Final answer:
The sentence that utilizes a participle is 'd. the exhausted runner crossed the finish line last,' where 'exhausted' is a past participle functioning as an adjective.
Step-by-step explanation:
The sentence that uses a participle is “d. the exhausted runner crossed the finish line last.” In this sentence, “exhausted” is a past participle that acts as an adjective modifying the noun “runner.”
Participles can function as adjectives or adverbs, and a common feature of participles is that they are formed from verbs but used to describe nouns (like adjectives) or actions (like adverbs).
Examples of using participles in such ways include phrases like “Skipping along the forested path,” where “skipping” (present participle) modifies the subjects “dwarfs”, and “Burned”, where it modifies the noun “cake” in the context of a past action. Participial phrases add descriptive detail to sentences, providing more information about nouns or the actions they perform.