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T HE
P ARTICIPLE
P HRASE
Recognize a participle
phrase when you see one.
A participle phrase will begin with a present or past participle. If
the participle is present, it will dependably end in ing. Likewise, a
regular past participle will end in a consistent ed. Irregular past

participles, unfortunately, conclude in all kinds of ways

[although this list will help].
Since all phrases require two or more words, a participle phrase
will often include objects and/or modifiers that complete the
thought. Here are some examples:
Crunching caramel corn for the entire movie
Washed with soap and water
Stuck in the back of the closet behind the obsolete
computer
Participle phrases always function as adjectives, adding
description to the sentence. Read these examples:
The horse trotting up to the fence hopes that you
have an apple or carrot.
Trotting up to the fence modifies the noun horse.
The water drained slowly in the pipe clogged with
dog hair .
Clogged with dog hair modifies the noun pipe.
Eaten by mosquitoes , we wished that we had made
hotel, not campsi te, reser vations.
Eaten by mosquitoes modifies the pronoun we.

Don't mistake a present

participle phrase for a
gerund phrase.
Gerund and present participle phrases are easy to confuse
because they both begin with an ing word. The difference is the
function that they provide in the sentence. A gerund phrase will
always behave as a noun while a present participle phrase will act
as an adjective. Check out these examples:
Walking on the beach , Delores dodged jellyfi sh that
had washed ashore.
Walking on the beach = present participle phrase describing
the nounDelores.
Walking on the beach is painful if jellyfi sh have
washed ashore.
Walking on the beach = gerund phrase, the subject of
the verb is.
Waking to the buzz of the alarm clock , Freddie
cursed the arrival of another Monday.
Waking to the buzz of the alarm clock = present participle
phrase describing the noun Freddie.

Freddie hates waking to the buzz of the alarm clock .

Waking to the buzz of the alarm clock = gerund phrase,
the direct object of the verb hates.
Af ter a long day at school and work, LaShae found her
roommate Ben eating the last of the lef tover pizza .
Eating the last of the leftover pizza = present participle
phrase describing the noun Ben.
Ben's rudest habit is eating the last of the lef tover
pizza .
Eating the last of the leftover pizza = gerund phrase,
the subject complement of the linking verb is.

Punctuate a participle
phrase correctly.
When a participle phrase introduces a main clause, separate the
two sentence components with a comma. The pattern looks like
this:
P A RT I C I P L E P H R A S E + , + M A I N C L AU S E .
Read this example:

Glazed with barbecue sauce, the rack of ribs lay

nestled next to a pile of sweet colesl aw.
When a participle phrase concludes a main clause and is
describing the word right in front of it, you need no punctuation
to connect the two sentence parts. The pattern looks like this:
M A I N C L AU S E + + P A RT I C I P L E P H R A S E .
Check out this example:
Mariah risked petting the pit bull wagging its stub
tail.
But when a participle phrase concludes a main clause and
modifies a word farther up in the sentence, you will need a
comma. The pattern looks like this:
M A I N C L AU S E + , + P A RT I C I P L E P H R A S E .
Check out this example:
Cooper enjoyed dinner at Audrey's house, agreeing to
a large slice of cherr y pie even though he was full
to the point of bursting .

Don't misplace or dangle

your participle phrases.
Participle phrases are the most common modifier
to misplace or dangle. In clear, logical sentences, you will find
modifiers right next to the words they describe.
Shouting with happiness, William celebrated his
chance to inter view at SunTrust.
Notice that the participle phrase sits right in front of William, the
one doing the shouting.
If too much distance separates a modifier and its target, the
modifier is misplaced.
Draped neatly on a hanger , William borrowed
Grandpa's old suit to wear to the inter view.
The suit, not William, is on the hanger! The modifier must come
closer to the word it is meant to describe:
For the inter view, William borrowed Grandpa's
old suit, which was draped neatly on a hanger .
If the sentence fails to include a target, the modifier is dangling.
Straightening his tie and smoothing his hai r, the
appointment time for the inter view had fi nally arrived.

We assume William is about to interview, but where is he in the

sentence? We need a target for the participle
phrase straightening his tie and smoothing his hair.
Straightening his tie and smoothing his
hair, William was relieved that the appointment time
for the inter view had fi nally arrived.

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T HE G ERUND
P HRASE

Recognize a gerund phrase

when you see one.
A gerund phrase will begin with a gerund, an ing word, and will
include othermodifiers and/or objects. Gerund phrases always
function as nouns, so they will be subjects, subject
complements, or objects in the sentence. Read these examples:
Eating ice cream on a windy day can be a messy
experience if you have long, untamed hair.
Eating ice cream on a windy day = subject of the verb can
be.
A more disastrous activity for long-haired people
is blowing giant bubble gum bubbles with the car
windows down .
Blowing giant bubble gum bubbles with the car
windows down = subject complement of the verb is.
Wild food adventures require getting your hair cut to
a shor t, safe length .
Getting your hair cut to a short, safe length = direct object
of the verb require.

Don't mistake a gerund

phrase for a present
participle phrase.
Gerund and present participle phrases are easy to confuse
because they both begin with an ing word. The difference is that a
gerund phrase will always function as a noun while a present
participle phrase describes another word in the sentence. Check
out these examples:
Jamming too much clothing in to a washing
mach ine will result in disaster.
Jamming too much clothing into a washing machine =
gerund phrase, the subject of the verb will result.
Jamming too much clothing in to the washing
mach ine, Aamir saved $1.25 but had to tolerate the
curious stares of other laundr y patrons as his machine
bucked and rumbled with the heavy load.
Jamming too much clothing into the washing
machine = present participle phrase describing Aamir.
Bernard hates buttering toast with a fork .

Buttering toast with a fork = gerund phrase, the direct object

of the verb hates.
Buttering toast with a fo rk , Bernard vowed that he
would fi nally wash the week's wor th of dir ty dishes
piled in the sink.
Buttering toast with a fork = present participle phrase
describingBernard.
My dog's most annoying habit is hogging the middle
of the bed .
Hogging the middle of the bed = gerund phrase, the subject
complement of the linking verb is.
Last night I had to sleep on the couch because I found
my dog Floyd hogging the middle of the bed .
Hogging the middle of the bed = present participle phrase
describingFloyd.

T HE D ANGLING
M ODIFIER
Recognize a dangling
modifier when you see one.
Modifiers are words, phrases, or clauses that add description.
In clear, logical sentences, you will often find modifiers right next
toeither in front of or behindthe target words they logically
describe. Read this example:
Horrifi ed, Mom snatched the deviled eggs from Jack,
whose fi ngers were covered in cat hair .
Notice that horrified precedes Mom, its target, just
as deviled sits right beforeeggs. Whose fingers were
covered in cat hair follows Jack, its target.

Sometimes, however, an inexperienced writer will include a

modifier but forget the target. The modifier thus dangles because
the missing target word leaves nothing for the modifier to
describe.
Dangling modifiers are errors. Their poor construction confuses
readers. Look at the samples below:
Hungr y, the lef tover pizza was devoured.
Hungry is a single-word adjective. Notice that there is no one
in the sentence for this modifier to describe.
Rummaging in her giant handbag, the sunglasses
escaped detection.
Rummaging in her giant handbag is a participle phrase.
In the current sentence, no word exists for this phrase to modify.
Neithersunglasses nor detection has fingers to make
rummaging possible!
With a sigh of disappointment, the expensi ve dress
was returned to the rack.
With a sigh of disappointment is a string of prepositional
phrases. If you look carefully, you do not find anyone in the
sentence capable of feeling disappointed.
Neither dress nor rack has emotions!

Know how to fix a dangling

modifier.
Fixing a dangling modifier will require more than rearranging the
words in the sentence. You will often need to add
something new so that the modifier finally has a target word to
describe:
Hungr y, we devoured the lef tover pizza.
Rummaging in her giant handbag, Frieda failed to fi nd
her sunglasses.
With a sigh of disappointment, Charlene returned the
expensive dress to the rack.