Participial Phrases

Participial Phrases

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Ex: Professor Kazan, WEARING a spotlessly white tropical suit and a wide-brimmed hat, was the first ashore. 

–Arthur C. Clarke; Dolphin Island

Notice that the phrase in red is an accessory to the otherwise complete sentence: Professor Kazan was the first ashore.  

Participles are verbs being used as adjectives (describing nouns or pronouns). Present participles always end in –ing. Past participles usually end in –ed.

Ex: The author, WRITING from the position of an expert, chose to end with solutions rather than more questions.

Multiple Choice

What are participials?

• Nouns being used as adjectives

• Verbs being used as adjectives

• Adjectives being used as nouns

Multiple Choice

What should you look for when it comes to identifying a participial phrase?

• Verb at the beginning of the phrase

• Noun at the beginning of the phrase

• Adjective at the beginning of the phrase

Just a recap:

• Participials are verbs being used as adjectives

• Participial phrases begin with participials (or verbs!)

• They can be anywhere in a sentence: beginning, middle, or end

• They describe a noun in the sentence

Multiple Choice

Which part of the sentence includes a participial phrase: Minute fungi overspread the whole exterior, hanging in a fine tangled web-work from the eaves.

• Minute fungi

• overspread the whole exterior

• hanging in a fine tangled web-work from the eaves.

Punctuation

• Notice that participial phrase, much like the appositive phrase, should be set off from the sentence at large using commas!

• Example: Minute fungi overspread the whole exterior, hanging in a fine tangled web-work from the eaves.

Multiple Choice

Which part of the sentence includes a participial phrase: Whistling, he let the escalator waft him into the still night air.

• Whistling

• he let the escalator

• waft him into the still night air

Multiple Choice

What is the participial phrase: Diving near a reef, the marine biologist saw a shark.

• Diving near a reef

• the marine biologist

• saw a shark

Multiple Choice

What is the participial phrase: My father, cautioning me not to work a horse till he had fed fully, said I had plenty of time to eat myself.

• My father

• cautioning me not to work a horse till he had fed fully

• said I had plenty of time to eat myself.

Multiple Choice

What is the best way to punctuate this sentence with a participial phrase: Waiting for her ride to school Marie saw a deer leap into the woods

• Waiting for her ride to school, Marie saw a deer leap into the woods.

• Waiting for her ride to school. Marie saw a deer leap into the woods.

• Waiting for her ride to school Marie saw a deer leap into the woods.

Multiple Choice

What is the best way to punctuate this sentence with a participial phrase: Eaten by mosquitoes we wished that we had made hotel reservations.

• Eaten by mosquitoes. we wished that we had made hotel reservations.

• Eaten by mosquitoes, we wished that we had made hotel reservations.

• Eaten by mosquitoes we wished that we had made hotel reservations.

Sentence combining using participial phrases!

• The compass was shattered into tiny pieces. The compass was useless.

• vs

• Shattering into tiny pieces, the compass was useless.

Open Ended

Sentence combining using participial phrases! (Just make sure you apply your comma(s)!

Combine the following sentences using a participial phrase: The metaphor highlights the main idea. This metaphor is important.