{"id":10947,"date":"2026-06-15T00:12:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T23:12:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.novlr.org\/the-reading-room\/?p=10947"},"modified":"2026-06-15T00:12:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T23:12:56","slug":"how-do-you-stop-overusing-participial-phrases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.novlr.org\/the-reading-room\/how-do-you-stop-overusing-participial-phrases\/","title":{"rendered":"How do you stop overusing participial phrases?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-f5b859b4f00799702458a936ebc23e4b\" style=\"color:#212638;background-color:#dbeeff\"><blockquote><p><em><em>&#8220;Hello! Idk if this is a common problem or not but recently I&#8217;ve found out that I overuse participial phrases in my writing. More so I do it in a way that sounds awkward. I try to cram too much in a sentence but they are all important bits. Problem is it sounds visibly crammed in. I was wondering if there is a way to do this smoothly? Or any exercise that will help me let go of this death grip on participial phrases?&#8221;<\/em><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First, congratulations on identifying a specific pattern in your writing! Seeing those patterns is often the bit we struggle with most as writers, so the fact you\u2019ve already identified it as a shortcoming means you\u2019re looking at your work with a critical eye. And once you understand why you default to them, it becomes easier to find different ways of phrasing things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">So, what are participial phrases, anyway?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A participial phrase is a group of words beginning with a participle (a verb form ending in <em>-ing<\/em>, <em>-en, <\/em>or <em>-ed<\/em>) that acts as an adjective to modify a noun. Examples of participles might be &#8220;running,&#8221; &#8220;broken,&#8221; &#8220;sitting,&#8221; or &#8220;exhausted.&#8221; And a participial phrase might look like &#8220;Running through the park, she spotted her friend&#8221; or &#8220;Exhausted from the long journey, he collapsed on the couch.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Participial phrases are useful for adding action or description to a sentence without starting a new clause. For example: &#8220;Running toward the station, Maria checked her watch.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The phrase &#8220;running toward the station&#8221; tells us what Maria is doing while she performs an action, checking her watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why do we overuse participial phrases?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Participial phrases feel efficient. They let us combine actions and descriptions into a single sentence, which is something we\u2019re often taught as a good thing in writing class. Efficiency helps keep your prose tight. But just because you <em>can<\/em> combine information doesn&#8217;t mean you <em>should<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Often, the impulse to cram everything into one sentence comes from a fear that shorter sentences are somehow less sophisticated. They&#8217;re not. Variety in sentence structure is what makes prose feel dynamic, and that includes the flow of how they start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Practical techniques for adding variety<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Separate your actions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not every action needs to happen simultaneously. If two things are sequential, let them be sequential. Instead of &#8220;Grabbing her coat, she rushed out the door,&#8221; try: &#8220;She grabbed her coat and rushed out the door.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Vary your sentence openers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you&#8217;re starting multiple sentences with participial phrases, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.novlr.org\/the-reading-room\/why-its-ok-to-use-repetition-in-your-writing-2\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"7536\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">repetition<\/a> will become noticeable. Mix it up. Start with the subject; with a prepositional phrase; with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.novlr.org\/the-reading-room\/tips-for-writing-dialogue-reading-2\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"7669\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dialogue<\/a>. Your readers crave variety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is what your character doing truly simultaneous?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Participial phrases work best when they describe genuinely concurrent actions or states. &#8220;Smiling, she handed him the letter&#8221; works because smiling and handing can happen together. &#8220;Putting on her shoes, she made breakfast&#8221; doesn&#8217;t, because those are clearly separate activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Let some details go<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not every &#8220;important bit&#8221; needs to be in the same sentence. Sometimes information is better spread across two or three sentences. Trust your readers to hold details in their minds. You don&#8217;t need to deliver everything in one go.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Hello! Idk if this is a common problem or not but recently I&#8217;ve found out that I overuse participial phrases in my writing. More so I do it in a way that sounds awkward. I try to cram too much in a sentence but they are all important bits. Problem is it sounds visibly crammed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":10949,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[108,24],"tags":[28],"class_list":["post-10947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ask-novlr","category-writing-tips","tag-writing-tips","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How do you stop overusing participial phrases? | The Novlr Reading Room<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn why writers default to participial phrases, how to spot the problem, and practical techniques to add variety to your writing.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.novlr.org\/the-reading-room\/how-do-you-stop-overusing-participial-phrases\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How do you stop overusing participial phrases? 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