A pretty good sentence:

The hurdler eyed

the finish line.
Using a PARTICIPLE:

Flying, the hurdler

eyed the finish line.
Using a
PARTICIPIAL
PHRASE:
Flying through
the air, the hurdler
eyed the finish line.
A word that looks like a verb but acts like an adjective. It will usually
end in –ing or -ed (and sometimes –n or –t)
It is often (but not always) set off by commas and always acts as an
adjective.

The diamond-scaled snakes attacked their prey.

The hissing, diamond-scaled snakes attacked their prey.

Hissing, slithering, and coiling,

the diamond-scaled snakes
attacked their prey.
 A participle along with
any modifiers that
complete the image. The
entire phrase is used as an
adjective.

Hissing their forked red

tongues, the diamond-scaled
snakes attacked their prey.
A beam of light Searching through
the fog, a beam of
swung out into the
light swung out into
darkness, searching. the darkness.
Dripping with sweat and
Mark froze.
hoping with all his might that
she wouldn’t call on him,
Mark froze.

Mark froze, dripping with sweat,

hoping with all his might that she
wouldn’t call on him.
No one knew
the clown,
appearing
bright and
cheerful, had
just escaped
prison.
,
Don’t confuse a participle used as an adjective
with a word in a verb phrase

Planning their trip, the class

learned how to read a map.

The class was planning their

trip and learned how to read
maps.
Don’t confuse a participle used as an adjective
with a word in a verb phrase

Most of the treasure buried by

the pirates has never been
found.
Most of the treasure that was
buried by the pirates has never
been found.
 Find the participles:
• Records, cracked and warped, were in the
attic.
• Shouting loudly, Carmen warned the
swimmers about the shark.
• For centuries the shattered ruins remained
there, waiting for discovery.
• Cheering loudly and clapping wildly, the fans
greeted their team.
 Find the participles:
• Records, cracked and warped, were in the
attic.
• Shouting loudly, Carmen warned the
swimmers about the shark.
• For centuries the shattered ruins remained
there, waiting for discovery.
• Cheering loudly and clapping wildly, the fans
greeted their team.
 Find the participial phrases:
• Known for her beauty, Venus was sought by
many gods and mortals.
• The bread, burnt by the new toaster, was
inedible.
• They imagined him dressed in shining armor.
• Looking down from the top of the building,
Alex almost lost his lunch.
 Find the participial phrases:
• Known for her beauty, Venus was sought by
many gods and mortals.
• The bread, burnt by the new toaster, was
inedible.
• They imagined him dressed in shining armor.
• Looking down from the top of the building,
Alex almost lost his lunch.
Write a
sentence
using one of
these
participial
phrases:
planning the
escape
waiting in the
rain
 Notice how you can create
mood, movement, and poetry by
just adding a few “brushstrokes”
to your writing.
Try another one!
For this last one, try to make
your writing come alive.
Give your readers the
experience of falling into your
“word picture”.
Write a descriptive paragraph using 5 participial phrases for a C
(22/30 points) or 10 phrases for an A. You must use the phrases
in three different positions: beginning, middle, and end of the
sentence.

You may describe an activity suggested by a picture

from this presentation or create your own word picture
through your own story.