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A '''past participle''' is the form of a verb used with 'to have' to create the perfect tense. For example, in the sentence 'I have swallowed a button', ''swallowed'' is a past participle.
A '''past [[participle]]''' is used to indicate the past or a completed action or time. it is formed by adding "-d" or "-ed", to the base form of [[regular verbs]], but can be formed in other ways for [[irregular verbs]].
For example, in the sentence 'I have swallowed a button', ''swallowed'' is a past participle of the regular verb "swallow".
Examples of how the past participle is formed for irregular verbs are as follows:
{| border="0" cellspacing="2px" cellpadding="2px" width="20%"
|-
|-valign=top align="left"
|Base form
|Past participle
|-valign=top align="left"
|know
|known
|-valign=top align="left"
|eat
|eaten
|-valign=top align="left"
|become
|become
|-valign=top align="left"
|fly
|flown
|}
There are no hard-and-fast rules for the past participle of irregular verbs, unfortunately, which means that their various forms have to be memorised.<br>
The past participle can be used as follows:
* Participial phrases
:Based on the results of the examination, Mark changed his plans.
* Participial adjectives
:The teacher was determined to finish the chapter.
* Using the perfect tenses
:I have stayed there many times before.
* using the [[passive voice]]
:The shop was closed by the time we arrived.
[[category:Grammar]]