Participial phrases - Grade 8 Assessment

Select the word that is a past participle.

• break

• breaking

• broken

• breaks

Answer explanation

A past participle is a verb form, often ending in -ed or -en, that can be used as an adjective. 'Broken' is the past participle of the verb 'break'.

True or False: A participle is a verb form that can be used as an adjective to describe a noun or pronoun.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

This is the main job of a participle. Words like 'running' in 'the running water' or 'broken' in 'the broken toy' are participles acting as adjectives.

In the sentence "The cheering crowd loved the show," locate the one-word participle that is acting as an adjective and write it in the blank.

Answer explanation

The word 'cheering' is a present participle formed from the verb 'cheer'. In this sentence, it describes the noun 'crowd'.

In which sentence is the word "freezing" used as a participle (an adjective)?

• I am freezing without my jacket!

• The freezing rain made the roads slick.

• Water is freezing at 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

• My phone is freezing up and won't work.

Answer explanation

In this sentence, 'freezing' describes the noun 'rain', so it's a participle acting as an adjective. In the other options, it's part of a verb phrase ('am freezing', 'is freezing', 'is freezing up').

The phone screen, ________ in the fall, needs to be replaced. Fill in the blank with the correct past participle of the verb (crack).

Answer explanation

The past participle 'cracked' is used here to form a participial phrase ('cracked in the fall') that describes the 'phone screen'.

True or False: A participial phrase should be placed as far as possible from the noun it describes to make the sentence more interesting.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

A participial phrase should always be placed right next to the noun or pronoun it's modifying. Placing it far away can create a confusing or silly sentence (this is called a 'misplaced modifier').

My little brother, _________ a new video game, didn't hear me call his name. Fill in the blank with the correct present participle of the verb (play).

Answer explanation

The present participle 'playing' starts the participial phrase 'playing a new video game', which describes 'my little brother'.

Which part of the following sentence is the complete participial phrase? "The soccer player, celebrating his game-winning goal, slid on his knees across the field."

• The soccer player

• slid on his knees

• celebrating his game-winning goal

• across the field

Answer explanation

A participial phrase includes the participle ('celebrating') and all the words that complete its meaning ('his game-winning goal'). The whole phrase acts like one big adjective to describe 'the soccer player'.

Let's rewrite this idea: "I forgot my homework, so I got a zero." Start the new sentence with a participial phrase using the verb "forget". Fill in the blank to complete the new sentence: ____________, I got a zero.

Answer explanation

The phrase 'Forgetting my homework' starts with the present participle 'forgetting' and describes the subject of the sentence, 'I'. This combines the two ideas into one sentence.

Choose the best way to combine these two sentences using a participial phrase: "The cat was startled by the loud thunder. It jumped off the windowsill."

• The cat, it jumped off the windowsill, was startled by the loud thunder.

• Startled by the loud thunder, the cat jumped off the windowsill.

• The cat jumped off the windowsill, and it was startled by the loud thunder.

• Jumped off the windowsill, the cat was startled by the loud thunder.

Answer explanation

This option correctly uses the participial phrase 'Startled by the loud thunder' to describe 'the cat' and combines the two ideas into one smooth sentence. Option D creates a misplaced modifier, making it sound like the thunder jumped.