Teach: Participles ① Modifying with Present Participles — “...who is doing”

Participles ① Modifying with Present Participles — “...who is doing”

Along with relative pronouns, participles are expressions that modify a noun from behind. A present participle (-ing) expresses an active or progressive meaning such as “doing something.”

Basic Rules

The -ing form of a verb is called a present participle, and it modifies a noun like an adjective. It means “...who is doing” or “...that does.”
There are two positions for modification:
① Modifying with one word: place it before the noun (the sleeping baby = the baby who is sleeping)
② Modifying as a phrase (with words following it): place it after the noun (the baby sleeping in the room = the baby who is sleeping in the room)
It is easy to understand this as a shortened form of the relative pronoun expression “the baby who is sleeping in the room.”
The meaning is “progressive and active”: in expressions such as “the running boy” and “the rising sun,” imagine the noun “doing” the action.

Points to Remember

① Conversion from a relative pronoun: Participial modification is a shortened form of the relative pronoun “who/which is + present participle.” “The boy who is running = The boy running.” The latter is more concise.
② The position changes depending on whether it is one word or a phrase:
- One word: placed before the noun (a crying baby)
- As a phrase: placed after the noun (a baby crying loudly)
③ Progressive and active meaning: in “playing children,” the noun itself is performing the action. If the children are “playing,” use the present participle playing.
④ Common verbs: sleep, run, play, sing, dance, smile, cry, swim, study, etc. These are verbs for actions people often do.

Practice

1. Write “a sleeping cat” in English (one-word modification).
2. Write “The man sitting on the bench is my father” using a participle (phrase modification).
3. Rewrite the sentence using participial modification: The girl who is dancing is my sister.