PDF) Present or past participle worksheet Complete the following ... - Free Printable

Let's go through each sentence and determine the correct present or past participle form, along with explanations.

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1. ............... with milk and sugar, it makes a delicious breakfast.

- Options: Served / Serving
- ✔ Correct answer: Served

Explanation:
This is a reduced relative clause (a common structure in English). The full sentence would be:
> "When it is served with milk and sugar, it makes a delicious breakfast."

- "Served" is the past participle, used here to describe a passive action (the tea/coffee/etc. is being served).
- We use past participles for passive meaning when the subject of the main clause is receiving the action.
- "Serving" (present participle) would imply that the subject is doing the serving — which doesn't make sense here because *it* (the food) can't serve itself.

✔ So, "Served" is correct.

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2. Most of the people ............... to the party were neighbors.

- Options: invited / inviting
- ✔ Correct answer: invited

Explanation:
The full sentence is:
> "Most of the people who were invited to the party were neighbors."

- Here, "invited" is a past participle used as a post-modifier to describe the people.
- It means the people were invited — passive voice.
- "Inviting" (present participle) would mean they are doing the inviting, which doesn’t fit.

✔ So, "invited" is correct.

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3. Not ............... what to do, I called the doctor.

- Options: knowing / known
- ✔ Correct answer: knowing

Explanation:
This is a present participle phrase used to show reason or cause.

- "Not knowing what to do" = Because I didn’t know what to do...
- The subject of the main clause is "I", and "knowing" describes an action performed by "I".
- "Known" (past participle) would imply passivity — e.g., "I was known..." — which doesn’t fit.

✔ So, "knowing" is correct.

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4. The people ............... have been informed.

- Options: concerned / concerning
- ✔ Correct answer: concerned

Explanation:
- "Concerned" is the past participle of "concern".
- "The people concerned" = the people who are involved or affected.
- "Concerning" is a present participle and would mean “the people who are concerning” — which is awkward and incorrect in this context.

Example:
> "The people concerned have been informed."
= The people who are involved have been informed.

✔ So, "concerned" is correct.

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5. The professor is ............... by his students.

- Options: admiring / admired
- ✔ Correct answer: admired

Explanation:
This is a passive construction:
- "The professor is admired by his students."
- "Admired" is the past participle used in passive voice.
- "Admiring" would be active: "The professor is admiring..." — which means he’s doing the admiring, not being admired.

✔ So, "admired" is correct.

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6. I was ............... by the way she spoke to me.

- Options: annoying / annoyed
- ✔ Correct answer: annoyed

Explanation:
- This is another passive construction: "I was annoyed by..."
- "Annoyed" is the past participle describing the state of the person (me) who received the annoyance.
- "Annoying" means causing annoyance — e.g., "She was annoying" = she caused annoyance.
- But here, I am the one feeling annoyed → so we need "annoyed".

✔ So, "annoyed" is correct.

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✔ Final Answers:

| Sentence | Correct Answer | Reason |
|--------|----------------|--------|
| 1 | Served | Passive action on the subject ("it") |
| 2 | invited | Past participle showing passive relationship |
| 3 | knowing | Present participle showing active reason |
| 4 | concerned | Past participle modifying "people" |
| 5 | admired | Passive voice: professor is the receiver |
| 6 | annoyed | Passive construction: I felt annoyed |

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✔ All answers are based on proper use of present vs. past participles in active/passive constructions and reduced clauses.

Let me know if you'd like a summary chart or practice exercises!