THE PARTICIPLE

Form:
VERB + -ING and
VERB + -ED (regular verbs) or 3rd form of irregular verbs

There are two participles in English:

– the present participle/the –ing participle (eg writing)
– the past participle (eg written, admired)

The difference between the two participles is not in time, but chiefly in voice – the
present participle normally denotes actions, whereas the past participle usually has a
passive meaning.

The Present Participle

-can be used with auxiliary verbs to make tenses (continuous)
We are going to Italy.

-can be used as an adjective

The setting sun was hidden by the clouds.
The journey was very tiring.

-can be used as an adverb

Laughing he admitted that his father was right.

-can be used in participal (adverbial) clauses

a/ It expresses an activity happening at the same time as the action in the main clause.
Marching through the village, the girls were loudly applauded.

b/ It expresses an activity happening just before the action in the main clause.
Arriving at the station, we took a taxi.

-can be used as a noun

Smoking is strictly forbidden.
Len was ordered to cut down on his drinking.

When a present participle is used as a noun, it’s known as a verbal noun or a gerund.
The Past Participle
-can be used with auxiliary verbs to make tenses (perfect and passive)
She has decided to go to Italy.
The book was written.

-can be used as an adjective

The conquered towns were evacuated.
The children are well-behaved.

-can be used as an adverb

Encouraged by her success, she made further efforts.

PERFECT PARTICIPLE can be used in participal (adverbial) clauses

It expresses an activity preceding the action expressed in the main clause.
Having arrived at the station, we took a taxi.
After we had arrived at the station we took a taxi.

The subject of the participle (present and past) is identical with the subject of the
main clause:
Having nothing to do, I looked at the posters. Because /since / as I had nothing to do..
Exhausted by the journey, Tom crashed out.
If the subject of the adverbial clause is different from the subject of the main clause
it should be mentioned:
Being a wet day, John took his umbrella. (incorrect)
The day being wet, John took his umbrella. (correct)

In some cases the subject remains unexpressed:

Strictly speaking, she should have failed in the examination.
Judging from her appearance, she must be wealthy.
Taking everything into consideration, he did well in the examination.

Practice

1. Choose the correct participle.

A: I didn't know you were interesting/interested in gardening.
B: I'm not. I think it's really boring/bored but my mum's hurt her back and she
was concerning/concerned that the garden would become a mess.
A: Oh, I understand now. I was really surprising/surprised to see you with a
spade in your hand!
B: Don’t laugh! This is really tiring/tired, I feel exhausted/exhausting already.
2. Make one sentence from two using an –ing clause.

1 Jim was playing tennis. He hurt his leg. Jim hurt his leg playing tennis.
2 I was watching TV. I fell asleep.
_________________________________________________________
3 The man slipped. He was getting off a bus.
_________________________________________________________
4 I was walking home in the rain. I got wet.
_________________________________________________________
5 Margaret was driving to work yesterday. She had an accident.
_________________________________________________________
6 Two firemen were overcome by smoke. They were trying to put out the fire.
_________________________________________________________

3. Make sentences using perfect participle (Having …).

1 She finished her work. Then she went home. Having finished her work, she
went home.
2 We bought our tickets. Then we went into the theatre.
__________________________________________________________
3 They continued their journey after they’d had dinner.
__________________________________________________________
4 After Lucy had done all her shopping, she went for a cup of coffee.
__________________________________________________________

4. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate participle.

Carla has been interested (interest) in dancing since she was a little girl. When
she put on her own performance at home for her relatives, they were all
_____________ (entertain) by the sight of the young girl twirling around in her
home-made costumes. No one guessed, however, that by the age of eighteen she
would be an ______________ (entertain) spectacle for a much larger audience.
Carla’s family were ______________ (thrill) to attend a Royal Performance and
to witness her little girl’s ______________ (excite) debut. Carla herself was
more _______________ (excite) and _______________ (frighten) than she’d
ever been in her life. Her climb to fame had been extremely _______________
(reward). And now, here she was, dancing for the Queen. How
_______________ (please) she felt. But the _____________ (amaze) reviews
she received the next day were even more _____________ (thrill).
5 Join the following simple sentences into participal structures.

1. The man is my father. He is smoking a cigarette.

2. I had lost my friend's address. I couldn't write to him.

3. He opened the door hurriedly. He ran out.

4. He kissed his mother's hand. He was deeply affected.

5. He heard footsteps below. He rose and went downstairs.

6. He opened the wardrobe. He took out his best suit.

7. The school was closed because of an epidemic. The children had a month's
holiday.
8. The secretary opened her typewriter. She began to type.
9. I didn't receive an answer. I wrote again.

10. She was blinded by the light. She covered her eyes with her hand.

11. Our mother was ill. We sent for the doctor.

12. The teachers arrived and took their seats. The examination began.

13. Mary hurried home. The choice was made.

14. John walked into my office. His head was bent.

15. The fans ran onto the pitch. They were waving their scarves and shouting.

16. I had remembered to take my umbrella. I didn't get wet.

6 Correct the sentences.

Driving carelessly, the police arrested David.

Being a wild party, the guests started breaking the furniture.

Being a painful situation, the teacher started stuttering.

Committing perjury, the judge ruled out the witness.

Being a difficult test, the students complained to the headmaster.

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/participle-clauses?

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Grammar explanation
Participle clauses enable us to say information in a more economical way.
They are formed using present participles (going, reading, seeing, walking,
etc.), past participles (gone, read, seen, walked, etc.) or perfect participles
(having gone, having read, having seen, having walked, etc.). 
We can use participle clauses when the participle and the verb in the main
clause have the same subject. For example,
Waiting for Ellie, I made some tea. (While I was waiting for Ellie, I made
some tea.)
Participle clauses do not have a specific tense. The tense is indicated by
the verb in the main clause. 
Participle clauses are mainly used in written texts, particularly in a literary,
academic or journalistic style. 

Present participle clauses

Here are some common ways we use present participle clauses. Note that
present participles have a similar meaning to active verbs. 

 To give the result of an action

The bomb exploded, destroying the building.
 To give the reason for an action
Knowing she loved reading, Richard bought her a book.
 To talk about an action that happened at the same time as another
action
Standing in the queue, I realised I didn't have any money.
 To add information about the subject of the main clause
Starting in the new year, the new policy bans cars in the city centre.
Past participle clauses
Here are some common ways that we use past participle clauses. Note that
past participles normally have a passive meaning.

 With a similar meaning to an if condition

Used in this way, participles can make your writing more concise. (If
you use participles in this way, … )
 To give the reason for an action
Worried by the news, she called the hospital.
 To add information about the subject of the main clause
Filled with pride, he walked towards the stage.

Perfect participle clauses

Perfect participle clauses show that the action they describe was finished
before the action in the main clause. Perfect participles can be structured to
make an active or passive meaning.
Having got dressed, he slowly went downstairs.
Having finished their training, they will be fully qualified doctors.
Having been made redundant, she started looking for a new job.

Participle clauses after conjunctions and

prepositions
It is also common for participle clauses, especially with -ing, to follow
conjunctions and prepositions such as before, after, instead
of, on, since, when, while and in spite of.
Before cooking, you should wash your hands. 
Instead of complaining about it, they should try doing something positive.
On arriving at the hotel, he went to get changed.
While packing her things, she thought about the last two years.
In spite of having read the instructions twice, I still couldn’t understand
how to use it.
. Make one sentence from two using an –ing clause.
key

1 Jim was playing tennis. He hurt his leg. Jim hurt his leg playing tennis.
2 I was watching TV. I fell asleep.
_________________________________________________________
3 The man slipped. He was getting off a bus.
_________________________________________________________
4 I was walking home in the rain. I got wet.
_________________________________________________________
5 Margaret was driving to work yesterday. She had an accident.
_________________________________________________________
6 Two firemen were overcome by smoke. They were trying to put out the fire.
___Trying to put out the fire two men were overcome by
smoke______________________________________________________

3. Make sentences using perfect participle (Having …).

1 She finished her work. Then she went home. Having finished her work, she
went home.
2 We bought our tickets. Then we went into the theatre.
Having bought our tickets we went to the theatre
__________________________________________________________
3 They continued their journey after they’d had dinner.
Having had dinner they continued their journey.
__________________________________________________________
4 After Lucy had done all her shopping, she went for a cup of coffee.
Having done all her shopping, Lucy went for for a cup of coffee
__________________________________________________________

4. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate participle.

Carla has been interested (interest) in dancing since she was a little girl. When
she put on her own performance at home for her relatives, they were all
__entertained___________ (entertain) by the sight of the young girl twirling
around in her home-made costumes. No one guessed, however, that by the age of
eighteen she would be an entertaining______________ (entertain) spectacle
for a much larger audience. Carla’s family were __thrilled____________ (thrill)
to attend a Royal Performance and to witness her little girl’s
exciting______________ (excite) debut. Carla herself was more
_excited_____________ (excite) and __frightened_____________
(frighten) than she’d ever been in her life. Her climb to fame had been
extremely __rewarding_____________ (reward). And now, here she was,
dancing for the Queen. How __pleased_____________ (please) she felt. But
the __amazing___________ (amaze) reviews she received the next day were
even more _thrillin____________ (thrill).
5 Join the following simple sentences into participal structures.

1. The man is my father. He is smoking a cigarette.

2. I had lost my friend's address. I couldn't write to him.

3. He opened the door hurriedly. He ran out.

4. He kissed his mother's hand. He was deeply affected.

5. He heard footsteps below. He rose and went downstairs.

6. He opened the wardrobe. He took out his best suit.

7. The school was closed because of an epidemic. The children had a month's

holiday.

8. The secretary opened her typewriter. She began to type.

9. I didn't receive an answer. I wrote again.

10. She was blinded by the light. She covered her eyes with her hand.

11. Our mother was ill. We sent for the doctor.

12. The teachers arrived and took their seats. The examination began.

13. Mary hurried home. The choice was made.

14. John walked into my office. His head was bent.

15. The fans ran onto the pitch. They were waving their scarves and shouting.

16. I had remembered to take my umbrella. I didn't get wet.

6 Correct the sentences.

Driving carelessly, the police arrested David.

Being a wild party, the guests started breaking the furniture.

Being a painful situation, the teacher started stuttering.

Committing perjury, the judge ruled out the witness.

Being a difficult test, the students complained to the headmaster.