All About (4)s

(4)s are also called ing openers or sentence starters.

(4)s or "ing openers" must be set up in a very specific grammatical way. 

RULE 1  

The first part of the sentence should be a dependent clause or phrase followed by a comma. 

RULE 2  

RIGHT after the comma, the person or thing "doing the ing" is mentioned. 

RULE 3  

This part of the sentence (after the dependent clause or phrase) is an independent clause. 

RULE 4  

That independent clause must be happening at the same time as the "ing dependent clause."

EXAMPLES:

(4)Drumming her fingers on the desk, Kaitlyn stared blankly at the teacher.

(4) Brushing the eraser shavings off the paper, he felt the orange crumbs slip through his fingers.

(4) Opening the wardrobe doors, the kids squealed in surprise at the wonders inside.

(4)  Wading into the river, he searched for the mermaid who had saved him when the ship crashed on the rocks the night before.

Here are some great "ing" words to use in your 4s