What is a participle?

1. What is a participle? • A word formed from a verb • It can be used as an adjective • EX: burned toast, working woman • Or it can be used as a noun • EX: good breeding • Sometimes they appear as a part of a phrase • EX: is going, has been

2. Past Participles Used as Adjectives • His eyes are swollen. • The cake is ruined. • The plate is broken. • The boy taken to the hospital has finally recovered. • (“taken to the hospital” describes the boy) • Battered by the wind, John fell to his knees. • (“battered by the wind” describes John)

3. Present Participle • Formed by adding –ingto the end of a present tense verb • EX: Our howling dog awakened our neighbors. • The present participle retains its –ingeven when the tense of the over verb in the sentence changes. • EX: Our howling dog awakens our neighbors. • EX: Our howling dog will awaken our neighbors. • Despite their name, “present participles” don’t mark tense at all (that is determined by the other verbs in the sentence)

4. Gerunds • Sometimes –ingwords are used as nouns too! • Telling jokes is fun. • My favorite activity is sleeping. • Travelling would be a fun experience.

5. Participial Phrases • Participles may have objects • EX: Sounding its siren, the ambulance raced downtown. (siren is the object; sounding is the participle) • EX: Removing his coat, Jack rushed to the river. (his coat is the object; removing is the participle) • Participles may be modified by adverbs or prepositional phrases • EX: The people standing in line have waited for hours. (in line is the modifier; standing is the participle) • EX: The people waiting patiently have been standing for hours. (patiently is the modifier; waiting is the participle)

6. Underline the participles, participial phrases, and words they modify

7. Underline the participles, participial phrases, and words they modify

8. For each participial phrase, write a complete sentence