Participle Phrases
Participle Phrases
Participle Phrases
Definition:
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.
At the bottom of the page, rewrite any two of the sentences, inserting the
matching participle phrases.
1. Suddenly the shark soared up a. trying to break loose and free
out of the water in a fountain of itself
spray.
b. letting out great whinnies of
2. The children came charging happiness
back into their homeroom.
c. turning as it fell
3. The ponies rolled in the wiry
grass. d. touching the leaves of the
trees as I fly by
4. The fly in the spider web was
beating its wings furiously. e. thinking maybe I was
dreaming
5. I closed my eyes again.
f. shouting and screaming
6. I dream I’m flying over a
sandy beach in the early
morning.
1.
2.
Participle Phrases: Practice 2
A participle phrase answers one of these questions
What is he doing? What is she doing? What are they doing?
(people)
What is it doing? (place or thing)
The first word in a participle phrase always ends in ‘ing’
Participle phrases are ALWAYS separated from the sentence by commas.
Highlight the participle phrases in the following sentences.
Model: Sophie, sitting on the Big Friendly Giant’s hand, peeped out of
the cave.
1. Arriving at the usedup haystack, the boy leaned against the barbed wire
fence.
2. The snow swirled, blurring his vision.
3. A cloud shadow, drifting the breadth of Trial Valley, spread across the
inscrutable faces of Old Joshua.
4. Lying back in the soft hay, I folded my hands behind my head, closed my
eyes, and let my mind wander back over the two long years.
5. Billy ate it offhand, sideways, reading a comic book.
6. Returning to the lab to put a bucket of water on the stove for dish
washing, she noticed that Mitch was not at the computer, although it was
turned on.
Participle Phrases: Practice 3
A participle phrase answers one of these questions
What is he doing? What is she doing? What are they doing?
(people)
What is it doing? (place or thing)
The first word in a participle phrase always ends in ‘ing’
Participle phrases are ALWAYS separated from the sentence by commas.
Highlight the participle phrases in the following sentences.
Example: James stood alone, wondering what to do.
Answer: James stood alone, wondering what to do.
1. There is Sadako, standing on top of a granite mountain of paradise.
2. Holding him by the ears, the Trunchbull lowered him back into his chair
beside the desk.
3. He was standing very still, holding it tightly with both hands while the
crowd pushed and shouted all around him.
4. That afternoon, a big man came and pried off the drain cover, grunting as
he worked.
5. She lay very still with her eyes closed, letting herself awaken slowly.
6. Standing in the clear sunshine, the prince breathed in the sweet, fresh air.
Participle Phrases: Practice 4
A participle phrase answers one of these questions
What is he doing? What is she doing? What are they doing?
(people)
What is it doing? (place or thing)
The first word in a participle phrase always ends in ‘ing’
Participle phrases are ALWAYS separated from the sentence by commas.
Highlight the participle phrases in the following sentences.
Example: The doe paused at the edge of the field, sniffing the air currents.
Answer: The doe paused at the edge of the field, sniffing the air currents.
1. Charles Wallace braced, trying to tighten the grip of his legs about the
unicorn’s broad neck.
2. The children, stamping their bare feet on the floor to shake the sand off,
crowded in.
3. Now when a buyer came to look at the colts, Maureen did not run to her
room as she used to do, pressing her face in the feather bed to stifle her sobs.
4. The White Witch, ordering Edmund to go with her, rose and went out.
5. Matilda, nestling in her usual chair, was watching this performance over
the rim of her book with some interest.
6. Faster and faster the Polar Express ran along, rolling over peaks and
through valleys like a car on a roller coaster.
Participle Phrases: Practice 5
Be creative
Finish the participle phrases by filling in the blanks.
1. As they swung on the turn, the sled went over, spilling
____________________
___________________________________.
2. Dad, sitting ____________________________, leaned forward so he
could see.
3. Coming _________________________________, she could hear them
talking in the room below, and she paused a moment to eavesdrop on their
conversation.
4. The wind blew in fierce gusts as we left the village, stinging
_______________
___________________________________.
5. The next day after school, Jess went down and got the lumber he needed,
carrying
__________________________________________________________.
6. The sound came from the end of one corridor, and I fumbled along,
peering ___
_____________________________________________________________
__.
7. She just sat and stared out of the window, thinking
_____________________.
8. Sitting ________________________, I could see that the covers of the
books were badly worn.
Participle Phrases: Practice 6
You’ve been given three sentences. Combine them into one sentence that
matches the model. Only use the underlined words. Write your sentence on
the lines provided.
Highlight the participle phrase in the sentence you write.
Model: He stood very straight and proud and unconcerned, / holding the
cape easily/ in his two hands.
a. She waited very small and quiet and timid.
b. She was twisting the scarf nervously.
c. The scarf was on her lap.
a. He flew very high and straight and true.
b. He was moving swiftly.
c. He was moving over the stark landscape.
Model: Squinting up at the sky, / Sara began to kick her foot back and
forth / in the deep grass.
a. He was standing there on the court.
b. Burt started to dribble the ball up and down.
c. He dribbled it on the foul line.