Participles Worksheet | Grade 8 English Printable

This printable participles worksheet helps middle school students master the use of verbals in context. By completing these targeted exercises, students will learn to identify and apply both past and present participles correctly, improving their overall sentence construction and grammar fluency.

At a Glance

• Grade: 8 · Subject: English
• Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.8.1.A — Use verbals correctly in sentences
• Skill Focus: Past and present participles
• Format: 3 pages · 20 problems · Answer key included · PDF
• Best For: Independent practice and grammar review
• Time: 15–20 minutes

This comprehensive resource features 20 distinct problems spread across three student pages. The worksheet is divided into two clear sections: an eight-question multiple-choice segment to build foundational recognition, followed by a twelve-question fill-in-the-blank section where students must generate the correct participle form from a base verb. A complete, three-page answer key is provided to ensure quick and accurate grading.

• Guided practice: The first section offers 8 multiple-choice questions, allowing students to select the correct participle form with heavy scaffolding and clear options.
• Supported practice: The second section transitions to 12 fill-in-the-blank sentences where students are given the base verb in parentheses and must determine the correct past or present participle.
• Independent practice: By generating the words themselves, students demonstrate true mastery of the grammar rule.

This gradual-release approach ensures students build confidence before applying the skill independently.

This resource is directly aligned to CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.8.1.A: Explain the function of verbals (gerunds, participles, infinitives) in general and their function in particular sentences. It specifically targets the application of participles as adjectives to modify nouns. Both standard codes can be copied directly into lesson plans, IEP goals, or district curriculum mapping tools.

Deploy this worksheet during your grammar block after direct instruction on verbals. It serves as an excellent independent practice activity or homework assignment to reinforce the day's lesson. As a formative assessment tip, monitor students during the fill-in-the-blank section to ensure they are correctly distinguishing between past and present participle endings based on sentence context. Most students will complete the full set of exercises within 15 to 20 minutes.

This worksheet is designed for eighth and ninth-grade English students who are developing their understanding of advanced grammar mechanics. It is easily differentiated for English Language Learners by allowing them to complete only the multiple-choice section first. Pair this activity with a mentor text passage so students can hunt for participles used by published authors in the wild.

Mastering verbals like participles is a critical step in developing syntactic maturity and reading comprehension in middle school. According to a recent EdReports 2024 analysis, students who receive explicit instruction and structured practice with advanced grammar concepts demonstrate significant improvements in their own writing complexity. This resource directly supports CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.8.1.A by requiring students to use verbals correctly in sentences. When students understand how to manipulate verbs into adjectives, they gain new ways to add descriptive detail to their narratives and informational texts. Providing targeted, repetitive practice with both past and present participles ensures that these grammatical structures become automatic. This automaticity reduces cognitive load during drafting, allowing young writers to focus on higher-order tasks like organization, tone, and argument development, ultimately leading to stronger overall literacy outcomes.