Participial phrase
A participial phrase is a verb in its -ing or -ed form used as an adjective, together with anything it governs, as in 'holding the letter at arm's length', describing a noun somewhere else in the sentence.
Holding the letter at arm's length, she read it twice. The phrase describes she, and it does something two separate sentences could not: it puts the gesture and the reading in the same breath, happening at once rather than one after the other.
A participle is a verb form that can work as an adjective: the present participle ends in -ing (holding), the past participle usually ends in -ed (startled), and irregular verbs have their own (written, frozen, torn). Add the words that go with it and you have a participial phrase.
Sentences with participial phrases
- Present participle, at the start: Turning the corner, he saw the queue.
- Past participle, at the start: Startled by the noise, the dog bolted.
- Irregular past participle: Written in pencil and badly smudged, the note was hard to read.
- Perfect participle: Having read the letter twice, she burned it.
- In the middle: The old man, leaning on his stick, waited for the lights.
- At the end: He signed it, knowing what it would cost.
- Identifying, with no commas: The man holding the letter is her father.
Where to put it
Position changes the effect. In front, the phrase is an initial modifier and sets the scene before the action. At the end, it is a terminal modifier and lands like an aftershock, as in He signed it, knowing what it would cost. That trailing use is the engine of the cumulative sentence.
When the phrase identifies which one you mean, as in the man holding the letter, it is a bound modifier and takes no commas.
Participial phrase vs gerund phrase
Both can start with an -ing word. A participial phrase describes a noun; a gerund phrase is a noun. Rowing against the current, they made no progress is participial (it describes they). Rowing against the current made no difference is a gerund phrase (it is the subject).
The dangling trap
A participial phrase attaches itself to the nearest subject whether or not you meant it to. Reading the letter, the tea went cold hands the letter to the tea. That is a dangling modifier, and it is the commonest error this construction produces. Fix it by giving the sentence the right subject: Reading the letter, she let her tea go cold.
One more caution for narrative prose: three participial openers in a row (Turning... Reaching... Nodding...) is a rhythm readers hear, and it flattens every action into the same shape.
Frequently asked questions
How do you identify a participial phrase?
Look for a phrase that starts with an -ing form, an -ed form or an irregular past form such as 'written' or 'frozen', and ask whether it describes a noun. If it describes someone or something in the sentence, it is participial; if it names an activity and could be replaced with 'it', it is a gerund phrase.
Does a participial phrase need a comma?
Only when it adds detail about something already identified. 'Holding the letter, she read it twice' takes a comma; 'The man holding the letter is her father' does not, because the phrase tells you which man.
What is a perfect participial phrase?
It is a participial phrase built with 'having', such as 'Having read the letter twice, she burned it'. It shows that one action finished before the next began.