Participles and participial phrases Set-1 - Grade 7 Assessment

Which of these words is a present participle that could describe a boring movie?

• Snoozing

• Snoozed

• Snooze

• Snoozes

Answer explanation

A present participle is a verb form that ends in '-ing' and can be used as an adjective. 'Snoozing' describes the effect the movie has.

In the sentence, "The broken controller sat on the shelf," locate the single-word participle that is acting as an adjective. The participle is (a)   .

Answer explanation

The word 'broken' is a past participle of the verb 'break'. Here, it's used as an adjective to describe the controller.

True or False: In the sentence, "The girl, listening to her music, didn't hear the doorbell," the participial phrase is "to her music."

• True

• False

Answer explanation

The complete participial phrase is 'listening to her music'. It includes the participle ('listening') and all the words that go with it.

Which sentence uses the participle correctly to describe the feeling?

• The story was so interested I couldn't put the book down.

• The story was so interesting I couldn't put the book down.

• The story was so interest I couldn't put the book down.

• The story was so interests I couldn't put the book down.

Answer explanation

'Interesting' (present participle) describes the thing that causes the feeling. 'Interested' (past participle) describes the person who has the feeling (e.g., 'I was interested').

Complete the sentence using the present participle of the verb 'run': The kids, (a)   through the sprinklers, screamed with laughter.

Answer explanation

The present participle 'running' creates a phrase ('running through the sprinklers') that describes what the kids were doing.

Which sentence correctly uses a past participial phrase?

• The phone, drop on the sidewalk, now has a cracked screen.

• The phone, dropped on the sidewalk, now has a cracked screen.

• The phone, dropping on the sidewalk, now has a cracked screen.

• The phone, drops on the sidewalk, now has a cracked screen.

Answer explanation

'Dropped on the sidewalk' is a past participial phrase that describes the phone. 'Dropped' is the correct past participle form of the verb 'drop'.

True or False: This sentence is written correctly and makes perfect sense. "Walking home from school, the rain started to pour down on me."

• True

• False

Answer explanation

This sentence has a dangling modifier. It sounds like the rain was walking home from school. It should be rephrased, like: "Walking home from school, I was caught in the pouring rain."

Which option best combines these two sentences using a participial phrase? "My dad fell asleep on the couch. He was exhausted from a long day at work."

• My dad fell asleep on the couch, and he was exhausted.

• Falling asleep on the couch, my dad was exhausted from a long day at work.

• Exhausted from a long day at work, my dad fell asleep on the couch.

• My dad, he fell asleep on the couch because he was exhausted.

Answer explanation

This option correctly uses the past participial phrase 'Exhausted from a long day at work' to explain why the dad fell asleep. The phrase is placed right next to 'my dad,' the noun it describes.

Use the correct past participle of the irregular verb 'choose' to start the sentence: (a)   as team captain, Maria felt proud and nervous at the same time.

Answer explanation

'Chosen' is the past participle of 'choose'. The participial phrase 'Chosen as team captain' correctly modifies 'Maria'.

Complete the sentence with a logical two-word participial phrase. The gamer stared at the screen, (a)   her opponent.

Answer explanation

A participial phrase like 'studying her opponent' or 'watching her opponent' adds action to the sentence and correctly modifies 'gamer'. It must start with a present participle (-ing verb).