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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Participle adjective

Hi

I am confused with the position of participle verb as adjective. some is before noun and some is immediately after noun.

Example

A cheer went up from the crowds watching

we had to pay for the room used

My watch was among the things taken

I found this broken plate in the kitchen

how can I know when we place it beore or after noun?

Thanks
  

Top answer

Very often there is no knowing for certain. English has an extremely rigid word order and in many cases certain collocations have acquired a certain meaning over very long periods of time. If the participle is after a noun, which is the case in some of your examples, the participle can be just a clause equivalent, or a reduced clause, as many native speakers call such structures: We had to pay for the room [that was] used.

— Cool Breeze

  • Very often there is no knowing for certain.
  • English has an extremely rigid word order and in many cases certain collocations have acquired a certain meaning over very long periods of time.
  • If the participle is after a noun, which is the case in some of your examples, the participle can be just a clause equivalent, or a reduced clause, as many native speakers call such structures: We had to pay for the room [that was] used.
  • My watch was among the things [that were] taken.
  • Please note that used has a different meaning when it precedes a noun : Would you buy a used car from this man?
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1 Answers
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Very often there is no knowing for certain. English has an extremely rigid word order and in many cases certain collocations have acquired a certain meaning over very long periods of time. If the participle is after a noun, which is the case in some of your examples, the participle can be just a clause equivalent, or a reduced clause, as many native speakers call such structures:

We h
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