Participial forms of many verbs function as adjectives in phrases and sentences. An adjective is a word that describes a noun or a pronoun. Any word, even if it is associated with a different part of speech, that modifies a noun or a pronoun can serve the function of an adjective. When present participles (-ing) and past participles (-ed) of verbs function as adjectives they are called participial adjectives. Look at the examples below:
1. a) Harry Potter novels and movies interest most young students.
b) John and Mary are interested in reading Harry Potter novels.
c) Harry Potter novels are very interesting.
2. a) The movie excited him.
b) The excited fans of MS Dhoni shouted and danced while watching their hero batting.
c) What an exciting end!
3. a) The student’s behaviour annoyed the teacher.
b) The teacher was annoyed with the student.
c) It’s really annoying when your contribution is not acknowledged by authorities.
In the three sets of sentences above, in sentences 1a, 2a and 3a interest, excite and annoy are verbs. In sentences 1b, 2b, 3b the past participle forms interested, excited, and annoyed are adjectives. Similarly, in sentences 1c, 2c and 3c the present participle forms interesting, exciting and annoying are adjectives.
Participial adjectives can be distinguished by their endings, either –ed (excited, amazed, depressed) or –ing (fascinating, thrilling, satisfying). Some exceptions to the rules include broken and written (broken heart, written apology). Is ‘talented’ a participial adjective? In the sentence John is a talented person, the adjective ‘talented’ does not come from a verb. So, it is not a participial adjective.
Like any adjectives participial adjectives can also be modified. We can modify participial adjectives to decrease or increase their intensity and use them to compare different nouns by using the words very, extremely, less, more, etc. For example
• It was an extremely thrilling movie.
• It was the most thrilling movie I have ever watched.
Some participial adjectives are combinations of a noun and a participle (A time-consuming activity, water-based paint, and a fact-finding team).
Sometimes it may be difficult for learners to distinguish between adjectival and verbal functions of the participial forms of verbs. For instance:
1a) The student’s behaviour was annoying.
1b) The student’s behaviour was very annoying. (acceptable)
2a) The student was annoying the teacher.
2b) The student was very annoying the teacher. (not acceptable)
‘Annoying’ in the sentences 1a and 1b serves the function of an adjective. But in sentence 2b it is not possible to modify the word ‘annoying’. Moreover, in sentences 2a and 2b the verb ‘annoy’ is used transitively and therefore can be changed into passive sentences. So, it can be concluded that in sentences 2a and 2b the word ‘annoying’ serves the function of a verb.
— rayanal@yahoo.co.uk