E n g L i s h jenni Currie Santamaria

Participial phrases are used in 
many different ways in English—they can be subjects of sentences, they can 
modify nouns, and they can modify clauses.
In the passage above, the author uses participial phrases to combine 
clauses. By omitting the verb 
be
and using a participle, he gives the writing a 
more poetic sound. These types of sentences are not common in spoken English.
Look at these comparisons:
the men appeared, 
scrambling out, escaping the burning hulk
 
= the men 
were scrambling out; they were escaping the burning hulk
he watched four men drop to the ground, 
staggering, wounded, blinded
= 
the men were staggering, wounded, and blinded
enemies only yards apart, 
seeking a target in the dust, firing point-blank
= 
the enemies were seeking a target; they were iring point-blank

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Better Reading English
In these examples, the participial phrase has the same subject as the main 
clause. In the following examples, however, the phrase has a new subject:
He
 . . . sprayed the machine-gun fire back and forth, 
all four men
 going 
down
= all four men were going down while he sprayed gun ire
He
 saw it now, 
the hatch
 coming open = 
the hatch was coming open when 
he saw it
B.
Identify meaning
Rewrite the participial phrases as separate sentences.
1.
The soldiers moved around the building, seeking a safe place to enter.
2.
The commander shouted orders, knowing his men would quickly obey.
3.
The gunire hit the door, shattering it into a thousand pieces.
4.
He ran into the room, calling orders as he went.
5.
They began the battle, one soldier driving the tank while another used the 
machine gun.
VI. READ IT AGAIN
Read the excerpt again. Answer the questions.
1.
At the beginning of the excerpt, why do the Germans come out of their 
tank?
2.
Why does he describe the battle as “chaos”?

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3
San Francisco
CITY TRAVEL TIPS
I. PRE-READING
A.
Background information
San Francisco, located in Northern California, is one of the most popular tourist 
destinations in the United States. The writer of the following article is giving tips 
for people who want to visit San Francisco. 
Tips
are small pieces of advice.
B.
Words to know before you read
Match the words to their definitions.
____ 1.
layers 
a. a small lake
____ 2.
avoid 
b. a boat that carries passengers a short 
distance
____ 3.
reservation 
c. one thing on top of another
____ 4.
ferry 
d. an arrangement to save a place for a