Verbals 2 — participles (verb-form as adjective)

Read aloud: 'The cited source supports my claim.' What does 'cited' do in this sentence?

• Affirm: 'cited' modifies SOURCE — acts like an adjective
• Connect: today we name this — PARTICIPLE used as ADJECTIVE

Today we work with PARTICIPLES — the second verbal. A participle is a verb form (-ing or -ed) that functions as an ADJECTIVE. 'The cited source' — cited is past participle modifying source. 'The walking cursor' — walking is present participle modifying cursor. 'The synthesized argument' — synthesized is past participle modifying argument. Participles can stand alone ('the cited source') or open PARTICIPIAL PHRASES ('Walking across the page, the cursor blinked' — the participial phrase modifies cursor). WARNING: from G7-spring you learned about DANGLING PARTICIPLES — the participial phrase MUST modify the subject of the main clause. 'Walking through the gallery, the paintings impressed me.' Were the paintings walking? No. Fix: 'Walking through the gallery, I was impressed by the paintings.' We'll review this rule today. The bigger point: participles let writers ADD DETAIL without starting a new sentence. Look at Mary Oliver: 'Standing at the edge of the field, she watched the light shift.' STANDING-AT-THE-EDGE-OF-THE-FIELD is a participial phrase modifying SHE. Look at Adichie: 'Confronted by the librarian's assumption, I felt the limits of the single story.' CONFRONTED-BY-THE-LIBRARIAN'S-ASSUMPTION is past-participial phrase modifying I.

• Past participles often end -ed; they describe a state the noun is in.

  model ANNOTATED is past participle modifying SOURCE. It's adjective-function.

  prompt Identify the participle: 'The annotated source contains the key evidence.'
• The participial phrase must modify the subject of the main clause. If it doesn't, it DANGLES.

  model WALKING THROUGH THE GALLERY is the participial phrase; it modifies SHE (the subject of the main clause). Correct placement.

  prompt Identify the participial phrase: 'Walking through the gallery, she paused.'
• Watch every sentence that opens with -ed or -ing. Ask: who/what is doing this? The answer must be the subject of the main clause.

  model DANGLING. SURPRISED-BY-THE-DATA can't modify CONCLUSION — a conclusion can't be surprised. Fix: 'Surprised by the data, the researchers shifted the conclusion.' Now SURPRISED modifies RESEARCHERS.

  prompt Diagnose this sentence: 'Surprised by the data, the conclusion shifted.'

• Pair-share: write a sentence with a participial phrase opening (-ing or -ed phrase + comma + main clause).
• Cold Call: name the participle and what it modifies in 'The synthesized argument illuminates the conversation.'

M-8-F-GR-07-A Chart

MG-5 anchor with participle band highlighted in gold; dangling-participle warning callout visible. Print-ready 18x24.

MG-5 Chart

Verbal taxonomy anchor (CCSS L.8.1.a): 3-band stacked card. GERUND (-ing form as NOUN). STRUCTURE: -ing verb form functioning as subject, object, or object of preposition. EXAMPLES: 'Researching took weeks.' (subject) / 'She loves researching.' (object) / 'She is interested in researching.' (object of preposition). 3-QUESTION TEST: 'Is the -ing form acting like a noun? Can you replace it with "the activity of X"?' PARTICIPLE (-ing or -ed form as ADJECTIVE). STRUCTURE: verb form modifying a noun. EXAMPLES: 'the cited source' (-ed participle modifying source) / 'walking across the page, the cursor blinked' (-ing participle modifying cursor — but watch for dangling!) / 'the synthesized argument' (-ed participle modifying argument). 3-QUESTION TEST: 'Is the verb-form acting like an adjective? Can you ask which noun it describes?' INFINITIVE (to + verb base as NOUN, ADJECTIVE, or ADVERB). STRUCTURE: 'to' + verb base. EXAMPLES NOUN-USE: 'To synthesize is to converse.' (subject) / 'She wants to research.' (object). EXAMPLES ADJECTIVE-USE: 'the source to cite' / 'a question to answer'. EXAMPLES ADVERB-USE: 'She paused to think.' (modifies paused) / 'easy to read' (modifies easy). 3-QUESTION TEST: 'Is the to-verb acting like a noun? An adjective? An adverb?' Bottom rule: 'A verbal is a verb form doing a non-verb job. Identify the JOB.' Print-ready 18x24.

• Identify the participle (and what it modifies) in 10 mixed sentences. Some sentences have gerunds instead; label those too.

  scaffold MG-5 verbal-taxonomy card
• Diagnose 4 dangling-participle sentences. Apply the 3-step repair (find the participle; find what it should modify; place adjacent).

  scaffold G7-fall MG-19 carryover card

• Write a sentence opening with a participial phrase that modifies the subject correctly.
• Diagnose this sentence: 'Reading the source carefully, the meaning became clear.'

• Restate: participles are verbs-doing-adjective-work; participial phrases must modify the subject
• Preview lesson 8: infinitives

• Find 5 sentences with participial phrases in your synthesis-essay sources. Copy into sentences-I-admire notebook with citations. Mark what each participle modifies.