Participle phrases

Question

I can't sort out what these different participle phrases are called, or if they are adjectivals or adverbials

an adverbial has freedom of mobility within a sentence, but some adjectivals may be pre, or post modifiers

examples

The [running] man has arrived

The man[, running,] has arrived

[Running down the road,] the man was singing

The man[, running down the road,] was singing

The man was singing[, running down the road]

I saw Bill [running down the road]

Englishmaven · Accepted Answer

All of them modify the man, not running, so they are adjectival.

BillJ · Answer

There's more to it than simply saying they are adjectives. In fact none of them are adjectives and they are not all modifiers:

[1] The running man has arrived.

Running” is a verb phrase modifying “man”. It's the same as “a sleeping child”, “the condemned man”, "the gleaming showroom".

[2] The man, running, has arrived.

A gerund-participial clause postmodifying “man”.

[3] Running down the road, the man was singing.

A gerund-participial clause functioning as a supplementary adjunct. It doesn’t modify anything, but sits apart from the rest of the clause, separated in writing by a comma and in speech by a slight pause.

[4] The man running down the road was singing.

A gerund-participial clause modifying “man”. Similar in meaning to the relative clause “The man who was running down the road”.

[5] The man was singing, running down the road.

A clause as a depictive adjunct giving descriptive information about “the man”.

6] I saw Bill running down the road.

A clause functioning as complement (not modifier) of “saw”. “Bill” is not part of the clause, but is object of “saw”

Participle phrases

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