Sentence Variety
Increasing your Repertoire:
Participles, Appositives, Absolutes
Increase your Repertoire
• A painter uses a
variety of techniques
to create an image.
• You need to use a
variety of sentence
structures to create
your picture of words.
Show Don’t Tell
• Readers want a picture—something to see
not just to read. A picture made out of
words.
• An amateur writer tells a story; a pro shows
the story.
Show Don’t Tell
• Mary was tired.
• Yawning and blinking, Mary shuffled into
the kitchen. Collapsing into a chair, she
closed her eyes and crossed her arms for a
pillow, and slowly tucked her head into the
fold.
Show Don’t Tell
• Bill was nervous.
• Bill sat in the dentist’s waiting room,
peeling the skin at the edge of his thumb,
until the raw, red flesh began to show.
Biting the torn cuticle, he ripped it away
and sucked at the warm sweetness of his
own blood.
Participles and Participle Phrases
SENTENCE OF THE WEEK 18
Notice
• The shirt was silk paisley, unbuttoned halfway
down his hairless chest.
—Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief
• Then, wearing only my undershorts, and streaked
head to toe with mud like one of those lost guys
from the Amazon rainforest, I went in to break the
news to Mom.
—Edward Bloor, Tangerine
• Narrowing his beady eyes, he read the title of one
of the books.
—Lemony Snicket, The Bad Beginning
Notice
• The shirt was silk paisley, unbuttoned halfway
down his hairless chest.
—Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief
• Then, wearing only my undershorts, and streaked
head to toe with mud like one of those lost guys
from the Amazon rainforest, I went in to break the
news to Mom.
—Edward Bloor, Tangerine
• Narrowing his beady eyes, he read the title of one
of the books.
—Lemony Snicket, The Bad Beginning
Participles
• Participles have many jobs
• We’re going to talk about their job that
makes them look like adjectives.
• They tell you more about the noun that
follows.
Participles
• The present participle is formed by adding
-ing to the base form of a verb.
singing, dancing, eating
• Past participles end in -ed, -en, -d, -t, -n, or -ne
asked, eaten, saved, dealt
Participles
• Picture in your mind’s eye a nest of snakes curling
around some prey.
The diamond-scaled snakes attacked their prey.
• Does this sentence work?
Participles
• Add a participle to the beginning of the
sentence—
Hissing, coiling, and slithering, the diamondscaled snakes attacked their prey.
• You can see the slithering and coiling and
can hear the hissing.
Participle Phrase
• Add a participle phrase instead of a string
of participles—
Hissing their forked tongues and coiling
their cold bodies, the diamond-scaled
snakes attacked their prey.
Grinning and wiping the chocolate off of his
face, the toddler denied eating the candy
bar.
Rules to remember…
• The participle is a verb (commonly ending
in –ing or –ed) but not the main verb in the
sentence.
• The participial phrase tells what a
noun/pronoun is doing; therefore, it acts as
an adjective.
• The participial phrase is able to change
position to the front of the sentence, the
subject-verb split, or the end of a sentence.
Rules to remember…
• The participial phrase must be placed
carefully to avoid confusion (dangling
modifier).
• If the participial phrase is removed the
sentence must still make sense.
• Must have a comma before and/or after the
participial phrase.
Misplaced Modifiers
• Having eaten lots of chocolate, her pants soon did
not fit.
• Walking down Main Street, the trees were
beautiful.
• Being way too sweet, I threw the candy away.
• Remembering the formula, the whole problem
became clear to me.
• Waiting too long for a lower price, the product
was sold out.
• Handing me the essay, I saw my grade and smiled.
Take these simple sentences and add participles or
participle phrases to help the reader “see.”
• The child drank the liquid medicine
• I stepped into the haunted house.
• The chocolate cake sat on the kitchen
counter.
Look at what we wrote!
• Pinching her nose and scrunching her small,
cherubic face, the child drank the liquid
medicine.
Gerunds vs. Participles
SENTENCE OF THE WEEK 18
(CONTINUED…)
Gerunds vs. participles
• Gerunds, like present participles, are verbs that
end in –ing. So, what’s the difference?
• Gerunds function as nouns whereas participles
function as adjectives. Since a gerund functions
as a noun, it occupies some positions in a
sentence that a noun ordinarily would: subject or
object.
• Let’s take a look at several examples…
NOTICE:
gerund
• Since Michael was five years old,
swimming has been his passion.
Subject
Object
• Michael enjoys swimming more than
spending time with his girlfriend Diana.
NOTICE:
participle
• A Great White shark ate Michael's
swimming coach.
• Now Michael practices his sport in safe
swimming pools.
RULES:
• A gerund is a verbal ending in -ing that is
used as a noun.
• A gerund virtually never requires any
punctuation with it.
• You cannot remove a gerund without
disrupting the sentence.
• A gerund occupies the same position in a
sentence that a noun usually would: subject,
direct object, subject complement, and object of
preposition.
IMITATE:
Write one sentence that uses one of these
words as a subject gerund. Then write
another sentence that uses the same word as a
present participle.
assuming
converting
predicting
consuming
training
registering
COMMON MISTAKES
when forming GERUNDS
• He is running a race tomorrow.
• Tomorrow, he is running.
Gerund or Participle?
1. Sam’s confusing message did nothing to solve
the mystery.
2. Lauren decided that missing the lecture every
day was hurting her grade.
3. The swimmer, driven by the need to be the best
in the world, made himself sick with anxiety.
4. Completing the obstacle course is harder than
it looks.
1. Sam’s confusing message did nothing to solve
the mystery.
participle
2. Lauren decided that missing the lecture every
day was hurting her grade.
gerund
3. The swimmer, driven by the need to be the best
in the world, made himself sick with anxiety.
participle
4. Completing the obstacle course is harder than
it looks.
gerund
Gerund or Participle?
1. Fred’s arguing every call is getting
frustrating.
2. Giving the players a break will improve their
attitudes.
3. The completed meal was so beautiful that
the guests hesitated to eat it.
1. Fred’s arguing every call is getting
frustrating.
gerund
2. Giving the players a break will improve
their attitudes.
gerund
3. The completed meal was so beautiful that
the guests hesitated to eat it.
participle
Re-viewing: Participial Phrases
• Verb ending in –ing or –ed
• Acts as an adjective because it describes
noun/pronoun
• Found in beginning, middle, or end of sentence
• Screaming in terror, John ran away from the
tiger.
• Terrified, John ran away from the tiger.
• X= While running from the tiger, John
stepped on a root and fell.
Re-viewing: Gerund
• Sentence = S + V + O
• Swimming is fun
– Swimming = verb + -ing
– Acting as subject of sentence
• I like swimming
– Swimming = verb + -ing
– Acting as object of sentence
• Asking
• Asking the questions is essential to success.
• Matt enjoys asking questions about gold
fish.
Appositives
SENTENCE OF THE WEEK
Notice
Mom and Dad rushed in, side by side for a change, happy that
I was not dead.
Laurie Halse Anderson, Wintergirls, p. 9
O Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, show us the threat.
Rick Riordan, The Last Olympian, p. 59
Mom answered the door at 8:05 a.m. to Mr. Bridges, a short
round man in a blue suit, and Coach Warner, who was
wearing a Lake Windsor High pullover.
Edward Bloor, Tangerine
Notice
Mom and Dad rushed in, side by side for a change, happy that
I was not dead.
Laurie Halse Anderson, Wintergirls, p. 9
O Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, show us the threat.
Rick Riordan, The Last Olympian, p. 59
Mom answered the door at 8:05 a.m. to Mr. Bridges, a short
round man in a blue suit, and Coach Warner, who was
wearing a Lake Windsor High pullover.
• —Edward Bloor, Tangerine
Appositives
An appositive is a noun that adds a second
image to a preceding noun.
• An appositive expands details in the
reader’s imagination.
The raccoon enjoys eating turtle eggs.
• Add an appositive to this sentence. Use
commas to set off the appositive.
The raccoon, a scavenger, enjoys eating
turtle eggs.
Appositives
You can also use an appositive phrase.
The raccoon, a midnight scavenger who
roams lake shorelines in search of food,
enjoys eating turtle eggs.
Look at these examples:
• The insect is crawling across the kitchen table
• The insect, a cockroach, is crawling across the kitchen
table.
• The insect, a large cockroach, is crawling across the
kitchen table.
• The insect, a large cockroach with hairy legs, is crawling
across the kitchen table.
• The insect, a large, hairy-legged cockroach that has spied
my bowl of oatmeal, is crawling across the kitchen table.
Now it’s your turn
• Add an appositive or appositive phrase to
the following sentences. (Or, create your
own!)
• The volcano spewed forth lava and ash.
• The athlete trained each afternoon.
Look what we wrote!
Sentence of the Week
ABSOLUTES
NOTICE
“Doors slammed, engines coughed, and they were
gone.”
~ To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
“Matt squatted on the floor, his heart pounding.”
~ House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
“The riders stiffened, eyes flashing from side to
side, then wheeled their mounts around and
galloped away.”
~Christopher Paolini, Eragon
NOTICE
Doors slammed, engines coughed, and they were gone.
~ To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Matt squatted on the floor, his heart pounding.
~ House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
Her feet touching the side of the stone tower and her hands grasping
the rope, Violet closed her eyes and began to climb.
~ Lemony Snicket, The Bad Beginning
The riders stiffened, eyes flashing from side to side, then wheeled
their mounts around and galloped away.
~Christopher Paolini, Eragon
The Absolute
A 2-word combination—a noun and an ing or ed
verb added to a sentence
The cat climbed the tree.
• Add an absolute—
Claws digging, feet kicking, the cat climbed the
tree.
• Either way the cat gets up the tree, but in the
second sentence the absolute adds to the image
of the action of climbing.
The Absolute
The mountain climber edged along the cliff.
• Add 2 absolutes to the beginning or end
of the sentence.
The mountain climber edged along the cliff,
hands shaking, feet trembling.
Absolute Phrases
• Absolute phrases can also be added
Feet trembling on the snow covered rocks,
the mountain climber edged along to cliff.
More examples….
• Eyes watering, the chef sliced the onion.
• Brian wandered into the woods, a map
folded in his back pocket.
More examples…..
• Sentence with no absolute:
– The candlelight created a romantic atmosphere.
• Sentence with an absolute:
– Flames glowing, the candlelight created a romantic
atmosphere.
• Sentence with an absolute phrase:
– Flames glowing at the center of the table, the
candlelight created a romantic atmosphere.
Using the absolute phrase
• Sentence with one absolute phrase:
– Ethan climbed the rock wall, sweat dripping from his forehead.
• Sentence with two absolute phrases:
– Ethan climbed the rock wall, sweat dripping from his forehead,
heart pounding in his chest.
• Sentence with three absolute phrases:
– Ethan climbed the rock wall, sweat dripping from his forehead,
heart pounding in his chest, fear mounting at the thought of falling.
Where can I put an absolute?
• Absolutes can begin a sentence:
– Music blaring from his iPod, the apathetic student
ignored his assignment.
–
• Absolutes can interrupt a sentence:
– The apathetic student, music blaring from his iPod,
ignored his assignment.
• Absolutes can end a sentence:
– The apathetic student ignored his assignment, music
blaring from his iPod.
Appositives and Absolutes
• Ethan, an out of shape teenager,
climbed the rock wall, sweat
dripping from his forehead,
heart pounding in his chest.
Add an appositive or appositive phrase OR
absolute to the following sentences.
Pick 3 sentences—
•
•
•
•
The car cruised along the highway.
The lion stalked its prey.
The volcano spewed forth lava and ash.
The athlete trained each afternoon.
Look what we wrote!