Participles Wha..what?

When is a verb not a verb? When it acts as an adjective! The snoring student drooled on the desk. Running through the halls, Daniel arrived just in time. The cracked window is going to get fixed today. Cracked down the middle by Thor’s hammer, the bridge began to break apart.

There are four ways to create participles: Present (-ing)Past (-ed, -d, -en, -n, -t) word The breaking bones crunched loudly in the giant’s hands. The broken bones lay by the giant’s fire. phrase Breaking with a crash, the vase hit the floor. Broken into pieces, the vase lay on the floor.

Participles can be in present tense Present participle – the –ing form of a verb used as an adjective The running man stumbled. (word) Speeding through the streets, the car took the corner on two wheels. (phrase) Each of these –ing verbs is used to answer the question which or what?

Which man? The one running

What car? The one speeding

Music Interlude – Who likes to dance? The dancing queen, of course!

Participles can also be in past tense Past participles – the –ed, -d, -t, -en, -n form of the verb used as an adjective The rotted wood was no good for building. (word) Rotted to the core, the mushy apple was crawling with worms. (phrase)

Which wood? The rotted wood

Which mushy apple? The one rotted to the core

Music interlude #2 What’s wrong with her heart? It’s a broken heart, of course.

Using Participial Phrases in Expository Writing A caring person always puts herself above others. Helping the old man across the street, I realized the importance of putting others first. The shared information helped save the world. Surprised by my emotions, I began to cry at his thoughtfulness.

The participle should be near the noun it modifies. Double check to make sure your participle is acting as an adjective to the nearby noun. Otherwise, you have what’s called a dangling participle. Listening to the student’s excuse, the homework is still due. Listening to the student’s excuse, the teacher shook her head in despair. Broken by the bully, Jose held his bleeding nose. Jose held his bleeding nose broken by the bully.

Participles – Vocabulary Sentences Write ten sentences using present participles. Use any of the words. Here are your first two. 1. Descending into the bowels of the basement, I shook with fear. 2. The frowning policeman asked, “What’s all the ruckus?”

On the back of your paper, write write ten sentences using past participles. Use any of the words. Here are numbers 11 and Dead for days, the zombie shambled towards the noise. 12. The closed sign on the door nixed our plans to shop.