19. PARTICIPLE CLAUSES
INTRODUCTION
She broke her arm playing tennis.
She broke her arm, while she was playing tennis
Yesterday, I went to school
Noticing the time, she decided to head back to the office.
He decided to get a new car after breaking down yet again.
The couple living next door last year were really friendly.
DEFINITION
Participle clauses are adverbial clauses that allow us to say something with fewer
words.
CONSTRUCTION
AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE
Present participle - the
subject in each clause is
the same.
Watching TV, Jack fell asleep. [Jack
was watching TV]
Watching TV, Jack's wife came
home.
Not knowing what to do, he
asked for help.
Past participle - the
meaning is passive.
Watched so closely, the presenter
felt nervous. [The audience was
watching him.]
The presenter was watched so
closely by the audience, he/she felt
nervous
Not known for his punctuality,
he arrived late as usual.
Perfect participle - one
action is before another.
Having watched a film, Jack went to
bed. [active]
After Jack had watched a film, he
went to bed
Having been watched all day, the
presenter felt more used to it.
[passive]
Not having known him for
long, she hesitated to ask him
for help.
Not having been known for his
generosity, his colleagues were
surprised when he invited them
to dinner.
Note that:
With present and perfect participle clauses, the sentences can be inverted:
Seeing the train arrive, she started to hurry.
She started to hurry, seeing the train arrive.
Not having seen the cable, she tripped over it.
She tripped over the cable, not having seen it.
After I had gone to school, I had breakfast
The participle clause sometimes has a subject:
---- English changes your life! ---HELIUS (Student’s Book) 81
This company has a lot of longstanding employees, some employees having worked
here for
more than 40 years.
The weather being good, they decided to have lunch outdoors.
The report written, he turned to his next task.
Note that this structure is formal, and rare in conversation.
USES
To explain why Hoping to find a solution, we called an emergency meeting.
I didn't take a pen and paper to the
workshop, knowing that they'd be provided.
Having written down the wrong time, I turned up an hour
early!
To talk about a time - an
alternative to using words such
as 'while' and 'as soon as'
Chatting with my colleagues at lunch, I suddenly
remembered I had a meeting.
While i was chatting with .......
Hearing that Julia had got the manager's job, I decided to
resign.
Walking past the church on my left, I followed a narrow
street to the main square.
Seen from a distance, he looked/looks like his brother.
In conditional sentences,
particularly when giving
recommendations or advice
Heated gently, the soup retains its flavour.
Serviced regularly, this car will go on for years.
Better paid, they'd probably work harder.
Dealt with sooner, it wouldn't have got as bad as this.
To talk about something
happening at the same time as
the activity in the main clause
or to give further information
about the main clause
Note: Mainly seen in formal
literature
The people in this team are quite young, most being under
twenty-five.
Her voice getting louder, she continued to tell him how she
felt.
PARTICIPLE CLAUSES AFTER CONJUNCTIONS AND PREPOSITIONS
Present and perfect participle clauses are often used after certain conjunctions and
prepositions.
Here are some examples:
---- English changes your life! ---HELIUS (Student’s Book) 82
Before telling everyone the date, could you make sure there's a room available?
After having read all my emails, I didn't have much time for anything else.
On seeing there was no one in the room, he realised he'd got the time wrong.
Mind the gap when boarding the train.
While/whilst accepting the need for new desks, the management didn't want to pay for
them.
PARTICIPLE CLAUSES AFTER A NOUN
Also known as 'reduced relative clauses', these give information about a noun. They use
present
or past participles, including 'being'.
Present participles are used for a variety of tenses, not just the present continuous:
The man organising the conference is my colleague. [the man who is organising..]
Passengers arriving from the EU need to queue here. [who arrive, or who are arriving]
She was the one talking to Harry. [who was talking]
Past participles are used with a passive meaning:
Did you read the report written by the HR department? [which was written]
He likes shoes made in Italy. [which are made]
'Being' + past participle is used with a continuous passive meaning:
The room being decorated at the moment is the manager's office. [which is...]
The subject being discussed when he arrived was the delayed delivery. [which was...
Adjectives ending in "-ed":
⚫ These describe how a person or animal feels.
⚫ They express the emotions or feelings someone has as a result of something.
Examples:
1. Bored: "I am bored with this movie." (This means I feel bored because the
movie isn't interesting.)
2. Excited: "She is excited about the trip." (This means she feels excited
because of the upcoming trip.)
Adjectives ending in "-ing":
⚫ These describe the characteristic of a person, thing, or situation that causes a
particular feeling.
⚫ They often describe what causes the emotion.
⚫ Examples:
1. Boring: "This movie is boring." (This means the movie itself is not
interesting, which makes people feel bored.)
2. Exciting: "The trip is exciting." (This means the trip itself is thrilling or
interesting.)
In summary:
---- English changes your life! ---HELIUS (Student’s Book) 83
• -ed: Describes feelings or emotions of a person or animal.
• -ing: Describes the cause of those feelings, or the characteristics of something
IV. PRACTICE
I. Use the words in brackets as participles in the gaps
1. a _______________ boy (wait)
2. an _______________ story (interest)
Describing the story that interests someone
3. a ________________ car (break)
4. the ________________ pizza (forget)
5. the ________________ father (work)
6. I saw him _______________. (go)
7. the ________________ computer (repair)
8. the ________________ students (talk)
9. ________________ fans (excite)
Describing the fans who have been excited by something
10. the girl ________________ next door (live)
II. Put in the verbs in brackets as participles (present participle or past participle) into
the gaps
1. He saw his friend ________________ (go) out with Sue.
2. The bus crashed into the blue car ________________ (drive) down the hill.
3. Peter hurt his leg ________________ (do) karate.
4. The umbrella __________ ______ (find) at the bus stop belongs to John Smith.
5. The people ______ __________ (dance) in the street are all very friendly.
6. I heard my mother _______ _________ (talk) on the phone.
7. My uncle always has his car _______________ (wash).
HAVE ST DONE
S + have + something + V3/ed : when we talk about someone doing something for us
that we ask or
instruct them to do.
Ex: I had my hair cut
Someone cut my hair
S have + someone + V(inf) + something: talk about instructing someone (underlined) to
do
something. We use it to emphasize who performed the action
Ex : He had Kay make us all some tea.
GET ST DONE
S + get + something + V3/ed:
Ex: I believe that Emma should get her bike fixed
---- English changes your life! ---HELIUS (Student’s Book) 84
S get + someone + to V:
Ex: The boy got his father to do his homework
8. We stood ________________ (wait) for the taxi.
9. _____________ (look) down from the tower we saw many people walking in the
streets.
10. The people drove off in a ____ ____________ (steal) car.
III. Rewrite the sentences below using a present participle, past participle or perfect
participle clause. Identify the new clause underlining it.
1. I smelt something. It was burning.
→____________________________________________________________________
___________
2. I was exhausted through lack of sleep and fell asleep at my desk.
→____________________________________________________________________
___________
3. She was doing the high jump. She twisted her ankle.
→____________________________________________________________________
___________
4. John spent the summer of 1990 in Europe. He was testing his boards on Austrian
glaciers.
→____________________________________________________________________
___________
5. Peter was abandoned by his parents at an early age and took to stealing.
→____________________________________________________________________
___________
6. I had plenty of time to spare so I had a good look round the town.
→____________________________________________________________________
___________
7. Mary had been shoplifting for many years before she was found out.
→____________________________________________________________________
___________
→____________________________________________________________________
___________
8. I left them. They were doing the washing-up.
→____________________________________________________________________
___________
9. He was frequently criticised for his self-centred attitude but was nonetheless very
popular.
→____________________________________________________________________
___________
10. I had been out all day so I was quite happy to stay in for the evening.
---- English changes your life! ---HELIUS (Student’s Book) 85
→____________________________________________________________________
___________
11. The bedrooms that overlook the sea are the best ones in the hotel.
→____________________________________________________________________
___________
12. I had failed one of my exams so I couldn't get into university.
→____________________________________________________________________
___________
13. He couldn't understand the message. He hadn't learnt any Japanese.
→____________________________________________________________________
___________
14. After he was released from prison, Andy could not find a job anywhere.
→____________________________________________________________________
___________
15. As she didn't have a boyfriend, she flirted with every guy she met.
→____________________________________________________________________
___________
16. Since he had never been there before, he was stunned.
→____________________________________________________________________
___________
17. Before he left the house, he switched off the lights.
→____________________________________________________________________
___________
18. As she was on holiday, she couldn't go to the party.
→____________________________________________________________________
___________
19. While she was preparing dinner, she cut her finger.
→____________________________________________________________________
___________
20. When I travel around Ireland, I always stay in youth hostels.
→____________________________________________________________________
___________
21. Since she didn't hear the doorbell, she missed the delivery.
→____________________________________________________________________
___________
22. After I had dropped him at the station, I drove straight to the supermarket.
→____________________________________________________________________
___________
---- English changes your life! ---HELIUS (Student’s Book) 86
23. Since he didn't feel well, he stayed in bed.
→____________________________________________________________________
___________
24. While they were talking on the phone, they forgot everything around them.
→____________________________________________________________________
___________