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Participle clauses

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Juan Pablo Bonilla Cano
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16 views

Participle clauses

Uploaded by

Juan Pablo Bonilla Cano
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Participle clauses

A form of a verb

A participle Clause is a subordinate clause that begins with a participle

Links 2 smaller clauses together in a complex sentence

Usually Show things like event order, time, cause or events

Why do we use participle clauses?

Economical

Writing more varied and sophisticated (mainly used in written texts) 


impress

3 kinds of PC  Present, past and perfect

Present participle clauses

The form is the verb+ing (going, reading, seeing, walking)

When you want to talk about an action that happened at the same time
as another action

We lay on the beach, gazing up at the night sky

To give the reason for an action or a cause

Knowing she loved reading, Richard bought her a book

Feeling exhausted after the journey, I went to bed as soon as I got to the
hotel

To give the result of an action

The bomb exploded, destroying the building

To add information about the subject of the main clause

Starting in the new year, the new policy bans cars in the city centre

We can use participle clauses adjectivelly

Look at the man sitting on the bus


Past participle clauses

The form is past participle

Gone, read, seen and walked

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

Although badly wounded, I managed to take cover behind a building

To give a similar meaning to an if condition

Looked after carefully, these boots will last for many years

Perfect participles in active sentences

The form is having+past participle

Having read, having gone, having seen, having walked

To give the reason for an action

Having lived in Oxford all my life, I couldn’t imagine moving

Perfect participle clauses can be used to show event order

Having finished the shopping, we went to a café

Perfect participle in passive sentences

The form is having + been + past participle

Having been made redundant, she started looking for a new job

Having been rescued, the injured man was taken to hospital

Tips

Tip 1
We can use a present or perfect participle clause with prepositions such
as after, by, in, while, with, since… (to make the meaning clearer)

After visiting/having visited several shops, we returned to the hotel

By not eating between meals, she managed to lose a lot of weight

When the participle clause describes a situation, a different subject can


be used using with

I was beginning to get a migraine with the students all talking at the
same time

With it/it being Sunday in Switzerland, we couldn’t find any shops open

Tip 2

Generally, the subject of the Participle Clause is usually the same as that
of the main clause

Waiting for Ellie, I made some tea

However, it is possible to have participle clause with a different subject

There being no money left, we had to start our way home

It being too late to get a train, we took a taxi

TIP 3

PC do not have a specific tense. The tense is indicated by the verb in the
main clause

Knowing I was going to an interview today, I wore a shirt and tie

Example exercises

Knowing my love of chocolate, she hid it away in her drawer

Known by many people, the actor was always recognised in the street

We took a shortcut Saving an hour on our journey time


With the money saved from giving up smoking, I’m buying a bike

Taking all things into account, I’ve decided to resign

Taken three times a day, these tablets will help your allergy

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