Adjectives ... Present and Past Participles

Present participles are formed by adding –ing to the verb stem. As an  adjective, a present participle modifies a noun that affects someone or something else.modifies a noun that is affected by someone or something else.

The new song is interesting.

The new song was interesting.

Past participles are formed by adding –ed, to the verb stem, but some of the irregular forms may end in –d, –en, –n, or –t. As an adjective, a past participle

The fans are interested in the new song.

The fans were interested in the new song.

Adjectives: -ed or -ing?

Use the present participle (-ing) to describe how something is. Use the past participle (-ed) to describe how someone feels.

Practice Exercise

In the sentences below, fill in the correct participles of the verbs in parentheses.

1. People who constantly complain are very __________ (annoy) to me.

2. Whenever Adrian gets __________ (bore), he goes fishing.

3. The students were __________ (confuse) by the Professor’s lecture.

4. Most of the news on television is __________ (depress).

5. The Ruttles were very ________ (excite) to learn that their concert was

sold out.

6. Babysitting young children can be __________ (exhaust) for many people.

7. Steve was so __________ (fascinate) by the book that he finished it in one

evening.

8. Would you be __________ (frighten) if you saw a vampire?

9. After eating a __________ (satisfy) meal, the cat washed her face.

10. When Dagmar looked in the mirror, she was __________ (surprise) to

see that she had a leaf in her hair.

Answers

1. People who constantly complain are very annoying to me.

2. Whenever Adrian gets bored, he goes fishing.

3. The students were confused by the Professor’s lecture.

4. Most of the news on television is depressing.

5. The Ruttles were very excited to learn that their concert was sold out.

6. Babysitting young children can be exhausting for many people.

7. Steve was so fascinated by the book that he finished it in one evening.

8. Would you be frightened if you saw a vampire?

9. After eating a satisfying meal, the cat washed her face.

10. When Dagmar looked in the mirror, she was surprised to see that she had

a leaf in her hair.

Recognize an adjective when you see one.

           Adjectives attribute qualities to nouns (words).

Adjectives describe nouns by answering one of these three questions: What kind is it? How many are there? Which one is it? An adjective can be a single word, a phrase, or a clause. Check out these examples:

What kind is it?

Dan decided that the fuzzy green bread would make an unappetizing sandwich.

What kind of bread? Fuzzy green! What kind of sandwich? Unappetizing!

A friend with a fat wallet will never want for weekend shopping partners.

What kind of friend? One with money to spend!

A towel that is still warm from the dryer is more comforting than a hot fudge sundae.

What kind of towel? One right out of the dryer.

How many are there?

Seven hungry space aliens slithered into the diner and ordered two dozen vanilla milkshakes.

How many hungry space aliens? Seven!

The students, five freshmen and six sophomores, braved Dr. Ribley's killer calculus exam.

How many students? Eleven!

The disorganized pile of books, which contained seventeen overdue volumes from the library and five unread class texts, blocked the doorway in Eli's dorm room.

How many books? Twenty-two!

Which one is it?

The most unhealthy item from the cafeteria is the steak sub, which will slime your hands with grease.

Which item from the cafeteria? Certainly not the one that will lower your cholesterol!

The cockroach eyeing your cookie has started to crawl this way.

Which cockroach? Not the one crawling up your leg but the one who wants your cookie!

The students who neglected to prepare for Mrs. Mauzy's English class hide in the cafeteria rather than risk their instructor's wrath.

Which students? Not the good students but the lazy slackers.

Know how to punctuate a series of adjectives.

To describe a noun fully, you might need to use two or more adjectives. Sometimes a series of adjectives requires commas, but sometimes it doesn't. What makes the difference?
If the adjectives are coordinate, you must use commas between them. If, on the other hand, the adjectives are noncoordinate, no commas are necessary. How do you tell the difference?
Coordinate adjectives can pass one of two tests. When you rearrange their location in the series or when you insert and between them, they still make sense. Look at the following example:

The tall, creamy, delicious milkshake melted on the counter while the inattentive waiter flirted with the pretty cashier.

Now read this revision:

The delicious, tall, creamy milkshake melted on the counter while the inattentive waiter flirted with the pretty cashier.

The series of adjectives still makes sense even though the order has changed. And if you insert and between the adjectives, you still have a logical sentence:

The tall and creamy and delicious milkshake melted on the counter while the inattentive waiter flirted with the pretty cashier.

Noncoordinate adjectives do not make sense when you rearrange their location in the series or when you insert and between them. Check out this example:

Jeanne's two fat Siamese cats hog the electric blanket on cold winter evenings.

If you switch the order of the adjectives, the sentence becomes gibberish:

Fat Siamese two Jeanne's cats hog the electric blanket on cold winter evenings.

Logic will also evaporate if you insert and between the adjectives.

Jeanne's and two and fat and Siamese cats hog the electric blanket on cold winter evenings.

For more exercises: http://www.english-zone.com/grammar/prtcplsnj.html

Phrasal Verbs - an Introduction

Phrasal verbs


There are four types of phrasal verbs. Phrasal verbs can be separable or inseparable and they can take an object or not. Here is a guide to the basics of phrasal verbs.

• I picked Tom up. OR I picked up Tom.

• They put their friends up. OR They put up their friends.

Separable phrasal verbs MUST be separated when a pronoun is used:

• We picked him up at the station. NOT We picked up him at the station.

• They put them up. NOT They put up them.

Inseparable phrasal verbs always remain together. It makes no difference if a noun or pronoun is used.

• We set off for the beach. / We set off for it.

• They are looking after the children. / They are looking after them.

Phrasal Verbs which Don't Take Objects

Some phrasal verbs do not take objects. These phrasal verbs are ALWAYS inseparable.

• They thieves got away.

• The bus broke down on the way to work.

• She got up early.

TIP!

If you are not sure whether a phrasal verb is separable or inseparable, ALWAYS use a noun or nouns phrase and DO NOT separate. In this manner, you will always be correct!

Separable Phrasal Verbs: bring up, take off

• They brought up their children to respect others.

• She took off her jacket before she began the lesson.

Inseparable Phrasal Verbs: look for, set off

• She was looking for her books when he arrived.

• They set off for a wonderful holiday in Hawaii.

Three-word Phrasal Verbs

Some verbs are followed by two prepositions (or adverbs). These phrasal verbs are ALWAYS inseparable.

• I'm looking forward to meeting John. OR I'm looking forward to meeting him.

• They didn't get on with their mother. OR They didn't get on with her.


EXAMPLES OF PHRASAL VERBS

• act up (no object): misbehave (for people); not work properly (for machines).

"The babysitter had a difficult time. The children acted up all evening."

"I guess I'd better take my car to the garage. It's been acting up lately."

• act like (inseparable): behave in a way that's like _____ .

"What's wrong with Bob? He's acting like an idiot."

Note: This phrasal verb is very informal.

• add up (1. no object): logically fit together.

"His theory is hard to believe, but his research adds up."

Note: This phrasal verb is often negative.

"His theory seems, at first, to be plausible, but the facts in his research don't add up."

add up (2. separable): find the total.

"What's the total of those bills? Could you add them up and see?"

add up to (inseparable): to total.

"The bills add up to $734.96. That's more than I expected!"

• ask out (separable): ask for a date.

"Nancy has a new boy friend. Joe asked her out last night."