TYPES OF PHRASES

THE PARTICIPIAL PHRASE

The participial phrase is always used as an adjective phrase to modify
a noun or pronoun. It includes the participle together with its
modifiers, objects, or predicate words.
The present participle form always ends in -ing, but the endings for
past perfect and passive perfect participles may vary. A word group
consisting of a present participle (also known as an -ing form) or
past participle (also known as an -en form), plus any modifiers,
objects, and complements.

ex.
- Walking rapidly, we reached the town in fifteen minutes.
- Annoyed by the noise, the teacher spoke sharply to the class.
- Tom, having won the chess game, looked up happily.
- Having won every game but one, Ohio State now led the Big Ten.

• Placement and Punctuation of Participial Phrases

We find participial phrases in three positions :
1. before a main clause (initial position),
2, after a noun phrase they are modifying (middle position),
3. after a main clause (final position). . . .

What kind of punctuation do we need to use when participial phrases
occur in different positions?
• When the participial phrase comes before a main clause, it is
followed by a comma.
• When the participial phrase follows a main clause, a comma must come
before the participial phrase.
• When the participial phrase occurs in mid-sentence position, we use
two commas. One comma comes before the participial phrase and the
other comes after it.

(Andrea DeCapua, Grammar for Teachers: A Guide to American English for
Native and Non-native Speakers, Springer, 2008)

• "Then he saw the eagles across the distance, two of them, riding
low in the depths and rising diagonally toward him."

• "One evening, perhaps a decade ago, I was walking along Canal
Street in Manhattan's Chinatown when a fishmonger, rushing out of his
shop carrying a tank full of eels, slipped. Before he could let out a
curse, there were eels and elvers everywhere: dark and gleaming,
slithering over pedestrians' feet, wriggling off onto the asphalt,
escaping through the storm drains, animating every crack in the
concrete."
(Ben Ehrenreich, "Eels Über Alles: On Julio Cortázar." The Nation,
Dec. 26, 2011)

• "I walked with shoulders hunched and eyes cast down, avoiding the
water that rushed down the steep, slickly cobbled lanes, browsing in
the windows of antique shops, wishing I had a hat or an umbrella or a
ticket to Bermuda. I retreated into a dark coffee shop, where I sat
shivering, drinking a three-dollar cup of coffee with both hands,
watching the rain through the window, and realized I had a cold coming
on."
(Bill Bryson, Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe. William Morrow, 1992)


Identifying Participial Phrases. Underline the participial phrase in
each of the following sentences. Watch for past and present
participles.

Example: Mr. Flynn, annoyed by Joe's question, answered him impatiently.

1. Having been on the road for four days, the Todds were exhausted.
2. That hymn, sung by many generations of churchgoers, is my favorite.
3. Climbing slowly, we approached the top of the hill.
4. Surprised by my question, Mrs. Osmond blushed.
5. Phil, worn out by his long trip, slept for twelve hours.
6. Watching me closely, the dog came toward me.
7. Staring out the window at the rain, Bob became more and more impatient.
8. Having been hurt in the first game, Al sat on the bench for the
rest of the season.
9. The plates, brought from Denmark by my grandmother, are on display
in the dining room.
10. The cookies, baked this morning, were all gone by five o'clock.
11. Having come out in the cool night air, Mr. Troy looked up at the sky.
12. The children, waiting for the play to begin, grew bored.
13. Working hard all day, the boys finished the job by dinner time.
14. Driven from their homelands, many people each year seek refuge in
the United States.
15. Jumping up and down, the cheerleaders urged the team on.
16. The basketball team, encouraged by its performance in the
semifinals, went on to the finals.
17. Having recorded the results of the experiment, Kate closed her notebook.
18. We saw an old woman walking up the path.
19. Having been told of her job offer, Kathy smiled happily.
20. Having spent each afternoon at the beach, Alice soon had a nice tan.

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Worksheets\Grammar.Punctuation.Writing\Phrase-Participial.doc