Participial Phrases Grammar Worksheet

Participial phrases modify a noun or noun phrase, or sometimes a verb. In other words, they
are adjectival or adverbial – making them different from gerund phrases. They consist
primarily of a participial; either a present participial like the “folding” in “folding chair” or a
past participial like the “faded” in “faded jacket”.

In addition to the participial, they can include either a prepositional phrase (crouching in
the bushes) an adverb (widely known; doing well), a noun clause (knowing that she had
excelled at her task) or, after “having”, a past participle (having arrived).

Remember: PRESENT participial’s (-ing) are ACTIVE: they describe a noun that DOES
that action. PAST participial’s(-ed or irregular) are PASSIVE: they describe a noun that
RECEIVES that action.

Here are some example participial phrases, and their types:

Identifying (no commas, phrases placed immediately after the noun - This is the least
flexible of participial phrases.)
i) I was talking to an accountant known for her ability to manage complex services.
ii) The school being built near to the stadium was mentioned in the Sunday newspaper.

Describing (extra information)

i) Coming from a rich family, John found it hard to relate to the poor.
ii) Sarah, known for her fastidious nature, was quickly offered the job.

The describing participial phrase takes the form of a complement either before the subject,
between the subject and verb or at the end of the clause, though this final position can
sound ridiculous and isn’t common. It is important to observe that the participial phrase
seems to be a cause of the action in the main clause.

The following participial phrases only use present participles:

Simultaneous Actions
i) Running alongside the train, Phillip waved and blew kisses to his departing lover.
ii) Phillip, waving and blowing kisses to his departing lover, ran alongside the train.

As you can see, which action forms the simultaneous action and which is the main clause is
not important. It also takes the form of a complement.

Interrupted Actions
i) Climbing up the steps, John stopped to gaze at the beautiful valley below him.
ii) Milly, watering the plants in the greenhouse, suddenly had an enormous coughing fit.

This type of participial phrase actually describes the extended action: the main clause
describes the interrupting action.

Sequence of Actions
i) Having completed his homework, Gareth felt entitled to watch television for the rest of
the evening.
ii) Arriving on the ground floor, the lift opened and everyone got out.

It is clear that the action in the participial phrase occurs shortly before the action in the
main clause.

In general, the Sequence of Actions participial phrase consists of “having” + participial

phrase (+ complement) but, as per example two, where no or very little time passes
between the action in the participial phrase and the main clause, sometimes there is only a
present participial + complement.

NOTICE:
The FIRST WORD is a participial—there are no additional words before it:

 Adjective clause, NOT participial phrase: The student who was talking on the
phone…
 Participial phrase: The student talking on the phone…
 INCORRECT: Luca being the teacher, tells us what is incorrect.
 Correct Participial Phrase: Being the teacher, Luca tells us what is incorrect.

NEGATIVE: You can place the word “not” at the beginning of the participial phrase
to make it negative:

 Not wanting to hurt her feelings, he said she looked nice in the green dress.
 Not drinking enough water, I became dehydrated.

Sometimes participial phrases don’t describe the subject of the sentence, but another
noun. If the participial phrase is at the end, a COMMA means the phrase describes the
subject of the sentence. NO COMMA means the phrase describes the noun immediately
before it. Examples:
 The teacher explained the grammar to the students, sitting at the front of the
room. (describes the teacher)

 The teacher explained the grammar to the students sitting at the front of the
room. (describes the students)

Be careful to DESCRIBE THE CORRECT NOUN. If the sentence begins with a participial
phrase, it describes the NEXT NOUN. Examples of common mistakes:
INCORRECT: Not paying attention, the rock made Susana trip.
CORRECT: Not paying attention, Susana tripped on the rock.
INCORRECT: Founded in the 1990s, Henry is the director of CEC.
CORRECT: Founded in the 1990s, CEC is directed by Henry.
INCORRECT: Barking and growling loudly, people are scared of that dog.
CORRECT: Barking and growling loudly, __________________________________
Exercise 1: Decide if the underlined information is identifying or extra description
of the noun in the main sentence, and if it is an active or passive description of the
noun. Then change the underlined information into a participial phrase and write a
new sentence.

1. The building on the corner collapsed during the rainstorm. It was constructed
quickly.

________________________________________________________________________

2. The astronaut is afraid of heights. He was chosen to ride the space shuttle to Mars.

________________________________________________________________________

3. I discovered the store was closed. This happened when I arrived there.

________________________________________________________________________

4. The main cathedral in Salamanca was never rebuilt. It was destroyed by a fire.

________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 2: Decide what the relationship in time between the two actions is. Then
change ONE of the verbs into a participial phrase and write a new sentence.

1. Jimmy vacuumed the living room and thought about how much he hated cleaning.

________________________________________________________________________

2. Susan was eating very fast. She choked on her food.

__________________________________________________________________________

3. I finished the project, so I was allowed to go to the park with my friends.

________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 3: Decide whether underlined information should be represented with a

past or present participial. Then combine the ideas into one sentence, using a
participial phrase. Be sure to consider whether commas are needed.

1. Anyone who follows our religion is welcome to attend the event.

2. A group of students marched down the street. They waved the flag of the country.

3. The experiment provided evidence of life on other planets. It was conducted at my

university.

4. Dean Keller is an aspiring young poet. He is known for his use of metaphor.
 5. Penny is a good student, which is why she did well on the test.

Exercise 4: Decide which sentence should be a participial phrase, and whether it

should use a past or present participial. Then combine the ideas into one sentence,
using a participial phrase.

1. The boy is my son. He is playing in right field.

2. The people are not very neat. They live in this apartment.

3. He missed exam day. He received a 20% reduction when he took the exam.

4. The answers are not correct. They are written at the back of the book.

5. The factory is located south of here. It will lay off 300 workers next month.

NOTICE:

 To decide if the information is IDENTIFYING or EXTRA DESCRIPTION, consider

whether the noun is specific and you need to know which specific one (“the book”, “the
woman”)—in this case you probably need to use the participial to identify which one—
OR, if the noun is clearly identified (“Luca”, “my father”) or a general noun—in this case
you probably have extra description. If you are describing a SECOND ACTION, this also
uses the structure of extra description.

 To decide WHICH VERB SHOULD BECOME THE PARTICIPIAL PHRASE, and

which verb should remain the main verb of the sentence, consider what the function of
the participial phrase is. If you need to identify which specific noun, the identifying
information becomes a participial phrase. If you have extra description, decide which
part is the main action or event, and which is descriptive. If the same noun does two
ACTIONS (“to be” isn’t really an action), consider the relationship in time between the
two actions.