Complete Guide to Participles on the ACT® Test
Read time: 1 minute 30 seconds Last updated: September 23rd, 2024
Swim, swam… Swam? Swum? Swummed???
All of us have had a moment where we stopped and thought, "wait, how do we say that?" when it comes to participles. English verbs are incredibly regular when compared to other languages. It's no wonder irregular participles can be confusing – we have so few irregular verb conjugations.
The ACT® is going to test you on these. However, these questions appear infrequently compared to the other question types, especially in CSE. It's still worth studying these, especially if you're aiming for a score 25+.
What is a participle?
You know how when you say I have gone or I have begun? The word have enters the sentence, followed by a strange conjugation of a verb. Not "I have begin" but "I have begun." The word after have is called a participle.
Try to fill out this table with verbs that have irregular participles. Column one is present, column two is past, and column three is past participle.
Present: I begin…
Past: I began…
Past Participle: I had/have begun
Fill Out The Table Below
| Present | Past | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| Swim | ||
| Begin | ||
| Run | ||
| See | ||
| Arise | ||
| Lead |
Click for the Answer
Correct answer on click
| Present | Past | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| Swim | Swam | Swum |
| Begin | Began | Begun |
| Run | Ran | Run |
| See | Saw | Seen |
| Arise | Arose | Arisen |
| Lead | Led | Led |
There are others, but they're too infrequent to merit serious study.
How does this show up on the ACT® English Section?
The previous table has the most tested words. The question will ask you to choose among four possible answers. Each will have a possible variation of one the same word. They're almost always asking you to simply choose which form is correct.
Question:
By the time we arrived at the theater, the audience had already ______ the first act of the play.
- see
- saw
- seen
- seeing
Click for the Answer
Correct Answer: C. seen
Explanation:
The sentence uses the past perfect tense, which is formed with "had" + the past participle of the verb. The past participle of "see" is "seen".
Therefore, the correct sentence is: "By the time we arrived at the theater, the audience had already seen the first act of the play."
Question:
The marathon runners ______ the course before the official race day.
- had ran
- had run
- had runned
- had running
Click for the Answer
Correct Answer: B. had run
Explanation:
The sentence uses the past perfect tense, which is formed with "had" + the past participle of the verb. The past participle of "run" is "run".
Therefore, the correct sentence is: "The marathon runners had run the course before the official race day."