Images to help us understand participles and participle phrases
Definitions
Definition of participle: An -ing word tagged onto the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence
Definition of participle phrase: An -ing phrase tagged onto the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence
Examples
Coiling around the tree branch, the python looked imposing.
The python, coiling around the tree branch, looked imposing.
Waiting, the python wrapped itself around the branch.
The python, waiting, wrapped itself around the branch.
The python wrapped itself around the branch, waiting.
The crowd surrounded the girl.
That is our base sentence. Now, to add more detail with participles and participle phrases, brainstorm some details about what else the crowd is doing...
The crowd was pulsating with excitement. The crowd was moving like a blob. The crowd was growing larger.
New sentences with participles and/or participle phrases.
Pulsating with excitement, the crowd surrounded the girl.
The crowd, moving like a blob and growing larger, surrounded the girl.
Growing larger, the crowd surrounded the girl.
Sentence combining activity
Combine the following sentences to create new sentences containing particples and/or participle phrases.
Abby leaned over the rail.
She almost lost her balance.
Abby laughed.
Abby grinned from ear to ear.
Abby held up the fish she'd just caught.
Bo swiveled his head to look.
He wondered what happened.
Unscrambling and imitating sentence activity
Unscramble the parts of each set to form a sentence whose structure matches the model.
Craning his head back, he looked up along the wall.
-Robb White, Deathwatch
- by the geraniums
- moving its body daintily
- the spider crawled down
Bigger laughed and approached the bed with the dangling rat, swinging it to and from like a pendulum, enjoying his sister's fear.
-Richard Wright, Native Son
- apologizing right and left like a penitent
- the salesperson returned and presented Winston with the refund
- soliciting his patronage
Away she darted, stretching close to the ground.
-Francis Parkman, The Oregon Trail
- tripping
- outside he ran
- along the way.
Follow up activities in Grammar for Writing (blue). Pages 127-128, exercises 3, 5
The copy of the essay assignment linked to participle phrases can be found here.
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