1. Verbals: Participles

2. Present –ing OR past –ed 1.New Mexico’s tiring distances made it difficult to commute. 2.Until 1847, there was only one completed schoolhouse. 3.Only a selected few were given education at this time. 4.The sons of the educated wealthy were sent east to school. 5.In 1847, a Catholic bishop, John B. Lamy, started a free school where his students were taught English. None

3. Verb or participle??? Sometimes verb phrases are confused with participles. Look for the helping verb to “help” you figure out which one is the sentence’s verb. The car was racing around the curve. The racing car crashed into the wall. De Vaca and his group may have walked through New Mexico. The walked trail may have gone through New Mexico.

4. Is the underlined word the verb or participle??? 1.By 1856, the government was taking steps to create a public-school system. 2.Progressing, the legislature passed the first public-school law in 1860. 3.This encouraged other districts that were building schools in other parts of the New Mexico territory. 4.The University of New Mexico was built for the increasing population of Albuquerque in 1889. 5.Established schools became more numerous in some areas by the early 1900’s. 6.Also rising in popularity were cattle ranches. 7.These, however, declined when sheep were brought in. 8.Homesteaders needed fenced land to farm. 9.Consequently, ranchers would run into newly built fences where they used to graze their cattle. 10.With competition that was coming from two directions, many cattle owners were giving up cattle ranching.

5. Answers 1.Verb 2.Participle – legislature 3.Verb 4.Participle – population 5.Participle – schools 6.Verb 7.Verb, Verb 8.Participle – land 9.Participle – fences 10.Verb, Verb

6. Where, oh where are the participial phrases?? 1.Discovered in the northwest, petroleum reserves helped to boost the economy of New Mexico. 2.More oil reserves, hiding in the southeast, were also found in the 1920’s. 3.Twenty years later, the federal government, looking for a sparsely populated area, went to New Mexico. 4.They decided that the desert, acting as a testing site, was to be used to explode atomic bombs during World War II. 5.Los Alamos, established as the headquarters, became busy with atomic energy research.

7. Discovered in the northwest, petroleum reserves helped to boost the economy of New Mexico. reserves helped petroleum northwest discovered in the boost to the of economy NM

9. Find the participles or part. phrases 1.Stopping too often for naps, the hare lost his race with the tortoise. 2.Frustrated, the fox sulked away thinking of the sour grapes. 3.The eagle, convinced by the crow, let go of the turtle. 4.The lying fox only wanted to eat the chickens. 5.The lion lay in front of his cave, gasping for breath. 6.The disappointed crane flew away sadder but wiser. 7.Running to the pond, the rabbits scared the frogs. 8.The fox, expecting a nice meal, arrived at the crane’s home. 9.Thoroughly upset by the cat, the country mouse quickly left the city. 10.Quarreling among themselves, the oxen became easy prey to the lion.

10. Find either the participles or gerunds in the following sentences 1.The smiling man in the third row is my uncle. 2.Aesop was a master at telling stories. 3.Pleased by the noisy applause, the singer gave an encore. 4.Have you heard our whistling teapot? 5.Kathy saw a spotted owl. 6.That nursery is famous for growing beautiful orchids. 7.All of the candidates praise working people. 8.Evan bought all of the materials for building a boat. 9.Taking this roundabout path was a mistake. 10.Shocked by the sight of her sister after many years, the old woman wept.