How to parse. ...

Par. 69.1

PARTICIPLES.

53

shot down;" but in "I saw his body thrown on
one side and frightfully mangled," the meaning
might be, either " when it was being thrown," or
"after it had been thrown:" and you cannot tell
which is meant without carefully looking at the
whole of the passage.
In other words, a Passive Participle, e.g. " shot,"
may stand for "being shot," or, " having been
shot." 1
69 How to Parse a Participle.
A Participle, like an Adjective, (1) must always
be connected with some Noun or Pronoun; (2) as
being part of a Verb, it must be either Active or
Passive; (3) if Active, it may have all Object. In
parsing a Participle, therefore, you can state
1. What Noun or Pronoun it is joined to.
2. Whether it is Active or Passive.
3. What is its Object, if it has one.
In order to answer (1), first replace the Participle
by a Conjunction and Verb; then ask the question
who? or what? before the Verb replacing the Participle.
1 See Par. 67. Possibly, in some cases, the Passive Participle
represents the old Infinitive.
Compare: -
"That they would suffer these abominations
By our strong arms from forth her fair streets (to be) chased."
SHAKESPEARE, Rape of DIzcrece, 1. 1, 634.
"Would swear him (to have) dropped out of the moon."-PoPE.