Download Participles and Participial Phrases

Participles and Participial
Phrases
Quite possibly the most fun you
can have in English class!
What is a participle?
-
A participle is a form of a verb that can act as
an adjective.
Participles fall into two groups: present
participles and past participles. You can
identify these two different kinds of participles
by their endings.
1. Present participles end in –ing (dancing,
playing, etc…).
2. Past participles generally end in –ed
(danced, played, etc…), but they may have
irregular endings such as –nt or –en (burnt,
spoken).
What do participles do?
- Participles answer the questions What
kind? Or Which one?
Give it a shot: Underline the participle in the
following sentence. Is it present or past?
The Pueblo tribe was a dignified tribe.
Answer: The Pueblo tribe was a dignified
tribe. (past)
Verb or Participle?
- Because verbs often have endings such
as –ing and –ed, you must be careful not
to confuse them with participles acting as
adjectives.
- So how can I tell?
A verb shows an action, a condition, or
the fact that something exists. A
participle acting as an adjective modifies
a noun or pronoun.
Attention: The same word can be
used as a verb and as a participle!
For example: The word chugging.
Used as a verb: The train was chugging down the track.
Used as a participle: The chugging train puffed down the track.
-
Give it a shot! Use the word confused as a verb and as a
participle. (I thought many of you would be able to relate to this
word right now.)
-
Here’s how I did it:
As a verb: The directions confused her.
As a participle: Confused, she could not follow the directions.
Participial Phrases
-
A participial phrase is a participle modified by
an adverb. The entire phrase acts like an
adjective.
Examples:
1. Studying carefully, she learned much about
Native American people.
2. Frightened by its sudden appearance, I
yelled, “Snake!”
3. Her sister, using a calm voice, told us to
stand still.
4. The man wearing the war bonnet was a
chief of the Sioux people.
Give it a shot!
Participial Phrases
-
Write the participial phrase in the
following sentence. Then, write the word
or words it modifies.
1. Being a resourceful people, the
Nootka used their surroundings to make
many things.
Answer: Being a resourceful people,
the Nootka used their surroundings to
make many things. (the Nootka)
Gerunds and Gerund Phrases
What is a Gerund?
- A gerund is a form of a verb that acts as a
noun. Attention: Gerunds ALWAYS end in –
ing!
Examples:
1. Writing by the Aztecs was often recorded on
paper made of cactus.
2. On their vacation, the Rezendes discovered
canoeing.
3. His performance gives acting a bad reputation.
4. One relaxing exercise is swimming.
5. The Aztecs obtained much of their food by
fishing.
Gerunds
Give it a shot!
•
-
Identify the gerund in the following sentence
Displaying one’s social status was important to some
Native American tribes.
-Displaying one’s social status was important to some
Native American tribes.
-
Quick question: What’s the difference between a
participle and a gerund?
Answer: A participle is a verb that can act as an
adjective and a gerund is a verb that can act as a
noun.
Infinitives
• What is an infinitive?
-An infinitive is a form of a verb that generally
appears with the word to and acts as a noun,
adjective, or adverb.
Examples:
- To decorate requires gold, tropical feathers,
and rare furs.
- Alone and frightened, she wanted to survive.
- The purpose of pictures was to record an
idea.
Infinitives
Give it a shot!
- Identify the infinitive in the following
sentences.
1. He had no choice except to relent.
-He had no choice except to relent.
2. His goal, to travel, was never realized.
- His goal, to travel, was never
realized.
Don’t make a Boo-Boo: You should
take care not to confuse a
prepositional phrase beginning with
to with an infinitive!
- A prepositional phrase always ends with a
noun or pronoun. An infinitive always
ends with a verb.
* Prepositional Phrase: We went to the
movies last week.
* Infinitive: I didn’t want the movie to
end.