Question

In the sentence 'She is singing', the word 'singing' demonstrates which type of verbal inflection?

• A. Past tense
• B. Future tense
• C. Present participle
• D. Past participle

Answer 1

Answer:

C. Present participle

Understanding Verbal Inflection

• Verbal inflection refers to changes made to a verb to indicate grammatical categories such as tense, mood, person, number, or voice. These changes often involve adding suffixes or altering the verb's form.
• It helps to convey when an action happened (tense), who performed it (person/number), or the attitude of the speaker (mood).

The Present Participle

• The present participle is a non-finite verb form that typically ends in "-ing".
• In the sentence "She is singing," "singing" is the present participle.
• Its primary function is to form continuous (progressive) tenses (e.g., present continuous, past continuous, future continuous).
• Example: "She is singing a song" (Present Continuous). "They were waiting for the bus" (Past Continuous).

Key Functions and Distinctions

• As part of a continuous tense:

  • When combined with a form of the auxiliary verb "to be" (am, is, are, was, were, been, being), the present participle indicates an ongoing action.
  • Example: "He is running." "They were studying."

• As an adjective:

  • A present participle can act as an adjective, describing a noun or pronoun.
  • Example: "The singing bird." (Here, 'singing' describes 'bird'). "A rolling stone gathers no moss."

• As a gerund:

  • Although also ending in "-ing," a gerund functions as a noun.
  • Distinction for exams: If the "-ing" form is part of a continuous verb tense (with "to be") or modifying a noun, it's a present participle. If it acts as the subject, object, or complement of a sentence, it's a gerund.
  • Example (Gerund): "Singing is her hobby." (Subject). "She enjoys swimming." (Object).

• Compared to the Past Participle:

  • The past participle typically ends in "-ed," "-en," "-t," or other irregular forms (e.g., 'sung,' 'eaten,' 'broken').
  • It is used to form perfect tenses (e.g., 'She has sung'), and passive voice (e.g., 'The song was sung'). It can also act as an adjective (e.g., 'a broken vase').

Other Verbal Inflections to Know for Exams

• Base form (Infinitive without "to"): The simplest form of the verb (e.g., 'sing', 'run', 'eat'). Used after modal verbs and in infinitives ('to sing').
• Past Tense: Indicates an action completed in the past (e.g., 'sang', 'ran', 'ate').
• Third Person Singular Present: Adds '-s' or '-es' to the base form for singular subjects in the present tense (e.g., 'sings', 'runs', 'eats').