‘Knowing This,’ ‘Given That’: Participial Phrases Explained

A participial phrase can help turn your words into detailed pictures of what you want to say. A particularly well-crafted sentence can bring you back to the river where you used to go fishing with your father, or to the sofa in your grandparents’ house where you used to flip through photo albums. Participial phrases make these vivid details come to life.

There are many ways to add descriptive details to a story or conversation. We often use adjectives to do this, or we can add entire sentences to provide context. But we can also do this with participial phrases. In this article you’ll learn how participial phrases can act as adjectives to provide context and detail to what you want to say.

What is a participial phrase?

Participial phrases are sentences built around a participle. A participle is a very common type of verb in English. Present participles are verbs that end in -ing, a grammar structure that you encounter every few seconds while listening to English. Things can be a little bit more complicated for the past participle as there are a lot of irregular forms, although regular past participles end in -ed. (To learn more about participles, check out our guides to present participles and past participles.)

Take a look at the chart below to refresh your memory of a few very common verbs and their participle forms in English.

Now look at the examples below to see how participles begin whole phrases that provide context to a sentence. These phrases are called participial phrases.

• Going through old photos, Sarah found a picture of her grandparents.
• Seeing the approaching storm, the sailors quickly secured the ship.
• Taking a deep breath, Emma stepped onto the stage.
• Done with his chores, Jake decided to watch a movie.
• Given a second chance, he promised to work harder.
• Known for its nightlife, London is visited by millions every year.

Present participial phrases

Present participial phrases add detail and context and help to make a sentence more vivid. In a way, the whole phrase acts like an adjective and adds a quality to the subject of the sentence, as in the following examples:

• Barking loudly, the dog scared the neighbors.
• Singing happily, the children walked home.
• Holding the baby, the mother rocked back and forth.

The present participial phrases (in bold type) all modify the underlined phrase, which acts as the subject of the sentence. As you might notice, the participial phrase comes immediately before the subject, although it can be placed in other positions as well (this will be very important later).

Past participial phrases

Past participles can also add information to a sentence, but they often provide a cause or a result connected with the subject. Basically, they describe what happened before and provide a reason to why something is happening.

• Known for its skyscrapers, New York attracts visitors from all over the world.
• Exhausted from the long day, Stephanie sighed with relief when she went to bed.
• Questioned by the police, the murderer soon confessed his crime.

The past participle given is often used to introduce a condition that explains or gives a reason for the main action in the sentence.

• Given the circumstances, we decided to postpone our trip.
• Given her extensive experience, she was the perfect candidate for the job.
• Given the late hour, they decided to stay overnight at the hotel.

Participial phrase meaning and sentence placement

So far we have seen participial phrases at the beginning of a sentence, but this is not always the case. Participial phrases, in fact, can be at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of a sentence. While different positions express the same overall meaning, each can emphasize a different element and give a different flow to the sentence. Look at these examples:

• Given the complexity of the task, the team worked late to finish the project.
• The team, given the complexity of the task, worked late to finish the project.
• The team worked late to finish the project, given the complexity of the task.

Beginning position

Placing the participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence provides the context or background for the action described in the sentence. In this way we draw the attention to the causes of the action.

• Hoping for a promotion, Ann stayed late every night that week.
• Thinking quickly, Jim prepared a prank for his coworker.
• Running down the street, the dog chased after a passing car.

Middle position

This type of sentence adds detail or clarification about the subject as the sentence progresses. In this way it explains the reason why the subject acts a certain way. This placement is more common in written English.

• The students, working hard on their project, managed to deliver on time.
• The team, celebrating their victory, went to a party next to the gym.
• The cat, sleeping soundly in the sun, didn’t notice the bird outside.

End position

In this position, the participial phrase justifies why the main action has happened.

• John completed the race, feeling really proud.
• They sat by the bonfire, telling stories.
• The children played outside, enjoying the fresh snow.

Punctuation of participial phrases

The position of the participial phrase will influence the punctuation of the whole sentence. You need to think about the participial phrase as an addition – it is something extra that you add to the main sentence.

For this reason, you need a comma to separate the participial phrase from the rest of the sentence. If a participial phrase is at the beginning of a sentence, you need to write a comma after it. A participial phrase in the middle of a sentence will have two commas – one before it and one after. An end-of-the-sentence participial phrase will have a comma before it. Notice the commas in the examples below:

* Given the current situation, the couple decided to postpone their wedding.

• The couple, given the current situation, decided to postpone their wedding.
• The couple decided to postpone their wedding, given the current situation.

Common participial phrase mistakes

Earlier we noted that a participial phrase is often close to the subject of the sentence. As we have seen, there can be different placements of a participial phrase in a sentence, but it is still important that the connection between the participial phrase and the noun it modifies be clear.

When this connection is not clear, we have a common mistake called a dangling participle. A dangling participle doesn’t seem to be connected to anything in the sentence, making it confusing and incorrect. Here are a few examples of dangling participles:

• Sitting on the porch, the sound of chirping birds filled the air.
• Getting ready for the day, the dogs started barking.
• Sipping the first coffee of the day, the anticipation of what the day would bring filled me with excitement.

You see? In the first sentence, who is sitting on the porch listening to the chirping birds? There is no person mentioned anywhere. And in the second sentence, did the dogs start barking to get ready for the day? That’s plain illogical. The third sentence is also confusing because the subject should be I, but instead the subject is the ‘anticipation of what the day would bring.’

Here is a way to fix the previous sentences:

• Sitting on the porch, we enjoyed the sound of chirping birds filling the air.
• Getting ready for the day, John heard the dogs barking.
• Sipping the first coffee of the day, I was filled with excitement in anticipation of what the day would bring.

With a clear subject close to the participial phrase, everything makes sense right away.

Key takeaways

Participial phrases enrich sentences by acting like adjectives, providing additional detail and context. They help paint a vivid picture in the mind of anyone who is listening to us or reading a text.

You can use different kinds of participial phrases to produce different effects – present participial phrases can describe an action, while past participial phrases often describe a cause or result. Finally, when you use participial phrases, keep in mind their position in the sentence, and remember to use commas in writing to make your ideas clear.

By understanding these concepts, you too will be able to paint an interesting and vivid picture in the mind of your readers or listeners.