Participles and Participial Phrases

Participles and Participial Phrases

By Shannon Temple

A participle is a word that is formed from a verb but used as an adjective.

The sleeping child looked so peaceful.

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The barking dog woke me up in the middle of the night. ​

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I saw them crossing the street.

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Participial Phrases ALWAYS function as adjectives

Present Participles end in -ing just as gerunds do. You will recognize the difference based on how they are used in a sentence.

Arriving late, the boy sat in the back row.

This participial phrase describes the boy.

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The man, singing to impress, frightened the dog. ​

Singing to impress is describing the man. ​

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Participial Phrases ALWAYS function as adjectives

Past Participles usually end in -ed, but there are many irregular past participles that end in -en

His painted face scared the little kids. ​

The word painted is describing face. ​

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Faced with a hard decision, the girl went to her mom for advice.

The underlined participial phrase is describing the girl. ​

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Multiple Choice

Oreos, crushed into broccoli casserole, are delicious.

What is the participial phrase in this sentence?

• Oreos are delicious

• are delicious

• crushed into broccoli casserole

• into broccoli casserole

Multiple Choice

The students laughing in the back of the room were disturbing the class. What is the participial phrase in the sentence?

• laughing in the back of the room

• students laughing

• disturbing the class

• in the back of the room

​Verb, Gerund, or Participle?

​When we see words such as running, eating, snoring, we automatically thing VERB! But remember, for these words to be verbs, there must be a helping verb with them.

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Can you spot the helping verbs in each of the following sentences?

• ​He is running.

• She has been talking. ​

• Soon, he will have been drawing for an hour.

• ​He was eating quickly. ​

So... look for a helping verb to see if the -ing word is a verb.

​Verb, Gerund, or Participle?

​If the -ing word is not a verb, how will we know if it is a gerund or a participle?

​Remember

• A gerund ALWAYS functions as a noun

• A participle ALWAYS functions as an adjective​​

So... look to see if the -ing word is working as a noun to know if you have a gerund. Nouns have the following jobs in sentences:

subject direct object​ indirect object

object of the preposition

predicate noun

appositive​

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​Playing in the snow was so fun yesterday.

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verb = was

subject (what was?) = Playing in the snow

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This phase is a gerund. I know this because the phrase is functioning as a subject, and subjects are always nouns. ​

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​Gerunds are always nouns!

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I loved building a snowman. ​

​verb = loved

subject (who loved?) = I

What? building a snowman​

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This is a gerund. I know this because it is functioning as a direct object, and direct objects are always nouns.

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​Gerunds are always nouns!

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​I am tired of making snow angels. ​

​verb =am

subject (who is?) = I

Prepositional Phrase = of making snow angels

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This is a gerund. I know this because it is functioning as the object of the preposition, and objects of the prepositions are always nouns. ​

​Gerunds are always nouns!

​An -ing word is a participle if it is working as an adjective. Adjectives describe nouns.

• ​Jessica, nervously biting her fingernails, waited for her turn to present her speech.

  The dog sitting at the corner of the road seemed sad. ​

• The man standing by the tree is suspicious. ​

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Multiple Choice

She was singing in the car. This is ______.

• a gerund phrase

• a participial phrase

• not a verbal but a verb and prepositional phrase

Multiple Choice

Turning around quickly, she shouted, "Who's there?" The underlined phrase is __

• a gerund phrase

• a participial phrase

• not a verbal phrase becuase turning is a verb

Multiple Choice

Snow days are perfect for sleeping in late.

The phrase in the underlined part of this sentence is...

• a gerund phrase

• a participial phrase

• not a verbal phrase

Multiple Choice

If you are participating in volleyball this year, please come to the office. The underline part of this sentence is____.

• a gerund phrase

• a participial phrase

• not a verbal phrase