There seems to be some semantic confusion in the
participial discussion. It's easy enough to resolve by going to phrase
structure grammar in which the "participle" is a lexical item with certain
formal characteristics (e.g., -ed or -ing ending) functioning as a part or all
of a finite or nonfinite verb phrase. The "participial phrase" is a
nonfinite verb phrase with a participle as its head, always serving
adjectivally. The participial phrase is still a participial "phrase" even
if it is only a bare participle (e.g., "dancing" bears).
Jeff Glauner
Park University