THE PARTICIPIAL PHRASE

The participial phrase is always used as an adjective phrase to modify a noun or

pronoun. It includes

the participle together with its modifiers, objects, or predicate words.

The present participle form always ends in -ing, but the endings for past perfect and
passive perfect

participles may vary.

ex. Walking rapidly, we reached the town in fifteen minutes.

Annoyed by the noise, the teacher spoke sharply to the class.

Tom, having won the chess game, looked up happily.

Having won every game but one, Ohio State now led the Big Ten.

Identifying Participial Phrases. Underline the participial phrase in each of the

following sentences. Watch for past and present participles.

Example: Mr. Flynn, annoyed by Joe's question, answered him impatiently.

1. Having been on the road for four days, the Todds were exhausted.

2. That hymn, sung by many generations of churchgoers, is my favorite.

3. Climbing slowly, we approached the top of the hill.

4. Surprised by my question, Mrs. Osmond blushed.

5. Phil, worn out by his long trip, slept for twelve hours.

6. Watching me closely, the dog came toward me.

7. Staring out the window at the rain, Bob became more and more impatient.

8. Having been hurt in the first game, Al sat on the bench for the rest of the season.

9. The plates, brought from Denmark by my grandmother, are on display in the dining
room.

10. The cookies, baked this morning, were all gone by five o'clock.

11. Having come out in the cool night air, Mr. Troy looked up at the sky.

12. The children, waiting for the play to begin, grew bored.
13. Working hard all day, the boys finished the job by dinner time.

14. Driven from their homelands, many people each year seek refuge in the United
States.

15. Jumping up and down, the cheerleaders urged the team on.

16. The basketball team, encouraged by its performance in the semifinals, went on to
the finals.

17. Having recorded the results of the experiment, Kate closed her notebook.

18. We saw an old woman walking up the path.

19. Having been told of her job offer, Kathy smiled happily.

20. Having spent each afternoon at the beach, Alice soon had a nice tan.

M:\9-TLC\TLC Web
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1. Having been on the road for four days, the Todds were exhausted.

2. That hymn, sung by many generations of churchgoers, is my favorite.

3. Climbing slowly, we approached the top of the hill.

4. Surprised by my question, Mrs. Osmond blushed.

5. Phil, worn out by his long trip, slept for twelve hours.

6. Watching me closely, the dog came toward me.

7. Staring out the window at the rain, Bob became more and more impatient.

8. Having been hurt in the first game, Al sat on the bench for the rest of the season.

9. The plates, bought from Denmark by my grandmother, are on display in the dining
room.

10. The cookies, baked this morning, were all gone by five o'clock.

11. Having come out in the cool night air, Mr. Troy looked up at the sky.

12. The children, waiting for the play to begin, grew bored.

13. Working hard all day, the boys finished the job by dinner time.

14. Driven from their homelands, many people each year seek refuge in the United
States.

15. Jumping up and down, the cheerleaders urged the team on.

16. The basketball team, encouraged by its performance in the semifinals, went on to
the finals.

17. Having recorded the results of the experiment, Kate closed her notebook.

18. We saw an old woman walking up the path.

19. Having been told of her job offer, Kathy smiled happily.

20. Having spent each afternoon at the beach, Alice soon had a nice tan.

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The Present Participial Phrase:

Definition:

 A sentence part that begins with a word that ends in “ing”

Notes:
 The participle is a verb, but not the main verb in the sentence.
 The participial phrase tells what a noun is doing.
 The participial phrase is able to change position to the front of the sentence, the
subject-verb split, or the end of a sentence.
 The participial phrase must be placed carefully to avoid confusion.
 If the participial phrase is removed the sentence must still make sense.
 Must have a period or comma before AND after the participial phrase
Examples:
 Trying to earn an "A," Tom checked the rubric to revise and improve his paper.
 The poor old man rested on the bench, snoozing.
 The Olympic jumper, flying through the air on the wings of a dream, thrust the weight
of his whole body forward.
 The clown, appearing bright and cheerful, smiled and did his act with unusual
certainty for someone who had just killed a man.
 Belle, not knowing what else to do, mixed some medicine.

Ways to review and incorporate into your essay:

1. Read a book and find the participial phrases.
2. Write sentences with participial phrases.
3. Try to speak and put a participial phrase in a sentence.
4. Pick one sentence with a participial phrase. Keep trying to change the participial
phrase to make the sentence funny, or gross, or beautiful, or bizarre, or wise…
 5. Pick a simple sentence. Add a participial phrase, and an appositive phrase,
and a prepositional phrase to it.

Participial Phrases

Participial phrases are short phrases that appear at the beginning of a sentence or the
end of the sentence. These participial phrases should always be set off from the main
clause with a comma. The action that is occurring in these participial phrases should
relate back to the subject. That is, the subject of the sentence should be doing the
action. If this is not the case, the result is a dangling modifier.

There are two basic types of participial phrases.

1. There is the present participial phrase [which usually employs an "-ing" form of a verb
(like the gerund) within it.]

[Beginning] Looking at the recent issue of Cosmo, the man who always sits in the back
of the bus began to hum to himself a song from a strip tease act.

[End] Dogs lick themselves all over, thinking they are superior to men.

Usage: This form is usually used when the action within the participial phrase is still
ongoing.

2. There is the past participial phrase [which usually employs an "-ed" form of a verb
(similar to the participle) within it.]

[Beginning] Attached to a mother that only a son could love, Jerry, the newborn,

suckling pig, felt a profound attraction to ugliness come over him.

[End] The lonely caddy became flustered, scared that his affections for the old man's
daughter would be noticed.

Usage: This form is usually used when the action within the participial phrase is
completed.

Why use the particpial phrase?

The participial phrase is just another way to write sentences with compound verbs in
them. It provides a variety of sentence style.

Compound verb: Cecil claims he lost his ticket for the doggie erotica show
and insists the ticket taker let him in.

Participial phrase: Claiming he lost his ticket for the doggie erotica show, Cecil insists
the ticket taker let him in.

Compound verb: He dragged the basket out of the fire, lifted the Pekingese by the scruff
of its neck and kissed it full on its tiny, pink lips.

Participial phrase: Dragging the basket out of the fire, he lifted the Pekingese by the
scruff of its neck and kissed it full on its tiny, pink lips.

Participial phrase (compound): Dragging the basket out of the fire and lifting the
Pekingese by the scruff of its neck, he kissed it full on its tiny, pink lips.

[Note: The action that occurs in the main clause is the one said to be emphasized. The
participial phrase is said to be subordinated to the main clause.]

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What is a Participial Phrase?

A participial phrase is a phrase that looks like a verb, but actually functions as an

adjective; it modifies a noun in the same sentence. Phrases like this can “spice up” a
noun and provide added description about what it’s doing or what it looks like.

 Examples of Participial Phrases

Here are few simple examples of participial phrases (in green) in action. We really do
see them all the time, even though they sound sort of complicated.

Example 1

 Fond of brushing her hair, Kelly always had smooth and silky locks.

It might look like Kelly is brushing her hair in the action of this sentence, but the
beginning phrase is actually an adjective here. It tells us something about Kelly,
a noun and the subject of the sentence. That makes “Fond of brushing her hair” a
participial phrase. The participial phrase doesn’t describe an action that’s happening
currently, but it does help us understand why Kelly always has soft hair.
Example 2

 The trash can sat in the corner, brimming with garbage.

Here, the phrase “brimming with garbage” tells us about the trash can, a noun.
“Brimming” is a verb, but the entire phrase acts as an adjective again. That makes
“brimming with garbage” another participial phrase.

Parts of a Participial Phrase

Participial phrases will always start with a participle. A participle is formed from a verb,
but it acts as a noun or an adjective. They modify other nouns in sentences, and are
often parts of longer phrases—like a participial phrase, of course!

The participle in a participial phrase can be either the present participle or the past

participle.

 The present participle of a verb expresses the action of a verb, specifically in the

present. It will always end in –ing, every single time.

 Meanwhile, the past participle of a verb is not always as easy to pick out. They
usually end in -ed, for regular past participles. But irregular past participles are
out there, ready to try and confuse you. Don’t let them, though, because you
already use most past participles without knowing that they’re called past
participles!

The best way to show you how present participles and past participles are different is to
give you a few example verbs.

Verb Infinitive Present Participle Past Participle

to smile smiling smiled

to hang hanging hung

 
Example 1

 The woman, smiling and waving, said hello.

With the verb “to smile,” we get a present participle of smiling. “Smiling”
describes the woman, so we know more about her. That’s the present participle
 in action, and the past participle for smile would be pretty similar!

Example 2

 Framed and hung, the painting lit up the room.

The past participle is irregular this time, because “hung” doesn’t end in –ed like
regular past participles. Now our participial phrase is “framed and hung” and we
get information about the subject: the painting.

Picking out the participle in a participial phrase is actually pretty easy, because
participles stick out once you figure out how they work. There’s a participle in
every participial phrase, so it’s important you understand how to use them.

a. Noun

A participial phrase sometimes uses a noun, depending on the participle. Some

participles will just make more sense with a noun. A noun is a person, place, or
thing, and is usually the subject of a sentence. Common nouns are words like
dog, book, or computer. They can also be the names of specific people or
places. In some cases, like participial phrases, adding a noun can bring more
detail to a sentence.

Example 1

 The phone was almost out of battery power, blinking in the dark.

The participial phrase “blinking in the dark” describes a noun, the phone. Most
sentences with participial phrases will work in similar ways, because the
participial phrases will always modify the subject of the sentence.

The participle “blinking” might make sense on its own in another sentence, but in
this sentence the noun “dark” gives us a better sense of what’s going on.

Example 2

 The phone was almost out of battery power, blinking.

Now the noun “dark” is gone and we can still mostly understand what the
participial phrase means, but it’s just a bit weird. It’s not clear what’s blinking, or
why it’s blinking. The participial phrase feels incomplete without “in the dark” and
we’re not getting enough information. So sometimes participial phrases will use
nouns to clear up a situation or give more detail. The nouns aren’t always
necessary, and you should be able to feel it out through context.

b. Modifier
 A modifier will modify a noun, just like the name says. They can be lots of
different kinds of words—like adjectives, adverbs, or even participles—as long as
they modify a noun. Modifiers add more detail to a phrase, so they can be used
in participial phrases to describe more of the situation. Check out the example of
a modifier in a participial phrase to see how they work!

Example 1

 Quickly opening the bag, Carrie found her favorite notebook.

The word “quickly” tells us more about how Carrie opened the bag, and that
makes it a modifier. Meanwhile, the entire participial phrase describes how Carrie
found her notebook.

Modifiers are used all the time to make a sentence more interesting and give us
more information. They’re also used in participial phrases, like in the example
sentence, to describe the action of the phrase. Modifiers can add a lot of fun to a
sentence or a phrase, so use them right and you can have fascinating sentences!

4. How to Avoid Mistakes When Writing Participial Phrases

First, your participial phrase will need to use a participle, in past or present form.
Make sure you have the right form if you’re using an irregular past participle!
Also, remember that a participial phrase describes a subject (usually a noun!) but
isn’t part of the main clause of a sentence. The main clause of the sentence
describes the action going on. If you take out the participial phrase, the main
clause should still be a complete sentence.

Here’s what you shouldn’t do with your participial phrases.

a. Don’t Forget Punctuation

When you start a sentence with a participial phrase, you’ll need to use commas
to set it apart from the main clause. But when your participial phrase describes
the word right in front of it, you don’t need the commas.

Example 1

 Pouring a glass of milk Amanda concentrated.

This sentence doesn’t make much sense, does it? It sounds like half of a
sentence! Instead of a glass a milk, it seems like someone is pouring a glass of
something called “milk Amanda concentrated.”
 Here’s how it should look with a comma.

Example 2

 Pouring a glass of milk, Amanda concentrated.

Now the participial phrase “pouring a glass of milk” is set apart from the rest of a
sentence with a comma, and it makes much more sense. It is describing Amanda
(the noun) as she concentrates.

b. Avoid Dangling Modifiers

You should also watch out for what’s called a dangling modifier. This happens
when a participial phrase is put in the wrong place, and that makes it seem like
they’re describing the wrong noun or subject in a sentence. This can confuse
people, but it can also create some pretty funny misunderstandings and the
sentence doesn’t make logical sense. Here is an example of a misplaced
participial phrase and how to correct it.

Example 1

 The cup of water spilled everywhere and Connor walked over to clean it

up, dripping over the sides of the table.

The participial phrase “dripping over the sides of the table” is stuck in the wrong
place here. Now it looks like Connor is dripping off the table instead of the water!
Both the cup of water and Connor are nouns, but the participial phrase can only
modify one of them. It should be put closer to its noun so that the sentence
makes more sense. Here’s what it should look like.

Example 2

 The cup of water spilled everywhere, dripping over the sides of the table,

and Connor walked over to clean it up.

Now we can clearly see that the water is what’s dripping, not Connor. It’s
important to link your participial phrase to the right noun, so that your sentences
don’t get too hard to understand.

c. Avoid Confusing Gerunds With Participial Phrases

A gerund looks like a participial phrase, but it actually does something different
when it’s used in a sentence. Gerundsare verb phrases that act as nouns, but
participial phrases act as adjectives. Here are some sentences with gerunds and
participial phrases so you can learn to tell them apart.
 Example 1

 Turning the light on is a necessity at night.

In this sentence, “turning the light on” is a gerund. We can tell this is a gerund
because the phrase acts as a noun in the sentence. The rest of the sentence
describes the gerund, by saying that it’s “a necessity at night.” So gerunds might
look just like participial phrases, but make sure you figure out what the phrase is
doing before you decide what it is.

Example 2

 Turning the light on, Haley walks into the room.

Now the same phrase is a participial phrase! It’s set off from the main clause of
the sentence “Haley walks into the room” with a comma. Also, if we take out the
participial phrase, the sentence still makes sense. The phrase “turning the light
on” describes Haley, instead of being described like a gerund would.

Gerunds and participial phrases can sometimes be the exact same words, but
they have very different functions. Avoid confusing them by checking for signs
that a phrase is a gerund or a participial phrase.

 Look for commas that set the phrase apart from the sentence. They can be small
clues that you’re looking at a participial phrase.

 Make sure to read over the sentence to see how the phrase acts within the entire
sentence. Is it a noun or the subject of the sentence? Or is it describing the
noun/subject?

 If you can take the phrase out and still have a complete sentence, you’re
probably dealing with a participial phrase.

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