Which answer identifies the participial phrase and the word it modifies in this sentence? the dog barking in the yard for the last three hours is giving me a headache. answers the participial phrase giving me a headache modifies hours. the participial phrase barking in the yard modifies dog. the participial phrase in the yard modifies barking. the participial phrase for the last three hours modifies barking.

Your answer would be that the participle phrase "barking in the yard" modifies dog.

Explanation:

The complete participial phrase in the sentence above is "barking in the yard for hours". In this case, the participial phrase is present so it ends in -ing. Since all phrases requiere two or more words, a participial phrase will include objects and/or modifiers. What is more, participial phrases always function as adjectives, adding description to the sentence. As you can see, the participial phrase in question modifies the noun dog. Moreover, this participial phrase is essential as the information it provides is considered relevant to complete the meaning of the sentence; it helps identify which dog the speaker is referring to. If it was removed, the meaning of the sentence would be changed. The sentence would refer to that particular dog no longer (see 1).

1) The dog is giving me a headache

1.   in sonnet 18, the speaker wants to describe the beauty of his love, but can’t find the words to do so. the speaker says “then in mid-utterance the lay was lost” when he tries to think of the words to describe his love’s beauty.   through his defeat of finding words to describe his love, he shows his love for her.

2.   instead of describing how perfect his love is or comparing her to other beautiful things, he says she is average and there is nothing special about her.   at the last 2 lines of the poem, the volta changes the poem by saying that even though his love is average in beauty, his love for her is special and unique. so instead of praising her throughout the whole poem, he contrasts her average characteristics with his special love for her.

3.   the beloved asked the speaker to describe how he feels about her. she begins to describe what she feels but "drop the torch" and says that she can't do it because the words "hid in me out of reach." the the speaker says "nay, let the silence of my womanhood command my woman-love to thy belief" and that her silence will have to be the answer to his question.