Question

you are invited to a costume party
grammar notes
sometimes words take on different roles when they are functioning differently in a sentence. two of these such instances where a part of speech \puts on a costume\ are the gerund and the participle. these are formed from verbs but arent used alone as action words in sentences. the gerund ends in -ing and functions as a noun. a participle is a verb that ends in -ing (present participle) or -ed, -d, -t, -en, -n (past participle) and functions as an adjective describing or modifying nouns. usually words ending in one of the endings lists above would be verbs, but both of these things \masquerade\ as something else depending on how they are used.
each sentence below contains an underlined verbal phrase. in each sentence, identify the verbal as a participle or gerund. if the verbal is a participle, write the noun that it is modifying. if the verbal is a gerund, write its function (subject, direct object, appositive, object of preposition, subjective complement). an example has been done for you.
example: reading a good horror story always gives me pleasure. answer: gerund, subject

1. sammie and sally enjoyed walking along the haunted trail.
2. they hoped they would see the dancing zombies hidden in the bushes.
3. instead, they came up on an old, wrecked truck.
4. the trucks engine, bubbling with green gook, began to make funny noises.
5. sammie, scared to get any closer, reached for his cell phone.
6. clearing her throat, sally said, \whoever you are...come out now!\
7. sammie, trying to sound brave, added to sallys command: \we arent afraid of you!\
8. sally whispered to sammie, \arent you afraid of seeing whats under there?\
9. suddenly, the truck, shaking and rattling, looked as if it were going to explode.
10. add a sentence (or short paragraph) that tells the ending of this story. be sure to use gerunds and/or participles. underline and label any you include. use the back of this sheet, if needed.

Explanation:

1. For "walking along the haunted trail" in "Sammie and Sally enjoyed walking along the haunted trail":

• A gerund is a verb form ending in -ing that functions as a noun. Here, "walking" is the object of the verb "enjoyed" (direct object).

1. For "dancing" in "They hoped they would see the dancing zombies hidden in the bushes":

• A participle is a verb form (here, present participle -ing) that functions as an adjective. "Dancing" modifies the noun "zombies".

1. For "wrecked" in "Instead, they came up on an old, wrecked truck":

• A participle (past participle -ed) functions as an adjective. "Wrecked" modifies the noun "truck".

1. For "bubbling with green gook" in "The truck’s engine, bubbling with green gook, began to make funny noises":

• A participle (present participle -ing) functions as an adjective. "Bubbling" modifies the noun "engine".

1. For "scared to get any closer" in "Sammie, scared to get any closer, reached for his cell phone":

• A participle (past participle -ed) functions as an adjective. "Scared" modifies the noun "Sammie".

1. For "Clearing her throat" in "Clearing her throat, Sally said, “Whoever you are...come out now!”":

• A participle (present participle -ing) functions as an adjective (describing the action of Sally).

1. For "trying to sound brave" in "Sammie, trying to sound brave, added to Sally’s command: “We aren’t afraid of you!”":

• A participle (present participle -ing) functions as an adjective (describing Sammie).

1. For "seeing what’s under there" in "Sally whispered to Sammie, “Aren’t you afraid of seeing what’s under there?”":

• A gerund is a verb form ending in -ing that functions as a noun. Here, "seeing" is the object of the preposition "of" (object of preposition).

1. For "shaking and rattling" in "Suddenly, the truck, shaking and rattling, looked as if it were going to explode":

• Participles (present participles -ing) function as adjectives. "Shaking" and "rattling" modify the noun "truck".

Answer:

1. Gerund, direct object
2. Participle, modifies “zombies”
3. Participle, modifies “truck”
4. Participle, modifies “engine”
5. Participle, modifies “Sammie”
6. Participle, modifies “Sally”
7. Participle, modifies “Sammie”
8. Gerund, object of preposition
9. Participles, modify “truck”