Structure and Written Expressions of TOEFL, Free Practice Tests, Tips and Strategies

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Skill 4 Be Careful of Present Participles

Present participle can cause confusion in the structure section of the TOEFL because a present participle can be a mistaken for a part of the verb. A present participle is the –ing form of the verb. It is a part of the verb when it is accompanied by some form of the verb be. 


                verb
The man is talking to his friend.
In this sentence talking is part of the verb because it is accompanied by is.
              Adj                           verb
The man talking to his friend has a beard.

In this sentence talking is an adjective and not part of the verb because it is not accompanied by some form of be. The verb in this sentence is has.


The following example shows how a present participle can be confused with the verb in the structure section of the TOEFL.
The child ... playing in the yard is my son.
(A) now
(B)  is
(C)  he
(D) was
In this  example, if you look at only the first words of the sentence, it appears that child is the subject and playing is part of the verb. If you think that playing is part of the verb, you might choose answer (B) is or answer (D) was to complete the verb. You should recognize that playing is a participial adjective rather than a verb because there is another verb in the sentence (is). In this sentence there is a complete subject (child) and a complete verb (is), so this sentence does not need another subject or verb. The best answer to this question is answer (A).

Skill 4 Be Careful of Present Participles Rating: 4.5 Diposkan Oleh: Eko Wahyudi

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