Participle phrases and participle adjectives

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Hi everyone,

English grammar uses participles in a wide range of situations. Probably, their most common use is making perfect tenses and passive voice structures. Having said that, my doubt is about the other functions of participles, when they are used before nouns as adjectives (participle adjectives), and after them as a post-noun modifier (participle phrases). Consequently, the position of participles either before or after nouns seems to indicate how they work. That’s clear when reading these structures, but not so much at the time of writing. Here some examples trying to explain my issue.

Example 1: Past participle adjective

1. If you do not want to specify the -required information-, you will not be able to terminate the transaction.
2. If you do not want to specify the -information required-, you will not be able to terminate the transaction.

Please consider that the first sentence uses "required information", and the second one "information required". I took the first sentence from an English-speaking website, and I modified the second one using past participle after the noun. Is that OK? Is this second phrase ("information required") a past-participle one given that I am using the participle after the noun?

Example 2: Past-participle phrase

The -information required- in the declarations should be specified according to a -format prepared- for this purpose by the inspection agency.
The -required information- in the declarations should be specified according to a -prepared format- for this purpose by the inspection agency.

Again, the first sentence is pure English (taken from an English-speaking website), and the second one shifted the order of the past-participle acting this time as an adjective.

"information required" (first sentence) v/s "required information" (second sentence).
"format prepared" (first sentence) v/s "prepared format" (second sentence).

Please, could someone kindly explain when a participle is used either as an adjective or as a past-participle phrase? Can we invert they position?

Thank you!

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@alquezad,

A participle by itself may be used as an adjective. It is most
commonly placed before the noun it modifies. Altough it is less
common, it may also be placed after the noun.

Quote:

Example 1: Past participle adjective

1. If you do not want to specify the -required information-, you will
not be able to terminate the transaction.

2. If you do not want to specify the -information required-, you will
not be able to terminate the transaction.

Please consider that the first sentence uses "required information",
and the second one "information required". I took the first sentence
from an English-speaking website, and I modified the second one using
past participle after the noun. Is that OK? Is this second phrase
("information required") a past-participle one given that I am using
the participle after the noun?

Both "information required" and "required information" are correct,
though the first would be the more common usage. In both cases
"information" is a noun" and "required" is a participle used as an
adjective to modify the noun. "Information required" is not a
participle phrase in this example.

Quote:

Example 2: Past-participle phrase

The -information required- in the declarations should be specified
according to a -format prepared- for this purpose by the inspection
agency.

The -required information- in the declarations should be specified
according to a -prepared format- for this purpose by the inspection
agency.

In the first sentence, "required in the declarations" is a particple
phrase. This phrase is used as an adjectival phrase to modify
"information". "Prepared for this purpose" is also a participle
phrase. It modifies "format".

In the second sentence, you have separated "required" and "in the
declarations". This has the effect of making "required" a participle
(not a participle phrase) used as an adjective to modify
"information". In a similar manner, "prepared" is now a participle
(not a participle phrase) modifying "format".

Both a participle and a participle phrase may be used as an
adjective. Note that a phrase, by definition, must be more than one
word. In many cases you can invert the order as you have above
without losing the meaning, but the construction may sound clumsy.

1 Reply

@alquezad,

It's "required information" unless you put a phrase after "information required (by state law)." It's also "prepared format" unless "format prepared for this purpose."

Participle phrases and participle adjectives

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