PARTICIPLE (Lk participium, part-taking); the name of a class of words which have the meaning of a verb with the form of an adjective. The name is said to have been given from their partaking of the nature both of a verb and of an adjective. Some grammarians make the participle a distinct part of speech, but it is more commonly classed as a part of the conjugathin of the verb. There are in English two participles, one in iny, usually called the present, but properly the imperfect, because it expressos continued, unfinished action, e.g., loving, wraing; and the other expressing past action, and ending either in et/ (t) or in en, e.g., loved, written. In Aug. Sax. and oid Eng.. the imperfect participle ended iu and, haband (having), corresponding to the modern Ger. habend, Gr. eehont (os), Let. habent (is). In the sentence, " he is waiting a loiter," toritiny is the imperfect participle; in" the writing of the letter occupies him," or "writing Is a difficult art," it is a substantive, and had a different origin. In the latter case, -ing corresponds to the Ang. Sax. termination -ung, used in forming substantives from it large class of verbs; thus, Aug. Sax. Ittagung (hallowing) is equivalent in meaning and
in etymology to Let. conseeratio; similarly, modern Ger. Vernichtang, annihilatioa, from yernichten, to annihilate. Such a phrase as, "while the letter is writing," seems to he ;1 shortened forni of the now antiquated, "is a-writing," which was originally, "is i.i writing." Although this mode of expression is liable in some cases to ambiguity. it is terser and more idiomatic than the circumlocution of, " is being written," which is often substituted for it. The verbal substantive in -ing is often exactly equivalent to alt infinitive; thus, "standing rong in one position is painful" = "to stand," etc. It has this advantage, that while it can be construed as a noun (e.g., with a possessive case), it can retain at the seine time the usual adjuncts of a verb; as, " what are we to infer tram the king's dismissing his minister?" The use of this form contributes not a little to tint peculiar brevity and strength of the English language.