How do I know what a participial phrase is within a sentence?

Question

Recently, I have realized that there are huge gaps in my knowledge in terms of grammar, so I have begun learning some of the basics. One thing I am trying to learn is the participial phrase. I understand that a participle is a verb that can be used as an adjective which is used to modify a word, phrase or clause, but sometimes it confuses me. For example, in the sentence... 'Leaping over the hurdles, Cindy appeared as graceful as an antelope." I understand that 'Leaping over the hurdles" is the participial phrase since it modifies Cindy, but why is "appeared as graceful as an antelope' not a participial phrase aswell? From what I see, it describes Cindy being as graceful as an antelope, plus the word 'appeared' is a past participle isnt it? Thank you so much.

Answer 1

The verb will end with 'ing.'