participial

The word "participial" is a grammar term. It means "related to a participle" or "using a participle." A participle is a verb form that can do adjective work, describing a noun or pronoun instead of serving as the main verb. In that sense, a verb form has stepped away from pure action and started helping with description.

There are two main kinds of participles: present participles such as running, glowing, and singing, and past participles such as tired, broken, written, and covered. When grammar books talk about a participial phrase, participial clause, or participial modifier, they mean a structure built around one of these participle forms.

For example:

• "Covered in snow, the mountains looked silent and distant." Here, covered in snow is a participial phrase describing mountains.
• "The book, written by a famous author, sold quickly." Here, written by a famous author is participial because it grows from the participle written and describes book.
• "Smiling brightly, she accepted the award." Here, smiling brightly is participial because it describes she.

Participial structures can appear at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence. They are useful because they add detail in a compact way. But they must point clearly to the right noun. Otherwise, you get a dangling modifier, as in "Running quickly, the bus was almost missed," which wrongly makes it sound as if the bus was running.

So, if something is called participial, it is connected with a participle or with a phrase built from one. The word usually appears in discussions of grammar, especially when explaining how verb forms can also describe people and things.