§ 173. Although the participle has the same lexical meaning as the corresponding verb, it differs considerably from the finite forms as well as from the infinitive and the ing-form.

As the participle has only one form (see "Verbs", § 5 and Ap- pendix), it does not possess any of the grammatical categories of the infinitive and the ing-form. Nevertheless, this form has its own grammatical meaning.

The grammatical meaning of the participle is closely connected with the lexical character of the verb.

The participle is, in the main, formed from transitive verbs and has passive meaning.

e.g. He had suits, and coats, and shirts made to order.

It was a question put down by one of the correspondents.

When the participle is formed from transitive terminative verbs, it denotes a state resulting from a previously accomplished action. This resultant state is simultaneous with the action ex- pressed by the predicate verb.

e.g. On arriving at the small building on the top of the mountain,

she found it locked. Alfred, left alone, stood motionless for some minutes.

A participle formed from a transitive durative verb denotes an action; it is simultaneous with the action expressed by the predi- cate verb.

e.g. Tom was the happy husband, adoring and adored,

At last the Colonel, accompanied by his two daughters, made his appearance in the park.

The number of participles formed from intransitive verbs is very limited. They have active meaning and usually denote an ac- tion preceding that of the predicate verb.

e-g. She sat down on a fallen tree to have a short rest.

The house was made of unpainted plank, gone grey now.

Sometimes the participle is formed from an intransitive mean- ing of a polysemantic verb.

e.g.. His face was like a withered apple. She looked at the faded photograph.

§ 174. Like the finite forms and the other two verbals, the participle is always associated with a subject. But the means of expressing its subject are more limited than those of expressing the subject of the infinitive and the ing form.

The subject of the participle may be the person or thing denot- ed by the subject (a) or the object (b) of the sentence. It may also be expressed by the noun the participle modifies (c).

e.g. a) Suddenly touched, she came over to the side of her fa- ther's chair and kissed him.

2. He heard his name called.

3. A large fat man with a face shaved as smooth as marble

stood in the doorway.

As the participle is, as a rule, formed from transitive verbs and has passive meaning, it mostly has a passive subject. But its active subject, the doer of the action, may also be indicated in the sentence with the help of a by-phrase.

e.g. I looked at the ceiling, painted by some 18th century artist

now forgotten.

§ 175. The participle can be used only as a notional verb (see the examples above and below); it never serves as a structural word. In this respect it also differs from the finite forms and the two other verbals.

But, like the infinitive and the ing-form, the participle is widely used as second (or third) component of analytical forms (e.g. The letter is written. He has done it. The matter has been investigated.)