B1 – Intermediate
Past Participle
A past participle is a verb form used with:
- Perfect tenses (have/has/had)
- Passive voice
- Sometimes as adjectives
It is usually the third form of a verb.
Regular Verbs
For most verbs, the past participle ends in -ed.
Examples:
| Base Verb | Past | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| walk | walked | walked |
| play | played | played |
| clean | cleaned | cleaned |
Irregular Verbs
Some verbs are different — you must memorize them.
Examples:
| Base Verb | Past | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| go | went | gone |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| see | saw | seen |
| take | took | taken |
Past Participles in Perfect Tenses
We use past participles with:
- have / has (present perfect)
- had (past perfect)
Structure:
Subject + have/has/had + past participle
Examples:
- I have finished my homework.
- She has eaten already.
- They had left before I arrived.
Past Participles in Passive Voice
We use past participles with be (am/is/are/was/were).
Structure:
Subject + be + past participle
Examples:
- The cake was baked yesterday.
- The door is closed.
- The book was written by her.
Past Participles as Adjectives
Past participles can describe nouns.
Examples:
- a broken window
- a tired student
- fallen leaves