The Participleas Attribute

§ 252. There are two types of attributes expressed by the par-
ticiple:

1) the participle may immediately precede its head-noun,

2) the participle may follow its head-noun and be separated from
the noun by a pause, i.e. the participle is a loose attribute here.¹

Attributes expressed by participles are not lexically dependent,
they can modify any noun.

§ 253. When the participle immediately precedes its head-noun
it is always a single word, not an extended phrase.

With transitive verbs, the participle has passive meaning — it
serves to show that the person or thing denoted by the head-noun
undergoes the action expressed by the participle. The head-noun is
the passive subject of the participle here.

e.g. A man in torn and dusty clothes was making his way towards
the boat.

This forlorn creature with the dyed hair and haggard, paint-
ed face would have to know the truth, he decided. I made
my way forward the parked car.

"Why don't you stop torturing yourself and put an end to all
this wasted effort on your part?" she would tell me.

In the building, lighted windows were shining here and there.

In the examples above we are dealing with real participles
which preserve their verbal character and denote actions. Howev-
er, participles in this function are often adjectivized, which is
clearly seen from their changed meaning.

e.g. She had an affected, absent way of talking.

After a moment she opened the door and got in with a grieved
expression.

¹ Loose corresponds to the Russian обособленное.

When I was eighteen I had very decided views of my own
about my future.

With intransitive verbs, ¹ the participle has active meaning —
it serves to show that the person or thing denoted by the head-
noun is the doer of the action expressed by the participle. The
head-noun is the active subject of the participle here.

e.g. They sat on a fallen tree that made a convenient seat.

Jenkinson was a retired colonel who lived in Dorset and whose
chief occupation was gardening.

Other examples of this kind are the risen sun, the departed
guest, the assembled company, his deceased partner.

Participles as attributes preceding their head-nouns are in com-
mon use in English; they are not restricted stylistically.

Note 1. It should be noted that the participles involved, added, obtained and
combined are placed in post-position to their head-words.

e.g. I did not want to go to a club for lunch, in case I met Douglas or anyone in-
volved.
We could not resist all of these people combined.

Note 2. The participle left in post-position undergoes a change of meaning and
its use becomes structurally restricted. It is found in two constructions: it modifies
nouns (or pronouns) in sentences with there is (are) and in sentences with the verb to
have. Left in such sentences is rendered in Russian with the help of осталось.

e.g. There was no evidence left.

He's the only friend I seem to have left now.
It's just all we seem to have left.

§ 254. The participle as a loose attribute is usually part of an ex-
tended phrase. As a general rule, it follows its head-noun. The noun
may perform any function in the sentence. The participle in this
case is formed from a transitive verb and has passive meaning.

e.g. Mr Johnson, I have sent for you to tell you of a serious com-
plaint sent in to me from the court.

He carried the crate out to the Ford truck parked in the nar-
row alley behind the store.

As has been said (see "Verbs", § 173), there are not many participles formed from
"transitive verbs.

The (passive) subject of the participle in this function is its
head-noun (see also "Verbs", §174).

e.g. Lennox sat down on a chair lately vacated by Lady Westholme.
I rode about the countryside on a horse lent me by a friend.

In a considerable number of instances the participle is adjec-
tivized in this case,
e.g. The men ran out of the house, like schoolboys frightened of

being late.

Police are looking for a boy known to work at Turtle's.
They elected a man called G. S. Clark.

The participle as a loose attribute is typical of literary style.
It is not found in spoken English.

NOUNS

§ 1. Nouns are names of objects, i.e. things, human beings, ani-
mals, materials and abstract notions (e.g. table, house, man, girl,
dog, lion, snow, sugar, love, beauty).

Semantically all nouns can be divided into two main groups:
proper names (e.g. John, London, the Thames) and common nouns.

Common nouns, in their turn, are subdivided into countable
nouns and uncountable nouns. Countable nouns denote objects
that can be counted. They may be either concrete (e.g. book, stu-
dent, cat) or abstract (e.g. idea, word, effort). Uncountable nouns
are names of objects that cannot be counted. They may also be con-
crete (e.g. water, grass, wood) and abstract (e.g. information,
amazement, time).

Nouns have the grammatical categories of number and case
(see "Nouns", §§ 3-19).

They are also characterized by the functions they perform in
the sentence (see "Nouns", § 20).

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