-Ing and -ed clauses

Today's lesson is...

-Ing and -ed clauses

-Ing and -ed clauses

• A clause is a part of a sentence. Some clauses begin with -Ing or -ed. For example:

Do you know the woman talking to John? -Ing clause

The boy injured in the accident was taken to hospital. - ed clause

-Ing and -ed clauses

We use -Ing clauses to say what somebody (or something) is (or was) doing at a particular time:

• Do you know the woman talking to Sam? (The woman is talking to Sam)
• Police investigating the crime are looking for three men. (Police are investigating the crime)
• Who were those people waiting outside? (They were waiting)
• I was woken up by a bell ringing. (a bell was ringing)

You can also use an -Ing clause to say what happens all the time, not just at a particular time. For example:

• The road connecting the two villages is very narrow. (The road connects the two villages)
• I have a large room overlooking the garden. (The room overlooks the garden)
• Can you think of the name of a flower beginning with T? (The name begins with T)

-Ing and -ed clauses

-ed clauses have a passive meaning:

• The boy injured in the accident was taken to hospital. (He was injured in the accident)
• • Kevin showed me some pictures painted by his father. (They had been painted by his father)

Injured and invited are past participles. Note that many past participles are irregular and do not end in -ed (stolen/made/written etc.):

• The police never found the money stolen in the robbery.
• Most of the goods made in this factory are exported.

You can use left in this way, with the meaning 'not used, still there':

• We've eaten nearly all the chocolates. There are only a few left.

-Ing and -ed clauses

We often use -Ing and -ed clauses after there is / there was etc.:

• There were some children swimming in the river.
• Is there anybody waiting?
• There was a big red car parked outside the house.

Names with and without the – Part 1

We say:

• the north (of England) but northern England. (without the)
• the south-east (of Italy) but south-eastern Italy.

Compare:

• Sweden is in northern Europe; Spain is in the south.

Also the Middle East, the Far East. We also use north/south etc. (without the) in the names of some regions and countries:

• North America
• South Africa

Note that on maps, the is not usually included in the name.