• 1 TRY OUT LANGUAGE

• 2 LEARN GRAMMAR

• 3 APPLY ON YOUR OWN

Use Participial Phrases to Combine Sentences

A participle is a verb form that sometimes acts as an adjective.

A participial phrase begins with a participle. Participles and participial phrases describe nouns and pronouns.

• • A participle ends in -ing or -ed, or it has a special form. It can stand alone, or it can come at the start of a group of words called a participial phrase.

  EXAMPLES

  Caring citizens vote in elections. Showing concern for the issues, they first listen to what the candidates say. The candidates often have many heated debates. Seen by many people, the debates help people understand the issues.

• • You can use participial phrases to combine or expand sentences.

  EXAMPLE

  These elections are important. They are covered by many reporters. Covered by many reporters, these elections are important.

Practice Together

Use a participial phrase to combine each pair of sentences. Say each new sentence.

• 1. Many people campaign for the candidate. They are working as a team.

• 2. The candidate has many good ideas. He is admired for his honesty.

• 3. People ask the candidate lots of questions. The questions are written on note cards.

Try It!

Use a participial phrase to combine each pair of sentences. Write each new sentence on a card. Then say each new sentence.

• 4. The candidate speaks with voters. The candidate knows what our town needs.

• 5. The candidate will be a strong contender. She is praised for her knowledge.

• 6. I cast my vote. I think carefully about the issues.

Speaking about the issues, the candidate made her ideas known.