Rules to follow to choose when to use the present participle and when to use the past participle [closed]
Mark, dressed in black, walked across the room.
Mark, dressing in black, walked across the room.
I think both sentences are correct but what's the difference in meaning between both of them?
Also, is there a set of rules to follow that governs when to use the past participle, when to use the present and when not to use any of them?
Example:
The girl who fell down the cliff broke her leg. (NOT: The girl falling down cliff…)
Who was the girl who dropped the coffee? (Not: Who was the girl dropping the coffee?)?
And other strange phenomena like why
A girl having black hair is wearing red is right. (NOT: The girl having black hair is wearing red)
Your second sentence is grammatically correct, but not at all natural. We use the present participle when the action is happening or has happened just before the one that the main verb describes.
The girl falling down the cliff screamed.
Putting down his cup, Mark got up and walked across the room.
It's unlikely that he would be described as walking across the room while getting dressed.