articiple). _Driving_
the cows to pasture was his daily task (gerund)].

Participles are used to form verb-phrases. The present participle is used
for the formation of the progressive conjugation; the past participle, for
the formation of the compound or perfect tenses. Participles are also used
in all the adjective constructions.

One especial construction requires notice,--the _absolute_ construction,
or the _nominative absolute_, as it is called: [_The ceremony having been
finished_, the people dispersed]. The construction here is equivalent to a
clause denoting _time_ or _cause_ or some _circumstance_ attendant on the
main action of the sentence. The participle is sometimes omitted, but the
substantive must not be, lest the participle be left apparently belonging
to the nearest substantive; as, Walking home, the rain began to fall. As
the sentence stands, _walking_ modifies _rain_.

+69. Conjugation.+--The complete and orderly arrangement of the various
forms of a verb is termed its conjugation. Complete conjugations will be
found in any text-book on English grammar.

The passive voice must not be confused with such a form as the progressive
conjugation of the verb. The passive consists of a form of _to be_ and a
_past participle_: [I am instructed]. The progressive tenses combine some
form of _to be_ with a _present_ participle: [I am instructing].

It may be well to distinguish here between the passive voice and a past
participle used as an attribute complement of the verb _be_. Both have the
same form, but there is a difference of meaning. The passive voice always
shows action received by the subject, while the participle is used only as
an adjective denoting condition: [James _was tired_ by his day's work
(passive voice). James was _tired_ (attribute complement)].

+70. Weak and Strong Conjugations.+--Verbs are divided into two classes as
regards their conjugations. It has been the custom to call all verbs which
form the preterite and past participle by adding _-d_ or _-ed_ to the
present, _regular_ verbs [love, loved, loved], and to call all others
_irregular_. A better classification, based on more careful study of the
history of the English verb, divides verbs into those of the _weak_ and
those of the _strong_ conjugations.

The _weak verbs_ are those which form the preterite by adding _-ed, -d_,
or _-t_ to the present: _love, loved_. There is also infrequently a change
of vowel: _sell, sold_; _teac