Participial Phrases: How They

Work, With Examples

Adding extra description to a noun, a participial phrase is a great way to

explain details without interrupting the rest of a sentence. But how do
you use them, and what are the rules? We explain everything you need
to know below and include some participial phrase examples so you
can see how they work.

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What is a participial phrase?

A participial phrase is a type of modifier that uses the participle form of
a verb to describe a noun. It’s easier to understand if you see it, so take
a look at this participial phrase example:

Grown in the Amazon rainforest, uña de gato is famous worldwide

for its healing properties.
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 Here, the participial phrase “Grown in the Amazon rainforest” describes
the noun uña de gato, a type of plant. The most important part of this
participial phrase is the word grown, the past participle of the verb
grow. Participial phrases get their name from this participle, which
explains an action the noun did or is doing.

How to use a participial phrase

Because participial phrases describe a noun, they always act as
adjectives. Participial phrases also include other words besides the
participle—such as prepositional phrases, noun phrases, or adverbs.
This makes them a type of adjective phrase, which is a group of words
that work together to act as a single adjective.

Participial phrases can also use a negative like not to make an entire
participial phrase negative, describing an action that doesn’t or didn’t
happen.

Not knowing whether it could fly, the young bird jumped out of the
nest for the first time.

Keep in mind that the participles in a participial phrase are separate

from the main predicate of the sentence. Although verbals, the
participles in participial phrases are not active verbs; they’re just words
in an adjective phrase.

Participial phrases work with a verb’s present participle, past participle,

or both in the case of the perfect participle. Let’s take a closer look at
all three types of participial phrases.

Present participle phrase

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 A present participle phrase is a participial phrase that uses the present
participle of a verb, the –ing form. A present participle phrase is used to
describe an action the noun is currently doing, including ongoing or
permanent actions.

Our parents found us walking the dog at midnight.

In this participial phrase example, walking is the present participle of

walk. The entire present participle phrase “walking the dog at midnight”
modifies the pronoun us, describing what they were doing when their
parents found them.

Past participle phrase

A past participle phrase is a participial phrase that uses the past
participle of a verb, usually the -ed form unless the verb is an irregular
verb.

Unlike with present participle phrases, the noun with a past participle
phrase is receiving the action, not doing it. That means they can be
used only with the participles of transitive verbs, which are verbs that
use an object.

Known for his kindness, Keanu Reeves usually returns compliments.

In this participial phrase example, known is the past participle of the

irregular and transitive verb know. Keep in mind that Keanu Reeves is
not doing the action of knowing; instead, he is “being known.” In this
sentence, he is the object of the participle while simultaneously being
the subject of the sentence.

Perfect participle phrase

:
 In addition to the present and past, you can also use participial phrases
with the perfect tense. Perfect participle phrases are used to show that
the noun completed an action in the past, before the action of the
active verb. They are used like a present participle phrase, but they
describe finished actions instead of ongoing ones.

A perfect participle phrase includes the auxiliary verb have followed by

the past participle of the active verb, just like the perfect verb tense. In
construction, perfect participial phrases use have in its present
participle form having.

Having eaten authentic tacos in Mexico, Andrew stopped enjoying

Taco Bell.

In this participial phrase example, the auxiliary verb have uses its
present participle having, while the verb eat uses its past participle,
eaten.

Remember that the action in the perfect participle phrase happens

before the action of the active verb, so Andew ate tacos in Mexico
before he stopped enjoying Taco Bell. In this way, perfect participial
phrases can show a cause-and-effect relationship.

4 rules for how to use a participial phrase

1 Place the participial phrase directly next to the noun
it modifies.

Participial phrases should come directly before or after the noun they
describe. That’s how readers and listeners know which noun the
participial phrase is talking about.
:
 Frightened by the thunder, the dog hid behind the couch.

The noun phrase “the dog” comes directly after the past participle
phrase “frightened by the thunder,” so we know the dog is the one that
is frightened.

Placing the participial phrase next to the wrong noun is a common error
called a misplaced modifier, also known as a dangling modifier. If a
participial phrase is placed next to the wrong noun, it changes the
meaning of the sentence.

Incorrect: The dog hid behind the couch frightened by the thunder.

Here, the participial phrase is placed directly next to the noun couch,
which means the couch was frightened. Although you can guess the
intended meaning, it’s still a grammatical error and incorrect. For more
help, see our guide on how to fix a dangling modifier.

2 If a nonrestrictive participial phrase modifies a

subject, separate it with a comma.

When a nonrestrictive participial phrase describes the subject of a

sentence, use a comma to set it aside. Usually, participial phrases that
modify the subject come at the beginning of the sentence and have a
comma before the subject.

Waiting for his friend to arrive, Pedro answered emails on his phone.

Occasionally, you can put a participial phrase after the subject (if it’s
not a pronoun). In this case, you use a comma both before and after the
participial phrase, unless it’s restrictive.
:
 Pedro, waiting for his friend to arrive, answered emails on his phone.

However, this usage is for strategic or advanced writing; it’s not always
recommended. That’s especially true when the subject is a pronoun.
Placing the participial phrase after a subject pronoun sounds awkward
in English.

Incorrect: He, waiting for his friend to arrive, answered emails on his
phone.

Correct: Waiting for his friend to arrive, he answered emails on his

phone.

To be safe, it’s best to use a nonrestrictive participial phrase before the

subject at the beginning of the sentence.

3 Place restrictive participial phrases after the nouns

they modify and do not use a comma.

A restrictive phrase refers to a phrase that is necessary to define a

noun. For example, if you wanted to point out one person in a group of
people, you could add a restrictive participial phrase to show which
person you are talking about.

The woman wearing the big red clown nose is my girlfriend.

Restrictive participial phrases always come after the noun they modify.
Unlike nonrestrictive phrases, restrictive phrases do not use commas,
even when modifying the subject.

4 If the participial phrase modifies a noun that’s not

the subject, place it directly after the noun without a
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 comma.

For all other nouns in a sentence besides the subject, put the participial
phrase after the noun it modifies.

Luckily, the professor didn’t see us coming in late, or he would have

given us a warning.

This even includes nouns that are part of other participial phrases.

Dressed in the outfit chosen by her parents, Alice covered her face so
people wouldn’t see her.

There are two participial phrases in this sentence. The first is the larger
one, “Dressed in the outfit chosen by her parents,” which describes the
sentence’s subject, Alice. The second is the smaller one, “chosen by
her parents,” which describes the noun outfit within the first participial
phrase. Notice how the participial phrase that describes the subject
uses a comma, but the other one doesn’t.

Participial phrase vs. gerund phrase

Participial phrases are often confused with gerund phrases, usually
because gerunds also use the –ing form of a verb just like a present
participle phrase. On its own, a gerund is a noun form of a verb, used
when discussing the verb’s action as a thing or concept in general.

The main difference between participial phrases and gerund phrases is

how they’re used. Participial phrases act as adjectives and modify
nouns, whereas gerund phrases act as individual nouns.

Participial phrase: Swimming in the lake, the fish were happy.

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 Gerund phrase: Swimming in the lake is what fish do all day.

Participial phrases modify nouns that are already in the sentence,

whereas gerund phrases act as nouns in a sentence. You can tell them
apart by identifying whether or not they describe another noun—
participial phrases are placed near the nouns they relate to, so if there’s
no relevant noun that the phrase describes, it’s a gerund phrase.

Participial phrase FAQs

What is a participial phrase?

A participial phrase is a type of modifier that uses the participle form of

a verb to describe a noun. For example, in the sentence “Grown by Ed
Currie, Pepper X is the hottest chili pepper on Earth,” the participial
phrase is “Grown by Ed Currie.” Typically, phrases that start with a
present or past participle and describe a noun are participial phrases.

What are some present participle phrase and past

participial phrase examples?

An example of a present participle phrase is “napping in the sun” in the

sentence “I wish I was a cat napping in the sun.” An example of a past
participle phrase is “hidden by the shadows” in the sentence “We
couldn’t find the car keys hidden by the shadows.”

What’s the difference between a participial phrase and

a gerund phrase?

The main difference between participial phrases and gerund phrases is

how they’re used. Participial phrases act as adjectives and modify
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 nouns, whereas gerund phrases act as individual nouns.
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