can you break this down for me?

Question

how do i identify the present participle and participial phrases? and how do i indicate the noun or pronoun that it modifies?

Answer 1

Find all the words that end in -ing. If they are used as adjectives or after the forms of the verb "to be", they are the present participles. To find what noun or pronoun they are attached to, ask: "Who is/has been ...ing?" =subject, "what/whom is Subject ...ing?"=object
Except thing, nothing etc of course.