Lesson 221
Parts of the Sentence - Verbals - Participles
A participle is a verbalA verbal is a verb form used as some other part of speech. Source: Lesson 206 and is used as an
adjectiveAdjectives modify or affect the meaning of nouns and pronouns and tell us which, whose, what kind, and how many about the nouns or pronouns they modify. They come before the noun or pronoun they modify. Source: Lesson 151. Participles end in various ways. They modify
nounsA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. Examples: man, city, book, and courage. Nouns often follow words like a, an, and the. Source: Lesson 16 and
pronounsA pronoun is a word that replaces a noun or a group of words used as a noun.
Source: Lesson 21 and can precede or follow the word they modify.
A present participle always ends with ing as does the gerundA gerund is a verbal that always ends in ing and is used as a noun. Source: Lesson 211, but remember that it is an adjective. A past participle ends with ed, n, or irregularly.
Examples:
played, broken, brought, sung, seeing, having seen, being seen, seen, having been seen
Instructions: Find the participles in these sentences and tell what word they modify.
1. The bike had a broken spoke.
- broken modifies spoke
2. Her smiling face made everyone happy.
- smiling modifies face
3. The frightened child was crying loudly.
- frightened modifies child
4. The people were frightened by the growling dog.
- growling modifies dog
5. The squeaking wheel needs some grease.
- squeaking modifies wheel