Answer:
The choice that best explains how the underline participial phrase is used is
letter D) It is used as an adjective to describe the noun Sam.
Step-by-step explanation:
In "Thinking it was after eight o'clock, Sam hurried home," the phrase "thinking it was after eight o'clock" is what we call a participial phrase.
That type of phrase is constituted of a participle and its complements or modifiers. It always functions as an adjective, modifying a noun in the main clause. In this case, it is modifying the proper noun "Sam", which is the subject of the main clause. The participial phrase is giving us further information about Sam just like an adjective would do. For example, if someone said "intelligent Sam", Sam would no longer be just Sam. He would have a defining characteristic associated to him. The same happens in the sentence. Sam is no longer just Sam, since now we imagine him thinking it was after eight o'clock. That is his characteristic in the situation described.