Definition: Participle
A verbal that functions as an adjective.
Present participles end in -ing (carrying, sharing, tapping).
Past participles of regular verbs end in -ed (carried, shared, tapped).

Examples and Observations:

• "As modifiers of nouns, present and past participles of verbs function very much like adjectives. Indeed, they are sometimes regarded as adjectives when they modify nouns. A present participle attributes a quality of action to the noun, which is viewed as undertaking the action, as retreating of legs in [109]. A past participle views the noun as having undergone the action expressed by the participle, as prefabricated of buildings in [110].

[109] . . . the cripple's envy at his straight, retreating legs
[110] various prefabricated buildings

Thus, the present is an 'active' participle and the past is a 'passive' participle."
(Howard Jackson, Grammar and Meaning. Longman, 1990)
 

• "When the participle is a single word--the verb with no complements or modifiers--it usually occupies the adjective slot in preheadword position:

Our snoring visitor kept the household awake.
The barking dog next door drives us crazy.

". . . While the single-word participle generally fills the preheadword adjective slot, it too can sometimes open the sentence--and with considerable drama:

Exasperated, she made the decision to leave immediately.
Outraged, the entire committee resigned.

You'll notice that both of these openers are past participles, rather than the -ing present participle form; they are, in fact, the passive voice."
(Martha Kolln, Rhetorical Grammar. Pearson, 2007)

• Examples of Present Participles
  
  "God is a comedian, playing to an audience too afraid to laugh."
  (Voltaire)
  
  "Drawing on my fine command of the English language, I said nothing."
  (Robert Benchley)
  
  "The ducks come on swift, silent wings, gliding through the treetops as if guided by radar, twisting, turning, never touching a twig in that thick growth of trees that surrounded the lake."
  (Jack Denton Scott, "The Wondrous Wood Duck")

• Examples of Past Participles
  
  "One January day, thirty years ago, the little town of Hanover, anchored on a windy Nebraska tableland, was trying not to be blown away.
  (Willa Cather, O Pioneers!)
  
  "The Bible's Jezebel came to an ugly end. Thrown from a balcony, trampled by horses, and devoured by dogs, the middle-aged queen has had few good days since."
  (Review of Jezebel: The Untold Story of the Bible’s Harlot Queen by Lesley Hazleton. The Week, Nov. 29, 2007)
  
  "I believe in broken, fractured, complicated narratives, but I believe in narratives as a vehicle for truth, not simply as a form of entertainment."
  (Stephen Greenblatt)