Unit 10 Participle Clauses

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Unit 10: participle clauses

In English, participle clauses are mainly used in writing in order to put a lot of information into one sentence.

There are three kinds of participles in English:

present participle, past participle and perfect participle.

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.) 

Present participle

The Present Participle is the ing-form. You surely know this form:

• from progressive / continuous tenses – I am speaking.
  
• as an adjective form – The film is interesting.
  
• as a gerund – He is afraid of flying.
  

Furthermore, the present participle can be used to shorten or combine active clauses that have the same subject: 

She left the house and whistled. –  She left the house whistling. 

When to use Present Participles

For an action that is the result of another action:

• Moments later a bomb exploded, leaving three people dead and twelve others injured.

For a reason for the action in the main clause:

• Having nothing left to do, Paula went home. (Since Paula had nothing left to do, she went home.)

Here the subjects of the two actions can be different:

• The weather being nice, we decided to go for a picnic. (As the weather was nice, we decided to go for a picnic.)

Past participle

The Past Participle is the participle that you find in the third column of lists with irregular verbs. You surely know this form:

• from perfect tenses – I have spoken.
  
• from passive voice – The letter was written.
  
• as an adjective form – I was bored to death.
  

The past participle can also be used to shorten or combine passive clauses that have the same subject:

The boy was given an apple. He stopped crying. – Given an apple, the boy stopped crying. 

When to use Past Participles

Past participle clauses replace passive voice finite clauses:

• Shocked by the explosion, the people ran for shelter. (The people were shocked by the explosion and ran for shelter.)
  
• The musicians stood up, surrounded by thunderous applause. (The musicians stood up while they were surrounded by thunderous applause.)
  

If we want to emphasise that an action happens before another one, we use a passive perfect participle:

• Having been nominated three times for an Oscar, he is one of today's most acclaimed film directors.

Perfect participle:

The Perfect Participle can be used to shorten or combine clauses that have the same subject if:

• … one action (the one where the perfect participle is used) is completed before the next action starts, e.g. She bought a bike and cycled home. – Having bought a bike, she cycled home.
  
• … one action has been going on for a period of time when another action starts, e.g. He had been living there for such a long time that he didn’t want to move to another town. – Having lived there for such a long time, he didn’t want to move to another town.
  

The perfect participle can be used for active and passive voice.

• active voice: having + past participle (Having cooked, he set the table.)
  
• passive voice: having been + past participle (Having been cooked, the food looked delicious.)
  

When to use Perfect Participles

If we want to make it clear that an action happens before another one, we use a perfect participle for the earlier action:

• Having washed the car, I noticed a small scratch on the front right fender. (After I washed the car, I noticed a small scratch on the front right fender.)

Here the present participle (washing the car) would mean "while I was washing the car".

If the two actions do not follow each other immediately or if the first action happens over a period of time, we use a perfect participle instead of a present participle for the earlier action:

• Having seen the film before, I didn't want to go to the cinema.
• Mark knew the town well, having lived there all his life.

1. __________ in the jungle, George had to find the way out on his own.

1. Having lost
2. Lost
3. Losing

2. ____________, our pottery will last for generations.

1. You treat with care
2. Treated with care
3. Treating with care

3. ___________ in Denmark, he could speak Danish perfectly well.

1. Having spent his childhood
2. Spent his childhood
3. Spending his childhood

4. ______, he had a long holiday.

1. Having finished the novel
2. The novel finished
3. The writer having finished the novel

5. _________ with his daughter's behaviour, he bought her sweets.

1. Her daddy pleased
2. Pleased
3. Having pleased

6. Which sentence is CORRECT?

1. The house being made of stone, it is quite cool in summer
2. Made of stone, the house is quite cool in summer
3. Making it of stone, the house is quite cool in summer