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Ex: The waving campers boarded the bus.
Waving, the campers boarded the bus.
[In these sentences, waving, like the verb
wave, expresses action; like an adjective, it
modifies the noun campers.]
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We could hear the wind howling.
[Here howling expresses action, like a verb;
it also modifies the noun wind.
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There are 3 forms of participles:
Kinds of participles
Present
Participle
Forms
Ends in –ing
Examples
I took a fishing pole.
The winding trail
descended.
Past
Participle
Usually ends in –ed;
sometimes –en or
another irregular
ending.
We saw abandoned
mines.
Watch out for that fallen
branch.
Perfect
Participle
Includes having or
having been before a
past participle
Having eaten, I moved
on.
Having been warned, I
did not litter the park.
Functioning as a Verb
Functioning as a Participle
She pitched the tent.
The pitched tent was blown over.
That river is flowing north
through the park.
The flowing river is deep.

A participial phrase is a phrase containing a
participle and any complements or modifiers it
may have.
 The participle introduces the phrase, and the entire
phrase acts as an adjective to modify a noun or a
pronoun.
EX: Nodding his head, the defendant acknowledged
his guilt.
Disturbed by his letter, she telephoned him.
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A participial phrase that is nonessential to the basic
meaning of a sentence is set off by commas or other
forms of punctuation. One that is essential is not
enclosed by punctuation.
Nonessential Participial Phrase
Yellowstone’s springs, running with hot water,
spew steam.
Essential Participial Phrase
The springs running with hot water spew steam.

Number your paper 1 to 8. List the participial phrase
found in each sentence and the word it modifies.

1. Staking her reputation on her success, Junko Tabei climbed Mt.
Everest, hoping to reach the top in May.

2. Delighted by penicillin’s discovery, Fleming duplicated his
experiments with Florey.

3. Their procedure, arrived at with such great care and effort,
made their reputation.

4. Nellie Melba, thrilled by her successful career, retired
repeatedly.

5. Delayed by wind and rain, the Spanish Armada arrived too late.
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6. Drumming his wings wildly, the male pheasant tries to
attract the females attention.
7. The male pheasant, once firmly convinced of the female’s
interest, begins to accelerate the drumbeats expressing his
excitement.
8. Flamingoes, stretching their wings and bowing, perform an
elaborate courtship dance, a spectacular sight in nature.

1. Staking her reputation on her success modifies Juniko
Tabei

2. Delighted by penicillin’s discovery, Fleming

3. arrived at with such great care and effort modifies
procedure

4. thrilled by her successful career, modifies Nellie Melba

5. Delayed by wind and rain, modifies the Spanish Armada.
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6. Drumming his wings wildly, male pheasant
7. once firmly convinced of the female’s interest,
male pheasant
8. stretching their wings and bowing Flamingoes