregular forms that end in -en, -d, -t, -n, or -ne. Present participles end in -ing. Present participles can also be gerunds (for instance, "Walking is my favorite form of exercise.").

Present participles can form the past, present, and future continuous forms when combined with "to be" verbs (for example, "I was driving. I am driving. I will be driving."). When combined with "to be" verbs, past participles can form passive voice constructions (for example, "The final decision was made by her mother"). In this construction, the object of the verb comes before the verb and the subject comes after it, usually preceded by the word "by."