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Adding Variety to Your Writing
NEC FACET Center
• Have you ever
felt as if your
writing is
monotonous and
dull?
• If so, bring it to
life by varying
your sentence
structure.
Try Using These Special
Phrases
Gerund
Phrases
Important
Definition
Strange . . .
It looks like a verb, but
it acts like a noun.
• A gerund is the
-ing form of a verb
functioning in the
sentence as a noun.
Gerunds as Subjects
• Some gerunds function as the subject of the
sentence.
• The subject identifies who or what the
sentence is about.
• Painting is Jim’s favorite
hobby.
• Gardening keeps Aunt
Ruth busy for hours.
Gerunds as Direct Objects
Direct objects follow the verb and identify the
receiver of the action.
• My entire family likes
bowling. (The verb is likes.
Bowling tells what the family
likes.)
• The dirty floor required
mopping. (The verb is
required. Mopping tells what
the dirty floor required.)
Gerunds as Objects of the
Preposition
• Will Rogers was famous for roping. (Roping
follows the preposition for and identifies a
cause of his fame.)
• Derek finished work before skateboarding.
(Skateboarding follows the preposition before.)
Common Prepositions
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above
about
across
among
around
at
before
below, beneath
beside
between
by
•
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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for
from
in, into, inside
of
off
over
through
to, toward
under
upon
with
Gerund Phrases as Subjects
• Singing with a country
band occupies most of
my brother’s weekend.
• Crying at the top of his
lungs generally got little
Joey what he wanted.
Gerund Phrases as Objects
• Herrmann the Great demonstrated making a
rabbit appear from an empty hat.
• For our final few minutes at Frontier City, we
chose riding the roller coaster.
Gerund Phrases as Objects
of the Preposition
• David enjoys the
ancient Japanese
art of raising bonsai
trees.
• Have you ever tried
relaxing by watching
tropical fish?
Identify the Gerund Phrase
• Hitting a grand slam homerun enabled Raphael
to win the game for his team.
• Charles was ready for a quiet evening at home
after flying a rescue mission in the mountains.
Gerund Phrase Identified
• Hitting a grand slam homerun enabled
Raphael to win the game for his team.
(subject)
• Charles was ready for a quiet evening at
home after flying a rescue mission in the
mountains. (object of the preposition after)
Identify the Gerund Phrases
• Steve succeeded in
climbing the mountain.
• When the director
finished yelling at the
production crew, he
felt much better.
Identify the Gerund Phrases
• Steve succeeded at
climbing the mountain.
(object of the
preposition at)
• When the director
finished yelling at the
production crew, he
felt much better.
(object of the verb
finished, telling what
he finished.)
Identify the Gerund Phrases
• Yelling at the
production crew
made the director
feel much better.
Identify the Gerund Phrases
• Yelling at the
production crew
made the director
feel much better.
(subject telling
what made Jack
feel better)
• Like a participle, a gerund can sometimes
be accompanied by other words that
complete its meaning.
• A gerund phrase consists of a gerund
accompanied by an adjective, an adverb, a
direct object, or a prepositional phrase.
Examples
• (gerund + D.O.)
• Wearing tight shoes hurts.
(adjective + gerund)
• Long-distance running is fun.
(gerund + prepositional phrase)
• I like dancing on ice.
(gerund + adverb)
• Performing alone is his dream.
Gerund phrases, like gerunds alone, function as nouns in a
sentence. Like a noun, a gerund phrase can be a subject, a
D.O., an object of the preposition, or a predicate noun.
Subject
Preparing for a concert takes time.
Direct Object
Lane began practicing his flute.
Object of
Preposition
Before playing the music, he studied
it.
Predicate
Noun
His big challenge was walking
onstage.
Be careful not to confuse a gerund phrase with a participial
phrase. If the phrase functions as a subject, an object, or a
predicate noun in the sentence it is a gerund phrase. If it
serves as an adjective, it is a participial phrase.
Gerund Phrase:
Singing softly was difficult. (subject)
Participial
Phrase:
Singing softly, he calmed the baby.
Gerund Phrase
We began singing the song. (direct
object)
Participial
Phrase:
The girl singing the song is Pat.
Identify each gerund phrase. What is each phrase’s function
in the sentence?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Skating at night is my hobby.
Bart received the prize for being the best tenor.
Bart had many solo parts for playing in the orchestra.
You should try singing high C.
Humming in the background, the chorus set a mood.
Appearing with a professional cast was Kristen’s dream.
Facing the audience can be the hardest part.
Practicing day and night is a necessary ingredient for
succeeding as an opera singer.
9. The members taking their seats began tuning their
instruments.
10. The violin section playing the tragic melody was not
doing the best job in the performance.
Possessives in Gerund Phrases
• Always use the possessive form of a noun
or pronoun before a gerund.
Which is correct?
• 11. I warned Gino about (them, their) being late.
• 12. I don’t appreciate (him, his) talking back to
me.
• 13. (Fran, Fran’s) leaving will solve the problem.
• 14. (Me, My) being there was a help.
• 15. That ended (Martha, Martha’s) disrupting the
rehearsals.
• 16. We are delighted by (Joe, Joe’s) sensitive
acting.
• 17. (Him, His) continuing with the show is
essential to its success.
• 18. (Us, Our) agreeing on how the other minor
roles should be handled was also important.
Identify each gerund phrase. Does each gerund phrase act as a
subject, a direct object, an object of a preposition, or a
predicate noun?
• 19. The program’s goal is providing students with
a variety of artistic opportunities.
• 20. Few question the benefits of encouraging
talents.
• 21. The problem is obtaining the necessary
money.
• 22. People find different ways of raising funds.
• 23. Asking for funds is an important activity.
• 24. Supporters must continue advertising the
program.
Identify each gerund phrase and participial phrase. Does each
gerund phrase act as a subject, a direct object, an object of a
preposition, or a predicate noun?
• 25. Now the group will try campaigning on a large
scale.
• 26. Starting such a campaign is a challenging task.
• 27. Requesting funds and other forms of assistance
from large corporations will be the first strategy.
• 28. Contacting firms is the director’s role.
• 29. Companies find different ways of being
helpful.
• 30. Helping young artists is a worthwhile cause.
Important
Definition
Strange . . .
It looks like a verb, but
it acts like an adjective.
• A participle is a
verb form used as
an adjective (a
descriptive word).
Present & Past Participles
Remember this:
• Present participles
end in -ing.
• Past participles end
in -ed or have
irregular endings.
Examples
• The laughing
child held up her
brimming piggy
bank.
• With a cramped
leg, the
screaming boy
waded out of the
pool.
• Notice that each of these
-ing or -ed words acts as
an adjective by describing
another word.
• Laughing describes child.
• Brimming describes the
bank.
• Cramped describes leg.
• Screaming describes boy.
Identify the Descriptive
Participles
• Outside the
Halloween spook
house, dozens of
grinning skeletons
greeted the visitors.
• Tired, I spilled the
steaming coffee.
Descriptive Participles
Identified
• Outside the
Halloween spook
house, dozens of
grinning skeletons
greeted the
visitors.
• Tired, I spilled the
steaming coffee.
Identify the Descriptive
Participles
• After the torrential
rain, I returned
home to a flooded
basement.
• I read the gripping
spy novel until 2:00
a.m.
Irregular Participles
• Although most participles end in -ing and -ed,
some are irregular. To identify the verbs with
irregular participles, think of the form correctly
used with the helping verbs have, has, and had.
• Example: Built to last, the great pyramids of
Egypt may be around for the next millenium.
• Built to last, the great pyramids of Egypt may be
around for the next millenium.
• Notice that the phrase “built to last” works as an
adjective to describe the word pyramids;
therefore, it is a participial phrase.
• However, you’ll see that the participle form, in
this case, doesn’t end in -ed or -ing.
• To indicate past tense, as in the following
sentence, we don’t say builded: The two
children builded an elaborate sand castle.
• Instead, we would write “The two children built
an elaborate sandcastle.”
• This is one of many irregular verbs.
Descriptive Participles
Identified
• After the torrential
rain, I returned
home to a flooded
basement.
• I read the gripping
spy novel until 2:00
a.m.
Participial Phrases
• You have seen several examples of
single word participles ending with -ing
and -ed.
• Some participles do not appear alone,
but instead as the first word of a phrase.
• This phrase still serves as an adjective
and, therefore, describes a noun.
How to Identify the Correct
Past Participle Form
• If you are not sure what the correct past
participle form is, pick the form that would be
correctly used following the helping verbs
has, have, or had.
• For example, the past participle of the verb
take is taken.
• You can tell by trying the verb with the words
listed above: has taken, have taken, had
taken.
A Few Examples of Irregular
Verbs and Their Past Participles
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begin-begun
blow-blown
bring-brought
catch-caught
choose-chosen
draw-drew
eat-eaten
fall-fallen
fly-flown
forget-forgotten
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forgive-forgiven
freeze-frozen
go-gone
hear-heard
hold-held
ride-ridden
rise-risen
speak-spoken
think-thought
wear-worn
Examples of Participial Phrases
• Laughing gleefully,
the child held up her
piggy bank.
• Notice that “Laughing
gleefully” works as a
participial phrase
describing the noun
child.
• Attacked by a sudden
leg cramp, the
screaming boy waded
out of the pool.
• Notice that “Attacked
by a sudden leg
cramp” acts as a
participial phrase
describing the noun
boy.
Identify the Participial
Phrase
• Listening intently, the
students translated
Spanish sentences into
English.
• Using a hoe and a rake,
Steve cleared the dead
plants from the garden.
Participial Phrases Identified
• Listening intently, the
students translated
Spanish sentences into
English. (describes the
noun students)
• Using a hoe and a rake,
Steve cleared the dead
plants from the garden.
(describes the noun
Steve)
Important
Definition
Strange . . .
It looks like a verb, but
it’s preceded by the
word to.
• An infinitive is the
word to plus the
base form of the
verb.
Examples of Infinitives
• We started to practice for the concert.
• It’s time to rake the yard.
• I asked Jeff to go sailing on Grand
Lake.
Note
• When followed by anything other than a verb, the
word to forms a prepositional phrase rather than
an infinitive.
• Examples:
– I took the ferry to the Statue of Liberty.
– I went to the post office to mail the package.
(Notice that the sentence also contains the
infinitive “to mail.”)
– I gave the gift to Michael
– I need to talk to her. (This sentence also
contains the infinitive “to talk.”)
Identify the Infinitives.
• Sally decided to
enter the Tulsa
Run.
• Brad learned to
operate the new
photocopier.
Identify the Infinitives
• Sally decided to
enter the Tulsa Run.
• Brad learned to
operate the new
photocopier.
Identify the Infinitive Phrases
• When they went to the Fourth of July parade,
they began to wave their flags.
• Charles paid a visit to the gypsy fortune teller
to learn what the new year would bring.
Infinitive Phrases Identified
• When they went to the Fourth of July parade,
they began to wave their flags.
• Charles paid a visit to the gypsy fortune teller
to learn what the new year would bring.
Remember . . .
You can bring
monotonous
sentences to life
by using gerund,
participial , and
infinitive phrases
in your writing.