Participle Clauses

Participle

clauses

Participle Clauses

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.)
• perfect participles (having gone, having read, having seen, having walked, etc.)

Examples

Present participle clauses

• 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.

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Past participle clauses

• 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.

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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.

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Participle clauses after conjunctions and prepositions

• 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.

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