Adjectival participle

Adjectival participles are participles that are derived from verbs and are used like adjectives. They contrast with verbal participles, which are considered to be forms of verbs rather than adjectives. In English for instance, adjectival participles may appear with modifiers typical of adjectives but not of verbs. An example is the modifier very in very interesting books, very overrated books, a very frightening experience, very hard-working people.

Other tests for adjectival participles in English include the ability of the participle to function as a complement to verbs like seem, remain, verbs which are known to take adjectival complements. Relevant examples are the door remained closed or she seems impressed. Any participle found directly in front of a noun in a noun phrase is standardly considered to be adjectival, because this is a position where we otherwise find adjectives but not verbs. Examples are fallen leaves, frightened people, meat-eating people.

Analogous uses of adjectival participles are the elements called attributes in grammars of some languages (Russian ^[1], Hungarian, many Eskimo languages, e.g. Sireniki ^[2]). Thus it can usually be translated into English by using an appropriate relative clause ^[3] and sometimes directly using the same construction in English (e.g. the running man).

Some descriptive grammars treat them as a distinct lexical category; others avoid that and use a more minimalistic approach.^[4] Because the abovementioned languages also have adverbial participle, the word participle is often meant for both lexical categories ^[1].

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} The Russian Participles. Part of “An Intercative On-line Reference Grammar — Russian” by Dr. Robert Beard.
2. ^ Menovshchikov, G.A.: Language of Sireniki Eskimos. Phonetics, morphology, texts and vocabulary. Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow • Leningrad, 1964. Original data: Г.А. Меновщиков: Язык сиреникских эскимосов. Фонетика, очерк морфологии, тексты и словарь. Doklady Akademii Nauk SSSR. Институт языкознания. Москва • Ленинград, 1964
3. ^ Ernest De Witt Burton: Moods and Tenses of New Testament Greek. The adjective participle. Paragraph 428.
4. ^ É. Kiss, Katalin; Kiefer Ferenc - Siptár Péter (2003) (in Hungarian). Új magyar nyelvtan (3. kiadás ed.). Budapest: Osiris Kiadó. 

See also

• Non-finite verb
• Participle
• Adverbial participle

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