Ing participial phrase

• When combining sentences with ing phrase make sure to include a comma after the phrase. See examples:

1. The house creaks at night. The house is spooky.Creaking at night, the house is spooky.2. Daring Donald hurt his knee. Daring Donald jumped

from the garage roof.Daring Donald, jumping from the garage roof, hurt his

knees.

You may put an ing word at the beginning, middle, and end.

1. Wendy was bored. She sat in the empty room.

Sitting in the empty room, Wendy was bored.

Wendy was bored sitting in the empty room.

2. My friend broke her tooth. She ate a rock.

My friend broke her tooth eating a rock.

Eating a rock, my friend broke her tooth.

My friend, eating a rock, broke her tooth.

Exercises

1. Lynne drives a sports car. Lynne easily out-drags everybody else.

2. Sheila looked for the boy. She found him in the trash can.

3. Carolyn feeds her guppies. She noticed that many of the little ones are missing.

4. We similed nervously at Count Dracula. We wished we had not gone to his castle.

5. The baby smiled happily. She smeared glue in her hair.

Answers

1. Lynne, driving a sports car, easily out-drags everybody else. Or Lynne, easily out-dragging everybody else, drives a sports car.

2. Looking for the boy, Sheila found him in the trash can.3. Noticing that many of the little ones are missing,

Carolyn feeds her guppies.4. We smiled nervously at Count Dracula, wishing we had

not gone to his castle.5. The baby, smiling happily, smeared glue in her hair.

Exercises

1. The goalie blocked the shot. She threw her hands into the air.

2. Aggie won the match point. She smashed the serve out of her opponent’s reach.

3. Grace departed with a tear in her eye. She kissed her mother good-bye.

4. Matthew Thomas ran at full speed. He tried to escape from his brothers.

5. Lou raced towards home plate. He attempted to break the tie game.

Answers

1. Throwing her hands into the air, the goalie blocked the shot. Or Blocking the shot, the goalie threw her hands into the air.

2. Smashing the serve out of her opponent’s reach, Aggie won the match point.

3. Departing with a tear in her eye, Grace kissed her mother good-bye.

4. Escaping from his brothers, Matthew Thomas ran at full speed.5. Racing toward home plate, Lou attempted to break the tie game.

Combine with Verbs

. When combining with verbs you may use conjunctions, don’t forget to add a comma

1. Minnie made mud pies. Minnie baked them carefully. Minnie gobbled them down.

2. The actress painted her wrinkled skin. The actress glued on false eyelashes. The actress plopped on a bright, red wig.

3. The puppet came to life. The puppet danced with the teddy bears. The puppet then went back to sleep.

4. The pinch hitter bounced a single to center. The pinch hitter slid into second base. The pinch hitter swallowed a pound of dust.

5. We made our beds. We hung up our clothes. We hated every minute of it.

Answers

1. Minnie made mud pies, baked them carefully, and gobbled them down.

2. The actress painted the wrinkled skin, glued on false eyelashes, and plopped on a bright red wig.

3. The puppet came to life, danced with the teddy bears, and then went back to sleep.

4. The pinch hitter bounced a single to center, slid into second base, and swallowed a pound of dust.

5. We made our beds, hung up our clothes, and hated every minute of it.

Using Action Verbs

Replace to be verbs with action verbs to create visual sentences.To Be: am, is, are, was, were, has been, had been, will be, will have

been, beingTo Do: do, did, done, doesTo Have: have, has, hadTo Get: get, gets,got• The cat lounges in the warm, sunny window.• Collins does the floors.• Collins waxes the floors as a part-time job.• Example: The cat is in the window.

Exercises: Add details to create more visual sentences.

1. Louis Armstrong was a great musician.2. Uncle Cedric was a story teller.3. Cousin Arief does the dishes every evening.4. Marcella did her nails.5. Ricky Henderson was a great base stealer.6. Sara got up at seven.7. Stephen got jam on the floor.8. Javier is in the front row.9. Computers are fun.10. Martina has a pretty smile.

Possible answers

1. Louis Armstrong’s music touched the hearts of millions of Americans.

2. Uncle Cedric enchants pre-school children with his tales about squirrels and chipmunks.

3. Cousin Arief loads the dishwasher every evening, saving his mother from one last kitchen chore.

4. Marcella removed her old fingernail polish, pushed back her cuticles.

5. Ricky Henderson broke Ty Cobb’s base stealing record with a flair for the dramatic.

Continue with Answers

6. Sara arose reluctantly at seven, dreading the test in her first period history class.

7. The third tablespoon of grandma’s strawberry jam slid off Stephen’s half slice of toast, anointing his ankle and ten square inches of the kitchen floor.

8. Javier sits in the center seat of the first row right in front of Mr. Jackson’s seat where he can’t talk to Joan or Sally anymore.

9. Many families buy computer games to entertain their children.10. Martina’s pretty smile delights both her classmates and teachers.