Participle Clauses

Participle Clauses

Uses:

• To make our writing and speaking more economical, efficient, and more elegant.

• To add information about reason, condition and result.

Past Participles (ed)

They have a passive meaning and add extra information. Sometimes they have the same purpose as adjectives (describing a noun).

Example:

"Loved by everyone, Dan was a wonderful character".

"Exhausted by her efforts, she struggled on".

Present Participles (ing)

They have an active meaning.

Reduced Relative Clauses: (same purpose as adjectives)

Example:

"The woman who is smiling in the photo is my grandmother".

"The woman smiling in the photo is my grandmother".

"I smelt the bread that was burning"

"I smelt the burning bread"

"I liked the CD (that was) lent to me by a friend"

Present Participles (ing)

Adverbial Clauses: (like adverbs) They express manner, conditions, cause, result, etc. They are common in formal or literary texts. To make it negative, use NOT before the present participle.

Example:

"Moving silently, the lion follows its prey".

"Not being qualified, she couldn't work there".

"Lying face down in the sand, he looked like some strange sea beast".

"There was a fire, resulting in serious damage".

Having + Past Participle

To show the cause of a second action.

Example:

"Having won every competition, he decided to retire".

To show a sequence of actions.

Example:

"Having made breakfast, she sat down and read the paper".

Fill in the Blank

_______ by experts to be a stress buster, jogging is a great exercise. (prove)

Fill in the Blank

________ my technique, I spent all my free time painting. (have / hone)

Fill in the Blank

________ how to relax, I always felt tense until I discovered Pilates. (negative - know)

Fill in the Blank

__________ the chance to go to a dance school in Colombia, Paul learnt salsa. (give)

Multiple Choice

________ for me by my brother, my rollerblades are a great way for me to get around.

• Bought

• Buying

Multiple Choice

_________ naturally good at sports, he had to work incredibly hard.

• Don't being

• Not being

• Not been

Multiple Choice

Alternative lifestyles are practised by many people ________ for freedom from modern life.

• looked

• looking