Action in Writing: ING words provide a sense of action and movement in sentences.
A.Dashing down the steps, Fernando reached into his pocket for his lunch money.
B.Patrick, grasping the tray of hamburgers and pop, cautiously carried it to the cashier.
C.Biting into a juicy sardine sandwich relieved my hunger pains.
Exercise 1: Combine the following sentences using ING words. Subtract the helping verbs, is, are, was, and were, in your revised sentences.
Example:Sherman was chasing Wally down the hall.
Sherman slipped and broke his big toe.
Rewritten:Sherman, chasing Wally down the hall, slipped and broke his big toe.
or
Chasing Wally down the hall, Sherman slipped and broke his big toe.
The girl standing on the pier is my cousin Judy.
Morgan Smothers, carrying the umbrella, stepped from the stage.
1.Benny Goodright was tackling the bank robber for the police.
Benny held him three hours.
2. Angel Lietuvninkas was kicking the football.
He scored the winning field goal.
3.The wild youngsters were looking at the storefront windows.
They bought three compact disc players.
4. Mr. Futinthemudd is encouraging his students to study for the exam.
He promised to buy each of them a Big Mac.
5.Gert is fixing today’s pizza in the school cafeteria.
She lit up a big, black cigar.
6.Fred was babysitting for his aunt.
He finished all his homework.
7.Ozzie was playing the biblical character David.
He won the applause of the audience.
8.Big Andre was chopping down a tree.
He used a new axe that his father had given him for his birthday.
9.Clem was rap-dancing.
His belt broke.
10.Liz was running down the corridor.
She bumped into Dean Whittier.
Exercise 2:
Using PRESENT PARTICIPLES (-ING words), combine the following sentences. Introductory participial phrases are always followed by a comma. Put commas AROUND participial phrases that come after the noun THEY MODIFY.
Examples:
1. The house creaks at night.
The house is spooky.
Combined: Creaking at night, the house is spooky.
2. Karen was excited.
She packed for camp.
Combined: Packing for camp, Karen was excited.
1. The goalie blocked the shot.
She threw her hands into the air.
2. Aggie won the match point.
She smashed the serve out of her opponent's reach.
3. Grace departed with a tear in her eye.
She kissed her mother good-bye.
4. Matthew Thomas ran at full speed.
He tried to escape from his brothers.
5. Lou raced toward home plate.
He attempted to break the tie game.