To correctly use Participle I (present participle) and Participle II (past participle) in these sentences, it's essential to understand their functions. Participle I typically describes an ongoing action or state and ends in -ing, while Participle II usually indicates a completed action or state and often ends in -ed, -en, or another irregular form. Here are the sentences with the correct participle forms:
He found the shop without difficulty, having bought a map of the city.
- "Having bought" is used here to indicate that the action of buying the map was completed before he found the shop.
There was a pause, Mary sat thinking, and John stood at the door, looking at her.
- "Thinking" and "looking" are present participles describing the ongoing actions of Mary and John.
The company faces shrinking profits for still another year.
- "Shrinking" is a present participle describing the ongoing decrease in profits.
She absented her mind from the account of calls made and clients seen or not seen.
- "Made," "seen," and "not seen" are past participles describing completed actions regarding the calls and clients.
He fell heavily from wheelchair to terrace, knocking over the tea things.
- "Knocking" is a present participle describing the action that occurred as he fell.
Can the process be sped up?
- "Sped" is the past participle of "speed," used here in a passive construction to ask if the process can be accelerated.
Just before the show the square filled up with drinking youngsters.
- "Drinking" is a present participle indicating what the youngsters were doing.
Turning slowly, holding on the wall, he dragged his way back into his room.
- "Turning" and "holding" are present participles describing concurrent actions as he moved.
Having tried various topics of conversation, I became convinced that she wasn't interested in anything.
- "Having tried" is a perfect participle indicating that the action of trying various topics was completed before becoming convinced.
People gossiped that he had hanged himself in his garden.
- "Hanged" is the correct past participle form used for execution or suicide.
The walls were hung with wonderful watercolours.
- "Hung" is the past participle used for hanging objects like pictures.
Tourists wandered meaninglessly, led by guides bearing banners that proclaimed their allegiance to various travel firms.
- "Led" is a past participle used passively to describe the tourists being guided, and "bearing" is a present participle describing the guides carrying banners.
At the end of an hour, experiencing such thrills as he had never known in his life, he found himself with so many chips that they would hardly go in his pockets.
- "Experiencing" is a present participle describing the ongoing feeling of thrills.
These sentences demonstrate how participles can effectively convey the timing and nature of actions in relation to the main verb.