NRTC English: Using participles as attributive and predicative adjectives

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Adjectives are words that describe nouns. They tell us more about people, places, or things. But did you know that adjectives can come in different forms?

The popular two forms of adjectives to know are attributive and predicative adjectives. Attributive adjectives come before the noun they describe. For example, “The red car.”

While predicative adjectives come after linking verbs like “is,” “are,” “was,” or “were.” For example, in the sentence “The car is red,” the adjective “red” is predicative because it comes after the linking verb “is” and describes the subject “the car.”

What are participles in English?

A participle is a word created from a verb (for example, going, gone, being, been) and employed as an adjective (for example, working woman, burnt toast) or a noun (for example, good breeding).

In English, participles are also used to form compound verb structures (for example, is going, has been).

There are two kinds of participles: present participles and past participles. Present participles end with –ing, while past participles end with –ed, -en, -d, -t, or –n.

Examples of present participles are ‘boring’, ‘exhausting’, ‘swimming’, ‘playing’, ‘reading,’ ‘interesting’, ‘exciting’, ‘motivating’, etc and those of past participles are ‘bored’, ‘exhausted’, ‘ground’, ‘motivated’, ‘confused’, ‘spoken’, ‘written’ etc.

How to use present and past participles as adjectives

When using these adjectives, it’s essential to pay attention to whether you’re describing the noun itself (attributive) or the state of something (predicative).

• If you want to talk about how something makes you feel, use “bored” or “exhausted” as predicative adjectives. For example, “I am bored” or “She is exhausted.”
• If you want to describe the thing causing the feeling, use “boring” or “exhausting” as attributive adjectives. For example, “The movie is boring” or “The job is exhausting.”

To get better at using these adjectives, try making your sentences. Describe things around you using both attributive and predicative adjectives. For example:

• “The boring book” or “the book is boring(attributive).
• “I feel bored reading this book” (predicative).

It is important to note that predicative adjectives can also be used as attributive adjectives as in burnt toast, roast corn, ground pepper, tinned tomatoes, canned milt, baked fish, bottled water, frozen fish, etc.

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There are more pairs of participles like boring and bored, exhausted and exhausting that are used either as attributive or predicative adjectives.

1. Confusing and Confused:

• “The math problem was confusing.” (describes the problem)
• “I felt confused after reading the instructions.” (describes how someone feels)

2. Frustrating and Frustrated:

• “The slow internet connection was frustrating.” (describes the situation)
• “I felt frustrated when I couldn’t finish my work on time.” (describes how someone feels)

3. Exciting and Excited:

• “The roller coaster ride was exciting.” (describes the experience)
• “She felt excited about her upcoming vacation.” (describes how someone feels)

4. Interesting and Interested:

• “The book was interesting.” (describes the book)
• “He seemed very interested in the conversation.” (describes how someone feels)

5. Tiring and Tired:

• “The long journey was tiring.” (describes the journey)
• “After the journey, I felt tired.” (describes how someone feels)

6. Challenging and Challenged:

• “The puzzle was challenging.” (describes the puzzle)
• “He felt challenged by the difficult task.” (describes how someone feels)

7. Amusing and Amused:

• “The comedian’s jokes were amusing.” (describes the jokes)
• “She looked amused by the funny story.” (describes how someone feels)

8. Relaxing and Relaxed:

• “The spa day was relaxing.” (describes the activity)
• “After the spa treatment, I felt relaxed.” (describes how someone feels)

9. Stimulating and Stimulated:

• “The workshop was stimulating.” (describes the workshop)
• “She felt stimulated by the challenging debate.” (describes how someone feels)

10. Motivating and Motivated:

• “The inspirational speech was motivating.” (describes the speech)
• “He felt motivated to start his own business after hearing the success stories.” (describes how someone feels)

Understanding the distinction between these pairs of adjectives can help you communicate more effectively in English and express yourself more accurately in different situations.