Identifying Participial Phrases and Their Targets

Identify the participial phrase in the following sentence and the noun it describes: "The cat, sitting by the window, watched the birds."

• watched the birds; cat

• sitting by the window; cat

• by the window; birds

• the cat; window

Which part of the sentence is a participial phrase and what does it describe? "Lost in thought, she almost missed her stop."

• Lost in thought; she

• almost missed; stop

• her stop; she

• missed her stop; thought

Find the participial phrase and its target: "The dog, wagging its tail, greeted its owner happily."

• happily; owner

• greeted its owner; dog

• wagging its tail; dog

• its tail; dog

Identify the participial phrase and the noun it modifies: "The book, lying on the table, was open to the last chapter."

• lying on the table; book

• was open; book

• to the last chapter; book

• on the table; chapter

Which of the following sentences contains a participial phrase and what does it describe? "Running late, he skipped breakfast."

• Running late; breakfast

• he skipped; breakfast

• skipped breakfast; he

• Running late; he

Find the participial phrase in the sentence and the word it describes: "Fascinated by the museum exhibits, the children forgot about the time."

• the museum exhibits; children

• Fascinated by the museum exhibits; children

• forgot about the time; children

• by the museum exhibits; time

Identify the participial phrase and the noun it modifies: "The cookies, baked fresh this morning, were quickly eaten."

• baked fresh this morning; cookies

• were quickly eaten; cookies

• this morning; cookies

• fresh this morning; eaten

Which part of the sentence is a participial phrase and what does it describe? "Trembling with fear, the kitten hid under the bed."

• Trembling with fear; kitten

• hid under; bed

• with fear; kitten

• the bed; kitten

Find the participial phrase in the sentence and the word it describes: "The painting, admired by everyone, was the highlight of the exhibit."

• the highlight of the exhibit; painting

• was the highlight; exhibit

• by everyone; exhibit

• admired by everyone; painting

Identify the participial phrase and the noun it modifies: "The athlete, exhausted after the race, collapsed at the finish line."

• after the race; race

• collapsed at the finish line; athlete

• exhausted after the race; athlete

• at the finish line; race