loved him. If you were writing about Rip Van Winkle you might find it easier to write in rime. Here is a rime about a similar character: Old Bill Bogard was a fine old soul, But he would play hookey with a line and a pole. What do you think Old Bill was like? How do you think his wife felt when he neglected his work and went fishing? Do you think it put her in a good humor to have him late to meals? In a stanza of your own tell how you think Old Bill's wife felt and acted when he was late and the potatoes were cold. Remember it is nonsense that you are writing. Possibly you can think of a rime he made when he returned with some fish. Would this rime make Mrs. Bogard feel better about his being late for dinner? Get the swing of the lines in your mind and let the words tumble into place. Write as many stanzas as you can about some unusual person. A Favorite Historical Character Around the World Fliers An Explorer A Boy Learning to Ride a Bicycle 118. STUDYING THE PARTICIPLE 1. The book lying on the table is a history. 2. The story written by an eighth grade girl won the prize. What word does lying modify? What does the word written modify? These words are participles. They modify nouns and are derived from verbs. The distinguishing marks of a participle are these: it is derived from a verb; it may take an object; it may be modified; it does not make an assertion. A participle is a form of the verb used partly as an adjective and partly as a verb. Participles are of two principal kinds: 1. The present participle is formed by adding ing to the root of the verb, as singing, riding, talking. 2. The past participle is usually formed: a) By adding ed, d, or t to the present form of a regular verb; as talked, leapt, waked, wished. b) By adding en or n to the present form of an irregular verb; as taken, broken, eaten. TEST EXERCISE The past participle is frequently confused with the past tense. Sometimes careless persons use the past participle for the past tense or the past tense for the past participle. Do you make either of these mistakes? Make a list of common mistakes in the use of the participle. Your teacher may be able to help you. Fill in the correct form of the verb in the following sentences: 1. I have 2. Tom has 3. You have 4. The janitor 5. Someone has 6. I have (eat) my breakfast. (drink) enough. (ring) the bell. (steal) my pencil. (take) the book home. 7. She 8. John 9. I 11. I 10. Father (sing) a beautiful solo last night. (do) his work well. (know) he would bring one. 12. The boys (drag) me over the ground. 13. Jim (burst) our balloon. 14. The ship was (blow) to pieces. 15. Susan (dive) from the high platform last evening. A participle does not take the place of a verb because: 1. It has no subject. 2. It makes no statement. A participle resembles a verb because 1. It may have an object. The boy playing ball is Jack. 2. It may be modified by an adverb. The girls competing successfully were May and Agnes. Words ending in ing are not always participles. 1. He is working. 2. The swimming is good. 3. The train arrived during the night. In the first sentence, working is part of the verb is working. In the second, swimming is a noun. third, during is a preposition. In the In looking for a participle, ask yourself these questions: 1. Is it derived from a verb? 2. Does it modify a noun or a pronoun? In the following sentences, name the participles and tell what nouns they modify: 1. Meanwhile, Standish had noted the faces and figures of Indians Peeping and creeping about from bush to tree in the forest, Feigning to look for game with arrows set on their bowstrings, Drawing about him still closer and closer the net of their ambush. 2. They gathered and crowded about him, Questioning, answering, laughing, and each interrupting the other. 3. By the rude bridge that arched the flood, Here once the embattled farmers stood, 4. A brazen statue of Justice Stood in the public square, upholding the scales in her left hand. 5. Stormed at with shot and shell, Boldly they rode and well.. 6. There was a boy singing a Christmas carol outside my window last night. 7. The birds fluttered from bush to bush, chirping and frolicking. 8. The prince set out accompanied by the royal suite. 9. Every man's life is a fairy tale-written by God's fingers. 119. THE PARTICIPIAL PHRASE 1. The man, shaking his fist, shouted at the boy. Select the participle in the first sentence. What word is the object of the participle? What word modifies fist? Such a group of words, containing neither a subject nor a predicate and beginning with a participle, is called a participial phrase. Read the participial phrase in the second sentence. What word modifies the participle? cipial phrase in the third sentence. participle modified? Read the parti By what is the Copy the following sentences. Draw one line under the participial phrase and two lines under the noun or pronoun that it modifies. 1. The dog rushed out upon me, leaving me no chance for retreat. 2. I stood perfectly quiet, looking down into the beast's savage face. 3. Several times he rushed at me, evidently expecting me to flee or strike at him. 4. At last the brute, subdued by my steady look, obeyed my command. 5. Driven back to his kennel, he stood and growled at me. 6. The man moved slowly across the field, sowing the seed. 7. The elm trees bordering the field showed dark against the sky. 8. Surrounded by foes, they held their ground and fought desperately. 120. THE DANGLING PARTICIPLE Climbing to the top of the hill, a beautiful lake was seen. What was climbing to the top of the hill? Was it the lake? The sentence contains no noun or pronoun that is properly modified by the participle climbing. The result is that the participle seems to modify lake, and the meaning of the sentence becomes absurd. A parti |