Participial phrases function as adjectives, modifying nouns or pronouns. The present participle indicates an action simultaneous with the action in the main clause. The main clause and the participial phrase have the same actor (person performing the action).
Une personne voyageant à l'étranger a besoin de
documents.
(A person traveling to foreign countries will need documents.)
Nous avons entendu une voix, mendiant.
(We heard a voice, begging.)
The passive form of the verb is called the past participle. It is often used as an adjective:
Nous marchions le long du sentier couvert de
boue.
(We were walking along the path covered with mud.)
Notice that the masculine singular form of the past participle (couvert) shows that it modifies "path," and not "we."
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