It is strange that the tradition is to speak of the "present"
participle and the "past" participle when the difference
between them has nothing to do with tense and everything to do with
voice. The so-called present and past participles are really the
active and passive participles respectively. As
examples:
The "present" (active) participial phrase "the child
eating the candy..." corresponds to the active relative clause
"the child that is eating the candy...."
The "past" (passive) participial phrase "the candy eaten
by the child..." corresponds to the passive relative clause
"the candy that is eaten by the child...."
A change of nomenclature to active participles and passive
participles would clarify these ubiquitous constructions for our
students (and ourselves) since the standard terms are inaccurate and
misleading.
Dick Veit
UNCW English Department
http://www.uncwil.edu/people/veit/DEG/