Final answer:
The sentence that correctly employs a past participial phrase is 'C. Confused by the sign, the driver made the wrong turn.' This option uses the past participle 'confused' to concisely describe the state of the driver before making the wrong decision.
Step-by-step explanation:
The sentence that correctly converts the italicized clause into a past participial phrase is: C. Confused by the sign, the driver made the wrong turn. This sentence effectively uses the past participle 'confused' to modify the subject 'the driver,' indicating that the driver's confusion occurred before making the wrong turn. The participial phrase 'Confused by the sign' succinctly tells us why the driver took the incorrect action.
By understanding how to identify whether a sentence is in the passive voice, we can learn to distinguish between different grammatical constructs. For instance, A. and B. are not past participial phrases but rather contain clauses, and D. wrongly implies that the driver is causing the confusion. The correct choice, C., uses a past participial phrase to provide additional information about the subject without using a full clause.