"holding the flashlight in his hand",Marcus looked under and around the bushes to see if he spotted the missing wallet.

a) prepositional phrase
b) gerund phrase
c) participial phrase
d) appositive phrase

C

Right

The phrase "holding the flashlight in his hand" is a participial phrase.

To determine this, we can break down the phrase:

- "holding" is the present participle form of the verb "hold."
- "the flashlight" is the object of the participle.
- "in his hand" is a prepositional phrase that tells us where the flashlight is being held.

In this case, the participial phrase "holding the flashlight in his hand" acts as an adjective phrase, providing additional information about Marcus. It describes what Marcus was doing while looking under and around the bushes.