The participle is not separated by commas. Isolation of participles and participial phrases

The opinions of linguists about what a gerund is are divided. Some believe that it refers to a special form of the verb, others suggest that it is an independent part of speech. We will support the second option.

The participle is an independent part of speech. It contains the signs of an adverb and a verb, shows when, why and how an action is performed by a predicate verb, and has an additional effect. If the participle in a sentence is not alone, but has words dependent on it, then this set of words is called an adverbial phrase. The article will tell you how and when to separate gerunds in a sentence.

What is separation?

In Russian, the concept of isolation is a way of clarifying and highlighting a certain set of words in a sentence. Only members of a sentence that are secondary can be isolated; this is how they differ from non-isolated members. Isolations are necessary so that the reader can more accurately understand the described picture of the action taking place. Not only lonely gerunds can be isolated, but also

Examples of single gerunds

If an isolated adverbial clause does not have dependent words in the sentence, then it is called a single gerund. When writing a sentence, this part of speech is always highlighted with commas on both sides.

The location of the gerund in a sentence can be anywhere. Here are examples of correctly separating single gerunds with commas:

1. Staring, she could not utter a word.
2. When I returned, I found my sister at home.
3. Without training, you cannot achieve success in sports.

Accordingly, the following gerunds were highlighted with a comma:

• staring;
• having returned;
• without training.

In the letter you can find several repeated participles. They are called homogeneous. At the same time, they are separated by commas and separated by this punctuation mark as separate parts of speech. Examples of such sentences:

1. Laughing, humming and spinning, Natasha hurried to her first date.
2. Chuckling and winking, Pasha closed the door.
3. She was silent, angry, but cowardly.

Homogeneous gerunds in a sentence can refer to different predicates. For example: Playing and laughing, she, inspired, rushed towards her dreams.

Separating single gerunds with commas

Isolation of single gerundial participles occurs in the following cases:

1. If the gerund plays the role of the second predicate in a sentence. Preserves the meaning of the verb. Indicates the condition, cause or time of an action, but not its image. Having run away, Marina lost her purse. After the holiday, the guests left without calming down.
2. If you can check a sentence in your mind by replacing the gerund with a verb, or from simple sentence do the difficult thing. When Marina ran away, she rubbed her purse. The guests, although they did not calm down after the holiday, left.

Isolation of single gerunds does not occur if:

1. A single gerund has lost its verbal meaning or has a close connection with the predicate. Masha ran into the room without knocking. Zhenya climbed down from the tree silently and slowly.
2. If gerunds are circumstances of the manner of action and they cannot be replaced by verbs. Zhenya got down silently and took his time.
3. If a single gerund can be replaced with a noun. Masha ran into the room without knocking.

Identification of single gerunds depending on their location in a sentence

The separation of gerunds may not occur if they are at the beginning or end of the sentence, but in the middle they are separated by commas. Let's compare two sentences:

1. Tanya tried on the slippers slowly.
2. On the way, slowly, Tanya admired the flowers.

In the first sentence, the participle is not separated by commas, since it is represented by a circumstance of the manner of action. It can be replaced with the word “leisurely”.

In the second sentence, the gerund represents the adverbial reason (“since I was in no hurry”).

How is an adverbial phrase formed?

If a sentence contains a part of speech that answers the questions “by doing what?”, “by doing what?” and called a gerund, with dependent words, then this set of words is usually called a participial phrase.

In a sentence, this phrase always performs the function of an adverbial circumstance and relates to the verb, as it denotes an additional action. Additional actions are performed by the same person, phenomenon or thing that performs the main actions.

Examples of participial phrases

The separation of gerunds and participial phrases occurs regardless of where they stand in relation to the predicate verb. For example:

1. All day long, dark clouds walked across the sky, first revealing the sun, then covering it again.
2. Walking next to his mother, the baby looked at her in surprise and fascination.
3. Joy, while bringing happiness to some people, gave others inescapable grief.
4. I looked at the sunrise without taking my eyes off.
5. The baby, following his mother's hand, made the same movements.

What do you need to remember when using gerunds and participial phrases in a sentence?

The basic rules for using participial phrases when writing text are as follows:

1. Expressed by a predicate verb, the main action and the additional action, expressed by the participial phrase, must relate to one person, object or phenomenon.
2. Most often, the isolation of circumstances expressed by gerunds and participial phrases is used when writing a one-part, definitely personal sentence, as well as with a verb in the imperative mood.
3. If the sentence is impersonal in the infinitive, then it is also possible to use the participial phrase.
4. The isolation of gerunds and the isolation of circumstances are one and the same, since the gerund expresses a sign of circumstance in a sentence.

In what cases are gerunds and participial phrases not separated by commas?

Isolation of circumstances expressed by gerunds and participial phrases is not carried out if:

1. Circumstances are connected by the conjunction “and” with a non-isolated circumstance or predicate. She hated him and accepted his signs of attention. Dasha played noisily and screamed with joy.
2. Circumstances come closer to adverbs. They lose their additional meaning and acquire the value of a sign of action. This:

• gerunds that have become phraseological units (without closing your eyes, rolling up your sleeves, headlong, opening your mouth, and others). For example: Petya worked carelessly. But, rolling up her sleeves, she washed her hands in the bath. It should be remembered that phraseological introductory phrases (apparently, in other words, in fact, others) are separated by a comma.
• participles that carry the main semantic load. Without them, the predicate does not fully express the thought. This part of speech usually comes after the predicate. The “adverbiality” of these gerunds is obvious in sentences where there is a group of homogeneous members - gerunds and adverbs. For example: He answered me without embarrassment and frankly. Without being embarrassed- this is a gerund, and frankly- adverb.

Commas do not distinguish gerunds containing the dependent word “which” in all their variations. He wanted to get rid of the letter, reading which he recalled his recent grief.

What should we distinguish from gerunds?

Isolating gerunds, many do not think that these could be adverbs or prepositions.

The following adverbs are distinguished:

• happily;
• sneaking;
• joking;
• silently;
• sitting;
• standing;
• lying down and others.

The gerunds that are the same as these words retain an additional effect. This occurs during formation and connection with other gerunds. Anya rode standing all the way. He will do this job jokingly (easy). These sentences use adverbs.

Standing at the top, Anya looked down. All the way, having fun and playing, Yana did not close her mouth. In these sentences, commas separate the participial phrase in the first sentence and homogeneous participles in the second sentence.

Prepositions include: starting from, based on. Commas are not used, since the adverbial part can be removed from the sentence and its meaning will not change. It's been snowing since night (it's been snowing since night).

Isolation of participles and gerunds: what is the difference?

Participial and adverbial phrases perform different functions in a sentence and have the following morphological differences:

1. A participial phrase or single participle refers to the word (noun or pronoun) being defined. The gerund or participial phrase is closely related to the predicate verb. In this case, the participle changes according to numbers, gender, cases, has a full and short form, and the gerund is an unchangeable word form.
2. The participial phrase and the participle serve as a definition in a sentence, and the gerund and participial phrases act as various circumstances.
3. Participles and gerunds are distinguished by suffixes. Participles have such suffixes as -ush-(-yush-), -ash-(-yash)- -vsh-, -sh- y real participles and - om-(-em-), -im-- -enn-, -nn-, -t- for the passive. While gerunds have the following suffixes: -a-, -ya-, -uchi-, -yuchi-, -v-, -lice-, -shi-.

1. If a sentence contains a conjunction next to an adverbial phrase, they are separated by a comma. Unions are not included in circulation. For example: He smiled at his friend and, jumping over the puddle, ran home. The exception is the conjunction “a”, which comes before the participial phrase. In this case, it is included in circulation. For example: A person needs to understand what the meaning of life is, and having understood this, he will tell others.
2. If a sentence consists of several participial phrases or single participles, then commas are placed between them as when listing homogeneous members of the sentence. For example: She approached, staggering and holding her friend by the shoulder with one hand and holding the other on her belt.
3. If one sentence contains several participial phrases relating to different predicates, then each of them is separated by commas. For example: Pushing the gate with his foot, he ran out onto the road and, not paying attention to the people, rushed away.
4. The participial phrase is always separated by commas on both sides.

Isolating participles will not cause problems if you learn to correctly identify this part of speech in any sentence.

How to help your child consolidate the material he has learned?

After the child has learned theoretical material, you should invite him to consolidate it with practical exercises.

Initially, children must work orally with sentences and learn to find participial phrases and single gerunds in them. After this, students should be asked to write sentences and place them. In addition, the child should explain his choice in placing commas.

After children have mastered simple sentences, you can give them sentences with conjunctions and allied words. At the same time, before finding an adverbial phrase or a single participle, the grammatical basis should be highlighted.

They complicate the task with complex compound sentences that have several grammatical bases and homogeneous participial phrases.

The participle and the words related to it (depending on it) represent an adverbial turnover. As in the case with, the placement of commas in adverbial phrases has its own subtleties.

Our starting point will be the general rule: “Adverbial phrases on both sides are separated by commas.” But what should you consider besides this?

* If in a sentence two homogeneous (that is, related to the same verb) participial phrases are connected by the conjunction “and” (as well as other coordinating or disjunctive phrases - “or”, “either”, etc.), then by analogy with other homogeneous members of the sentence do not use commas around “and”, “or” and other similar conjunctions. The same applies to single gerunds and participial phrases. “He approached the house, dreaming of rest and thinking about the future dinner.” However, remember, this rule applies only to those cases where the adverbial phrases / gerunds refer to the same verb. If we are talking about different verbs, commas will be placed: “He approached the house, dreaming of rest, and, thinking about the future dinner, opened the door.”

* “Only” and “only” that come before the participial phrase are, as a rule, included in it, that is, a comma is placed before these words.

* An adverbial phrase is not isolated if it is included in subordinate clause and has the word “which” as a dependent word (the same is true for a single gerund). “Each of us has our own fears, without repelling which we will not be able to free ourselves.”

* If the participial phrase is adjacent to the conjunctions “a”, “and” and other similar ones, then in order to understand whether to put a comma before or after the conjunction, determine whether it is included in the phrase or not. So, if the conjunction belongs to the participial phrase, then, as a rule, when mentally removing the latter from the sentence, the remaining conjunction violates the structure of the phrase. This is especially true for the conjunction “a”. If, when the turnover is removed, the role of the conjunction in the sentence does not change, then it is not included in the turnover.

Compare:

“For a long time she couldn’t choose shoes to match the dress, but when she chose stiletto sandals, she was very happy.” -> The phrase “She couldn’t find the shoes to match the dress for a long time, but she was very happy” doesn’t look entirely logical.

“For a long time she couldn’t choose shoes to match the dress and, taking stiletto sandals, she realized that they fit perfectly with the outfit.” -> The phrase “She couldn’t find shoes to match the dress for a long time and realized that they [the sandals] fit perfectly with the outfit” is quite consistent.

* Phraseologisms with gerunds (such as “without closing your eyes”, “rolling up your sleeves”) are not separated by commas.

* If there is an intensifying particle “and” between the verb and the phrase immediately following it, the phrase is not separated by commas. “I can solve my financial problems without taking out loans.”

* Commas are also not needed if the participle expresses not an additional action, but a shade of the main one, which we discussed in detail in the article about the isolation of single participles. Similar structures can represent a whole revolution.

Let us remind you that “despite” and “despite” are prepositions, and they are written with “not” together (while the participial phrases “despite” / “despite” are written separately). Prepositions are also words such as “thanks to”, “after”, “starting”, etc. At the same time, of course, we should not forget that there are “similar” participles. Compare: “Thanks to his tips, I passed the exam” (preposition), “Thanks to his tips, I handed him a bottle of cognac” (gerund). Some of the phrases with similar prepositions are also isolated, but according to their own rules, and not according to the rules for the isolation of participial phrases.

Good afternoon. Is it necessary to highlight the adverbial phrase with a comma in the following sentence: If you no longer wish to receive letters from this newsletter, you can unsubscribe from it by clicking on the link.

The participial phrase is isolated, so a comma is needed before by clicking.

	Question No. 301239

Is busy needed in the sentence? I don’t understand whether this is an adverb or an adverbial phrase: The peacocks had already woken up and were walking around the enclosure shaking their trembling tails.

Russian help desk response

Shaking trembling tails- participial phrase, it is isolated.

	Question No. 301001

Russian help desk response

This sentence uses the adverbial verb incorrectly. Possible variant: As a rule, when you fly to another country, you don’t have any friends there.

	Question No. 300329

Please tell me whether the sentence is correct in terms of writing the participial phrase: “This dictation can be written perfectly by copying from someone.”

Russian help desk response

The participial phrase is used correctly.

	Question No. 299833

Good afternoon Tell me, in what cases in the non-union complex sentence a comma is placed before the dash. Below are examples: is it necessary to use commas to close adverbial clauses and attributive clauses? What conditions does the placement of signs depend on in such cases? I would be very grateful for a link to a detailed reference material. Discuss business, keep in touch with family, congratulate friends on important events. You can correspond in conversations without interrupting the conversation(,) - just end the call. Call security is ensured by end-to-end encryption that occurs on your device(,) - so no one can know the content of conversations. We recalculated comments taking into account only unique users who leave less than 11 comments per day (to exclude bots)(,) - still an increase from year to year.

Russian help desk response

The rule is this. When a comma and a dash occur within a sentence, the comma is placed first, followed by a dash. That is, the dash does not absorb the comma. In the reference book by D. E. Rosenthal, this is the chapter “Combination of punctuation marks.”

Right: You can correspond in conversations without interrupting the conversation - just end the call. We recalculated comments taking into account only unique users who leave less than 11 comments per day (to exclude bots) - still an increase from year to year.

The second sentence you cited is complex; it is better not to put a dash in it.

	Question No. 299327

“You can write well only when living in a Russian village.” (I. Turgenev) Is there an error in this sentence, and can it be used as an epigraph? Thank you.

Russian help desk response

According to modern rules, the participial phrase is used incorrectly, but in the 19th century this was considered acceptable. This is an exact quote, and it could well be used as an epigraph.

	Question No. 299173

Dear Certificate! Please answer (I’m writing for the third time), otherwise the manuscript needs to be submitted for layout immediately after the New Year’s weekend. Specify whether the phrase “without thinking” should be separated with commas. In the answer to question No. 294847, you write: “The combination without thinking twice is highlighted by commas, but not as an introductory phrase, but as an adverbial phrase.” You give a similar answer to question No. 288830. The answer to question No. 202641 sounds like this: “_Without thinking_ no stands apart. This phrase is closely connected with the predicate and together with it forms the semantic center of the statement.” Thanks for your work.

Russian help desk response

Words without thinking twice Most often they are isolated as an adverbial phrase, but in some cases they actually acquire the meaning of a mode of action, directly adjacent to the verb, for example: She answered his request without thinking twice.

Issue 202641 has been fixed.

	Question No. 298861

There is probably a mistake in the use of the participial phrase here. If yes, please advise how to say it correctly without changing the meaning. (This is a translation.) "The samples were crushed carefully using a pestle and mortar, avoiding the grinding action."

Russian help desk response

The participial phrase is used incorrectly. Possible variant: The samples were crushed gently using a pestle and mortar without grinding.

	Question No. 298492

Good afternoon Is it necessary to separate the name of a product for an online store with commas if there is an adverbial phrase? Example: “pink blouse decorated with pearls”

Russian help desk response

A comma before the participial phrase is needed: pink blouse decorated with pearls.

	Question No. 297938

Good afternoon We really need your help! How to deal with a comma after the word “herself” in a sentence: Sitting at performances, being an actress herself, she imagined with horror what it would be like to go on stage in the absence of an audience.

Russian help desk response

Comma after herself not required, since this word is part of the adverbial phrase being an actress myself.

	Question No. 297889

Good afternoon. In the sentence “You can find out more details[,] by clicking on the link,” is a comma required in the place indicated in square brackets? Is the phrase "following the link" an adverbial phrase? Thank you.

Russian help desk response

The specified comma is needed. Yes, by following the link- This is an adverbial phrase.

	Question No. 297804

And here's another follow-up question. “He laughed, but, noticing my despondency, he immediately stopped.” Is a comma necessary before "noticing"? Or would it be more correct: “but noticing my despondency, he immediately stopped short”? After all, “noticing” and “cutting short” are related in meaning, that is, he stopped short because he noticed. But I don't know the rule that should be followed in this case.

Russian help desk response

All commas are needed: He laughed, but, noticing my despondency, he immediately stopped short.. The participial phrase is isolated, because it can easily be separated from the conjunction and rearranged to another place in the sentence, cf.: He laughed, but immediately stopped, noticing my despondency.

	Question No. 297619

Is the punctuation correct, otherwise it hurts the eyes: “I began to rummage through the cabinets extremely carefully, trying not to make a noise”?

Russian help desk response

No commas needed. If an adverbial phrase acts as a homogeneous member of a sentence with a non-isolated circumstance, then such a phrase is not isolated. Wed: Alyosha looked long and somehow narrowed his eyes at Rakitin (Ven.)

	Question No. 297540

Is a comma necessary in the sentence: And wouldn’t it be better to practice all this while playing and having fun? If yes, then why. Thank you!

Russian help desk response

The participial phrase is isolated: And wouldn't it be better to practice all this while playing and having fun?

	Question No. 296238

Tell me if the commas are correct: The guy doesn’t overtake or get in the way, but, being like an assistant or even a servant, he follows on his heels.

Russian help desk response

It is necessary to isolate the participial phrase: The guy doesn’t overtake or get in the way, but, like an assistant or even a servant, follows on his heels.

As many people know, the participial phrase has the meaning of an additional predicate, therefore it is isolated and separated by commas. This usually does not cause difficulties for students. However, there are cases when the participial phrase does not need to be isolated. We will now consider these cases in more detail.

1. Participial phrase(most often this is a turn with the meaning of an adverbial manner of action) does not denote an additional action, but on the contrary, being closely connected with the predicate, it itself becomes the semantic center of the statement. In this case, it cannot be removed or moved without distorting or losing the meaning of the sentence.

He stood with his neck slightly craned, sad and thoughtful(the main thing is that he didn’t just stand, but stood with his neck slightly stretched).

She usually read with her head bowed and the tip of her tongue sticking out.(the point is how she read, not what she read at all).

This exercise must be done while sitting on the floor.(the point is exactly how this exercise is performed).

2. The participial phrase is a phraseological unit.

The boy hurried headlong to call the rescuers for help.

The printer worked tirelessly.

After receiving the news, the girl spent the night without closing her eyes.

Here are some of these phraseological units: carelessly, barely taking a breath, scream without taking a breath, rush with your tongue hanging out, lie staring at the ceiling, sit with bated breath, work with your sleeves rolled up, rush around without remembering yourself, listen with your ears hanging open, etc.

Some adverbial phraseological combinations act as introductory ones, then they are isolated.

To be honest, the exercise could have been done much better.

Apparently, you can already hit the road.

3. When there is an intensifying particle I before the participial phrase.

It was possible to report this without starting to quarrel.

A humble person remains humble even after defeating a strong enemy.

You can go home without waiting for the exam result.

4. If the participial phrase is broken by the word included in a subordinate clause or in a simple sentence. This usually applies to subordinate clauses definitive proposals with a conjunction word which. Also, similar cases can be found in some poetic texts.

There was a door to the left, through which it was possible to get into the dressing room.

Jim Jarmusch's new film was released yesterday, and after watching it it is not difficult to understand his creative growth.

Raven, perched on the spruce tree, was just about ready to have breakfast, but became thoughtful... (I. A. Krylov).

But Shibanov, keeping his slavish loyalty, gives his horse to the governor (A.K. Tolstoy).

5. A gerund may lose its verbal meaning, then it is not separated by commas. Usually in such cases it can be omitted without affecting the meaning of the sentence.

The post office is located not far from Vosstaniya Square.

Universities have been accepting applicants under new rules since the end of last year

You can start the task starting tomorrow(the word starting can be omitted, the structure and meaning of the sentence will not change).

However, if the turn with the word beginning is not associated with the concept of time or serves to clarify, clarify, then it is isolated.

Everything seemed suspicious to us, starting with his intonation

Captain since Crimean War, participated in all military operations except Japanese(the word starting cannot be omitted, the structure and meaning of the sentence will change).

Revolutions based And depending on in most cases they are not included in the participial construction and are not isolated.

The task is compiled based on your wishes.

We will act according to the circumstances.

6. The participial phrase appears together with the usual non-isolated circumstance and they are homogeneous. In this case, the participial phrase is not separated by commas.

We will teach you how to solve examples and problems with ease and without resorting to reference books.

The boy ran quickly and without looking back.

The second lieutenant answered inwithout embarrassment.

However, in this case, isolation is possible if the author wants to put a semantic emphasis or give a related explanation.

A little guilty and sobbing, mother psaid goodbye to Alyosha.

In the dark sky, tired and not sparkling, yellow droplets of stars appeared (M. Gorky).

As you can see, not everything is simple with punctuation marks in adverbial phrases, but we hope our explanations helped you. If something remains not entirely clear, you will always find help from our tutors!

Good luck to you and a beautiful, competent, understandable Russian language!

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Ever since school, many people have retained the idea that, unlike participles, participles are always separated by commas, regardless of the presence of dependent words and place in the sentence. In fact, this idea is not entirely correct - the separation of gerunds and participial phrases has its own characteristics. Within the framework of this article, we will consider the isolation (and non-isolation) of single gerunds. Read about it in the corresponding article.

The general rule is - single gerunds are isolated (set off with commas on both sides) if they express an additional action, and are not isolated if they express a shade of the main action. For example:

* “She opened the door, laughing” (two actions - “when she opened the door, she laughed”).

* “He walked along the road slowly and listened to the birds singing” (“slowly” is a connotation of the main action).

First of all, such shades become gerunds, which, in principle, have practically lost their verbal meaning and are perceived more like adverbs - “silently”, “slowly”. The situation is more complicated with those participles that are isolated or not isolated depending on the context. For example, “She opened the door laughing.” This participle can be seen as a connotation of an action (how exactly did she open the door?) or as an independent action (when she opened the door, she laughed). Accordingly, a comma will or will not be placed depending on the meaning that the author puts into the sentence.

The following can serve as a kind of hint when deciding to place a comma: as a rule, shades of action are expressed by gerunds coming immediately after the verb. However, they can be replaced with an adverb or a noun with a preposition. For example, “without stopping” - “without stopping”, “without haste” - “without haste”, “smiling” - “with a smile”. Some sources also indicate that participles ending in “-a” and “-o” are more often shades, while those with “-v” and “-vsh” are additional actions.

Participles separated from the verb are often isolated.

Compare:

* “She greeted smiling.”

* “She greeted with a smile.”

* “Smiling, the girl in a beautiful dress handed him the ball.”

Now let's pay attention to some subtleties regarding the placement of commas with isolated gerunds. In particular, if two homogeneous (that is, relating to the same verb) single gerunds are connected by the conjunction “and” (as well as “either”, “or”, etc.), then commas are not placed around this conjunction - by analogy with homogeneous members of the sentence. For example, “By running and doing pull-ups, she quickly got into shape.” The same applies to the isolation of the participle phrase and the solitary participle. Separated in relation to the entire phrase, these members of the sentence are homogeneous among themselves (for this participle they must necessarily refer to the same verb).

Also, commas are not placed if the conjunction “and” connects an adverb and a gerund referring to the same verb - such members of the sentence are also considered homogeneous (plus, such gerunds often express shades of action). For example, “He answered quickly and without thinking.” In this case (by analogy with homogeneous members of a sentence), if there is no connecting conjunction or there is a conjunction “a” or “but,” then a comma should be placed between the adverb and the gerund: “He answered quickly, without thinking.”

If a gerund begins a subordinate clause and has the word “which” as a dependent word, then this gerund is not isolated. The same is true if the gerund has other dependent words. “I dream of such a dress, when I find it I will feel like a queen.”