Directions: Identity the participle or participle phrase and the words that they modify:
The horseman is the ghost of a beheaded soldier who appears at night.
I am thinking beheaded is the participle that modifies the soldier or is it a phrase beheaded soldier who appears at night that modifies the horseman?
I am not sure Emily. I am pretty sure it is the first part you said though. My mom is a third grade teacher and she said it was correct.
Third grade teachers are usually correct, as is so in this case.
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To identify the participle or participle phrase and the words they modify, we first need to understand what a participle is. A participle is a verb form that functions as an adjective. It is typically derived from a verb and usually ends in "-ing" (present participle) or "-ed" (past participle).
In the given sentence, we have the phrases "of a beheaded soldier" and "who appears at night." Let's break it down:
1. "The horseman is the ghost of a beheaded soldier."
- The participle phrase here is "of a beheaded soldier," and it modifies the noun "ghost." This phrase tells us more about the kind of ghost the horseman is – it is the ghost of a beheaded soldier.
2. "who appears at night."
- In this case, "who appears at night" is a relative clause modifying the noun "soldier." It provides additional information about the soldier, specifying that the soldier appears at night.
So, to answer your question, the participle in the sentence is "beheaded," and it forms the participle phrase "of a beheaded soldier," which modifies the noun "ghost," not the noun "soldier."