Participles

In the sentence, "The cheering crowd waved signs at the parade," which word is the participle?

• crowd

• cheering

• waved

• parade

Answer explanation

The word 'cheering' is a present participle, which is a verb form ending in -ing that is used here as an adjective to describe the noun 'crowd'.

Complete the sentence: The phone screen, ________ on the sidewalk, was impossible to read.

• crack

• cracking

• cracked

• cracks

Answer explanation

The past participle 'cracked' is used as an adjective to describe the noun 'screen'. It indicates a state that has already happened to the screen.

True or False: In the phrase 'a broken toy,' the word 'broken' is a participle acting as an adjective.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

'Broken' is the past participle of the verb 'break' and is used here as an adjective to modify or describe the noun 'toy'.

Which part of this sentence is the participial phrase? "The girl sitting by the window is reading a new book."

• The girl

• sitting by the window

• is reading

• a new book

Answer explanation

A participial phrase starts with a participle ('sitting') and includes other words that complete its meaning, all working together to describe a noun ('girl').

Which sentence uses a participle as an adjective to describe a noun?

• The team celebrated after the game.

• The winning team celebrated wildly.

• The team is winning the game.

• To win is the team's only goal.

Answer explanation

In this sentence, 'winning' is a present participle that acts as an adjective to modify the noun 'team'. The other sentences show a simple verb, a verb phrase, or an infinitive.

Complete the sentence: The long, slow movie was so ________ that I almost fell asleep.

• bored

• boring

• bore

• bores

Answer explanation

The participle 'boring' describes the thing that causes a feeling (the movie). The participle 'bored' is used to describe the person who experiences the feeling.

In the sentence, "Startled by the loud noise, the cat jumped," what noun does the participial phrase "Startled by the loud noise" describe?

• noise

• cat

• jumped

• the

Answer explanation

Participial phrases must be placed near the noun they modify. Here, the phrase describes the one who was startled, which is the 'cat'.

True or False: A participial phrase always has to be at the beginning of a sentence.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

A participial phrase can appear at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence, as long as it is placed close to the noun it describes.

Complete the sentence: My brother is _________ a new song for his band right now.

• wrote

• written

• writing

• writes

Answer explanation

This sentence uses the present progressive tense ('is writing'), which includes a present participle ('writing') to show an ongoing action. The other forms are grammatically incorrect here.

True or False: A comma is needed after an introductory participial phrase, like in the sentence: "Waving to his friends, Liam boarded the bus."

• True

• False

Answer explanation

When a participial phrase introduces a sentence, it should be set off from the main clause with a comma to improve clarity.