Participle clauses : Participle clauses Based on Longman Advanced Learners’ Grammar Presentation by Muriel Raes
Definition : Definition Participle clauses can be used in sentences to give extra information or to describe the result, cause or time of the information in the main clause.
Extra information phrases are similar to relative clauses.
Examples : Examples Not having a ticket, I won’t be able to go to the concert tomorrow.
They haven’t identified the body found in the Thames.
The company has opened a new factory, creating many new jobs.
The –ing form has an active meaning, the –ed form has a passive meaning.
Examples : Examples Yolanda is rich, owning six homes.
Verbs which are not normally used in the continuous can be used in participle clauses.
Examples : Examples Moaning with pain, a young doctor examined the victim.
A participle clause at the beginning of a sentence cannot refer to the object of the main clause!
This sentence would mean that the doctor was moaning with pain.
Examples : Examples I crouched in the alleyway, my eyes straining in the darkness.
Horns locked, the two stags struggle for mastery.
In formal (usually written) English, participle clauses can have a subject which is not the same as the subject of the main clause.
Types of participle clause : Types of participle clause Participle phrases are an efficient way of giving more information about a noun and can often replace a defining relative clause.
The man who lives upstairs is very noisy.
The man living upstairs is very noisy.
Types of participle clause : Types of participle clause Participle phrases can often operate like clauses of reason, condition, result and time:
Not being qualified, she will be unable to answer your queries.
Not having been* asked, I didn’t really want to interfere. = because she is not qualified = as I hadn’t been asked * When we want to emphasize that one thing happened before another, we can use a perfect participle for the earlier action.
Types of participle clause : Types of participle clause Participle phrases can often operate like clauses of reason, condition, result and time:
Treated gently, the fabric should last for years. = if you treat it gently
Types of participle clause : Types of participle clause Participle phrases can often operate like clauses of reason, condition, result and time:
The corporation shut down the plant, leaving many workers unemployed. = with the result that many workers were left unemployed
Types of participle clause : Types of participle clause Participle phrases can often operate like clauses of reason, condition, result and time:
Turning the corner, we saw the hospital in front of us. = as we turned the corner
Types of participle clause : Types of participle clause We usually use –ing participle phrases when two actions happen at the same time, or one happens immediately after the other.
Leaving the motorway, we noticed an overturned truck on the verge.
Switching off the lights, I turned over and buried my head in the pillow. = as/when we were leaving = after I switched off the lights…