participle

Sentence Variety Increasing your Repertoire: Participles, Appositives, Absolutes

Increase your Repertoire • A painter uses a variety of techniques to create an image. • You need to use a variety of sentence structures to create your picture of words.

Show Don’t Tell • Readers want a picture—something to see not just to read. A picture made out of words. • An amateur writer tells a story; a pro shows the story.

Show Don’t Tell • Mary was tired.

• Yawning and blinking, Mary shuffled into the kitchen. Collapsing into a chair, she closed her eyes and crossed her arms for a pillow, and slowly tucked her head into the fold.

Show Don’t Tell • Bill was nervous. • Bill sat in the dentist’s waiting room, peeling the skin at the edge of his thumb, until the raw, red flesh began to show. Biting the torn cuticle, he ripped it away and sucked at the warm sweetness of his own blood.

Participles and Participle Phrases

SENTENCE OF THE WEEK 18

Notice • The shirt was silk paisley, unbuttoned halfway down his hairless chest. —Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief

• Then, wearing only my undershorts, and streaked head to toe with mud like one of those lost guys from the Amazon rainforest, I went in to break the news to Mom. —Edward Bloor, Tangerine

• Narrowing his beady eyes, he read the title of one of the books. —Lemony Snicket, The Bad Beginning

Notice • The shirt was silk paisley, unbuttoned halfway down his hairless chest. —Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief

• Then, wearing only my undershorts, and streaked head to toe with mud like one of those lost guys from the Amazon rainforest, I went in to break the news to Mom. —Edward Bloor, Tangerine

• Narrowing his beady eyes, he read the title of one of the books. —Lemony Snicket, The Bad Beginning

Participles • Participles have many jobs

• We’re going to talk about their job that makes them look like adjectives. • They tell you more about the noun that follows.

Participles • The present participle is formed by adding -ing to the base form of a verb. singing, dancing, eating • Past participles end in -ed, -en, -d, -t, -n, or -ne asked, eaten, saved, dealt

Participles • Picture in your mind’s eye a nest of snakes curling around some prey. The diamond-scaled snakes attacked their prey. • Does this sentence work?

Participles • Add a participle to the beginning of the sentence— Hissing, coiling, and slithering, the diamondscaled snakes attacked their prey.

• You can see the slithering and coiling and can hear the hissing.

Participle Phrase • Add a participle phrase instead of a string of participles— Hissing their forked tongues and coiling their cold bodies, the diamond-scaled snakes attacked their prey. Grinning and wiping the chocolate off of his face, the toddler denied eating the candy bar.

Rules to remember… • The participle is a verb (commonly ending in –ing or –ed) but not the main verb in the sentence. • The participial phrase tells what a noun/pronoun is doing; therefore, it acts as an adjective. • The participial phrase is able to change position to the front of the sentence, the subject-verb split, or the end of a sentence.

Rules to remember… • The participial phrase must be placed carefully to avoid confusion (dangling modifier). • If the participial phrase is removed the sentence must still make sense. • Must have a comma before and/or after the participial phrase.

Misplaced Modifiers • Having eaten lots of chocolate, her pants soon did not fit. • Walking down Main Street, the trees were beautiful. • Being way too sweet, I threw the candy away. • Remembering the formula, the whole problem became clear to me. • Waiting too long for a lower price, the product was sold out. • Handing me the essay, I saw my grade and smiled.

Take these simple sentences and add participles or participle phrases to help the reader “see.”

• The child drank the liquid medicine • I stepped into the haunted house.

• The chocolate cake sat on the kitchen counter.

Look at what we wrote! • Pinching her nose and scrunching her small, cherubic face, the child drank the liquid medicine.

Gerunds vs. Participles

SENTENCE OF THE WEEK 18 (CONTINUED…)

Gerunds vs. participles • Gerunds, like present participles, are verbs that end in –ing. So, what’s the difference? • Gerunds function as nouns whereas participles function as adjectives. Since a gerund functions as a noun, it occupies some positions in a sentence that a noun ordinarily would: subject or object. • Let’s take a look at several examples…

NOTICE:

gerund

• Since Michael was five years old, swimming has been his passion. Subject Object

• Michael enjoys swimming more than spending time with his girlfriend Diana.

NOTICE:

participle

• A Great White shark ate Michael's swimming coach.

• Now Michael practices his sport in safe swimming pools.

RULES: • A gerund is a verbal ending in -ing that is used as a noun. • A gerund virtually never requires any punctuation with it. • You cannot remove a gerund without disrupting the sentence. • A gerund occupies the same position in a sentence that a noun usually would: subject, direct object, subject complement, and object of preposition.

IMITATE: Write one sentence that uses one of these words as a subject gerund. Then write another sentence that uses the same word as a present participle. assuming

converting

predicting

consuming

training

registering

COMMON MISTAKES when forming GERUNDS • He is running a race tomorrow.

• Tomorrow, he is running.

Gerund or Participle? 1. Sam’s confusing message did nothing to solve the mystery. 2. Lauren decided that missing the lecture every day was hurting her grade. 3. The swimmer, driven by the need to be the best in the world, made himself sick with anxiety. 4. Completing the obstacle course is harder than it looks.

1. Sam’s confusing message did nothing to solve the mystery. participle 2. Lauren decided that missing the lecture every day was hurting her grade. gerund 3. The swimmer, driven by the need to be the best in the world, made himself sick with anxiety. participle 4. Completing the obstacle course is harder than it looks. gerund

Gerund or Participle? 1. Fred’s arguing every call is getting frustrating.

2. Giving the players a break will improve their attitudes.

3. The completed meal was so beautiful that the guests hesitated to eat it.

1. Fred’s arguing every call is getting frustrating. gerund 2. Giving the players a break will improve their attitudes. gerund 3. The completed meal was so beautiful that the guests hesitated to eat it. participle

Re-viewing: Participial Phrases

• Verb ending in –ing or –ed • Acts as an adjective because it describes noun/pronoun • Found in beginning, middle, or end of sentence

• Screaming in terror, John ran away from the tiger. • Terrified, John ran away from the tiger. • X= While running from the tiger, John stepped on a root and fell.

Re-viewing: Gerund • Sentence = S + V + O

• Swimming is fun – Swimming = verb + -ing – Acting as subject of sentence

• I like swimming – Swimming = verb + -ing – Acting as object of sentence

• Asking • Asking the questions is essential to success. • Matt enjoys asking questions about gold fish.

Appositives

SENTENCE OF THE WEEK

Notice Mom and Dad rushed in, side by side for a change, happy that I was not dead. Laurie Halse Anderson, Wintergirls, p. 9

O Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, show us the threat. Rick Riordan, The Last Olympian, p. 59

Mom answered the door at 8:05 a.m. to Mr. Bridges, a short round man in a blue suit, and Coach Warner, who was wearing a Lake Windsor High pullover. Edward Bloor, Tangerine

Notice Mom and Dad rushed in, side by side for a change, happy that I was not dead. Laurie Halse Anderson, Wintergirls, p. 9

O Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, show us the threat. Rick Riordan, The Last Olympian, p. 59

Mom answered the door at 8:05 a.m. to Mr. Bridges, a short round man in a blue suit, and Coach Warner, who was wearing a Lake Windsor High pullover.

• —Edward Bloor, Tangerine

Appositives An appositive is a noun that adds a second image to a preceding noun. • An appositive expands details in the reader’s imagination. The raccoon enjoys eating turtle eggs. • Add an appositive to this sentence. Use commas to set off the appositive. The raccoon, a scavenger, enjoys eating turtle eggs.

Appositives You can also use an appositive phrase.

The raccoon, a midnight scavenger who roams lake shorelines in search of food, enjoys eating turtle eggs.

Look at these examples: • The insect is crawling across the kitchen table • The insect, a cockroach, is crawling across the kitchen table. • The insect, a large cockroach, is crawling across the kitchen table. • The insect, a large cockroach with hairy legs, is crawling across the kitchen table. • The insect, a large, hairy-legged cockroach that has spied my bowl of oatmeal, is crawling across the kitchen table.

Now it’s your turn • Add an appositive or appositive phrase to the following sentences. (Or, create your own!) • The volcano spewed forth lava and ash. • The athlete trained each afternoon.

Look what we wrote!

Sentence of the Week

ABSOLUTES

NOTICE “Doors slammed, engines coughed, and they were gone.” ~ To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

“Matt squatted on the floor, his heart pounding.” ~ House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

“The riders stiffened, eyes flashing from side to side, then wheeled their mounts around and galloped away.” ~Christopher Paolini, Eragon

NOTICE Doors slammed, engines coughed, and they were gone. ~ To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Matt squatted on the floor, his heart pounding. ~ House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer Her feet touching the side of the stone tower and her hands grasping the rope, Violet closed her eyes and began to climb. ~ Lemony Snicket, The Bad Beginning The riders stiffened, eyes flashing from side to side, then wheeled their mounts around and galloped away. ~Christopher Paolini, Eragon

The Absolute A 2-word combination—a noun and an ing or ed verb added to a sentence The cat climbed the tree. • Add an absolute— Claws digging, feet kicking, the cat climbed the tree.

• Either way the cat gets up the tree, but in the second sentence the absolute adds to the image of the action of climbing.

The Absolute The mountain climber edged along the cliff.

• Add 2 absolutes to the beginning or end of the sentence. The mountain climber edged along the cliff, hands shaking, feet trembling.

Absolute Phrases • Absolute phrases can also be added Feet trembling on the snow covered rocks, the mountain climber edged along to cliff.

More examples…. • Eyes watering, the chef sliced the onion.

• Brian wandered into the woods, a map folded in his back pocket.

More examples….. • Sentence with no absolute: – The candlelight created a romantic atmosphere.

• Sentence with an absolute: – Flames glowing, the candlelight created a romantic atmosphere. • Sentence with an absolute phrase: – Flames glowing at the center of the table, the candlelight created a romantic atmosphere.

Using the absolute phrase • Sentence with one absolute phrase: – Ethan climbed the rock wall, sweat dripping from his forehead. • Sentence with two absolute phrases: – Ethan climbed the rock wall, sweat dripping from his forehead, heart pounding in his chest. • Sentence with three absolute phrases: – Ethan climbed the rock wall, sweat dripping from his forehead, heart pounding in his chest, fear mounting at the thought of falling.

Where can I put an absolute? • Absolutes can begin a sentence: – Music blaring from his iPod, the apathetic student ignored his assignment. – • Absolutes can interrupt a sentence: – The apathetic student, music blaring from his iPod, ignored his assignment. • Absolutes can end a sentence: – The apathetic student ignored his assignment, music blaring from his iPod.

Appositives and Absolutes • Ethan, an out of shape teenager, climbed the rock wall, sweat dripping from his forehead, heart pounding in his chest.

Add an appositive or appositive phrase OR absolute to the following sentences. Pick 3 sentences—

• • • •

The car cruised along the highway. The lion stalked its prey. The volcano spewed forth lava and ash. The athlete trained each afternoon.

Look what we wrote!