Active Participial Adjectives

Section 11.4.2.1

Active Participial Adjectives

Active participial adjectives are formed from thepresent participles of verbs. They describe nouns that are actively causing orparticipating in an action.

In quantum mechanics, a tunnelling alpha particle is onethat can escape the nucleus during radioactive decay.

--John Rigden, "J. Robert Oppenheimer: Before the War," ScientificAmerican (modified)

You can also use an active participial adjective inplace of a relative clause when the noun would otherwise be the subject of a simple relativeclause.

When hybrids mate with pure gray wolves, the resultingoffspring appear slightly more wolflike than their parents. [Alternatively: the offspring that result.]

--Robert K. Wayne and John Gittleman, "The Problematic Red Wolf,"Scientific American (modified)

## Active Participial Adjectives ##

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