Participle clauses

Do you know how to use participle clauses to say information in a more economical way?

Look at these examples to see how participle clauses are used.

Looked after carefully, these boots will last for many years.
Not wanting to hurt his feelings, I avoided the question.
Having lived through difficult times together, they were very close friends.

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Grammar test 1: Grammar B1-B2: Participle clauses: 1

Read the explanation to learn more.

Grammar explanation

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

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.)

Participle clauses do not have a specific tense. The tense is indicated by the verb in the main clause.

Participle clauses are mainly used in written texts, particularly in a literary, academic or journalistic style.

Present participle clauses

Here are some common ways we use present participle clauses. Note that present participles have a similar meaning to active verbs.

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.

Past participle clauses

Here are some common ways that we use past participle clauses. Note that past participles normally have a passive meaning.

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.

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.

Participle clauses after conjunctions and prepositions

It is also common for participle clauses, especially with -ing, to follow conjunctions and prepositions such as before, after, instead of, on, since, when, while and in spite of.

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.

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

Grammar test 2: Grammar B1-B2: Participle clauses: 2

Take your language skills and your career to the next level

Get unlimited access to our self-study courses for only £5.99/month.

Find out more

Try another grammar lesson

Language level

B2 English level (upper intermediate)

Hi Kirk I’m reposting my last comment in here. The fashion houses chosen by the magazine provide the clothes they want featured but it’s the stylist’s job to make sure they’re shown in the best possible light. That means finding accessories to set them off , making decisions about the models’ hair. Finding and making are present participle or gerund here? And why please? Best wishes Andi

Hello Andi,

I'd say they are gerunds here. Those two activities are aspects of the job of showing the clothes in the best possible light.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Kirk Thanks a lot for the response. One last question about this. Are these gerunds here that you mentioned object of the sentence? Best wishes Andi

Hi Andi,

Yes, they are objects of the verb 'means'.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Being non native English student, found difficult to understand this lesson. Hi teacher, thanks for the lesson, but I am a little bit confused about the lesson, so it would be great if you share with me a link where I can find more explained lessons about Participle clause. Thanks in advance.

Hello Maahir,

I'm sorry to hear that you found the explanation inaccessible. You could try this Free Dictionary page, but I also wanted to say that I'd probably recommend you study other grammar before devoting too much time to this. This is because unless you need to write or speak in formal contexts, participle clauses are probably something you don't need to be able to produce yourself.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Dear Kirk, Many thanks for your kindly advise

Looking back my work, I should have done better... ;)

Hi great site administers and teachers, I read "Participle clauses do not have a specific tense. The tense is indicated by the verb in the main clause." in that page. And I was confused when I saw the sentence in the text. 'Small publishers using Google’s advertising sales technology have said for years that their...' Present participle clause in the sentence is 'Small publishers using Google’s advertising sales' However, It is reduced from 'Small publishers who are using...' or 'who has been using' or maybe 'who were using'.? Which one? And how can we know the participle clause is reduced from which tense? Thank you Best wishes.

Hello Nevi,

Relative clauses have an adjectival function: they provide further information about a noun, and they directly follow the noun phrase which they describe. This is the function we can see in your example, where 'using Google's advertising sales technology' describes the noun phrase 'Small publishers' and cannot be moved to another position in the sentence.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks teacher, I mean Small publishers using Google’s advertising sales technology = Small publishers who are using? or have been using? or were using? How do we know which tense participle clause is. Best wishes.

Hello again Nevi,

Unless the context indicates otherwise, we assume that the time reference is consistent with the rest of the sentence. That would mean a present meaning.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks teacher, I appreciate it.I asked a lot teacher because I am so curious about that. Does present continuous or present simple change the meaning? For instance 'The dog that is lying on the floor' ='The dog lying on the floor.' 'The dog that lies on the floor.' = 'The dog lying on the floor.'

Hello again Nevi,

The participle (lying) here describes an action in progress, so we would not use it in place of a verb with a general meaning such as the present simple (lies). In general, the dog that lies on the floor is a strange formulation as all dogs lie on the floor - it is normal behaviour for them so wouldn't be useful as a way of identifying a particular dog. The continuous form (...that is lying on the floor...) can be used this way as it identifies a dog doing something right now, which differentiates it from other dogs.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello, could you please tell me if this is a correct sentence? The International Day of Forests is celebrated every year on March 21, reminding us of the importance of forests and trees in our lives. Thank you in advance for your help. Nevena

Hello NevenaR,

That looks good to me. Well done!

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you, Kirk. All the best, Nevena

Why in the following sentence we use “come” but not “coming”? I thought “coming” is to modify “them”? “Wandering around Camden Town, or going through CDs I couldn’t afford in West End megastores, I’d already had too many of them come up to me, asking how I was getting on since leaving the course to “seek fame and fortune.”

Hello Fiona,

I think you can use either come or coming here.

If you use coming it is a present participle describing 'them', as you say. It functions in the same way as the second present participle ('asking').

If you use come then the construction is 'have somebody do something'. We can use this construction when we require or order someone to do something, but it can be also be used when we have reached a limit of what we can accept:

I had him deliver the documents to my office. > I arranged for this.

I had had too many people shout at me already that day, so I put the phone down. > It was too much for me to accept.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you Peter! It’s clear and helpful!

Dear team, please help me explain the meaning of this sentence: Worn under normal clothes, a thermal layer keeps you warm in minus temperatures. To which of the rules is the above sentence applicable. Is it adding information to the subject of the main clause or is it similar in meaning to an if condition? Please, also notify and correct any sentence that is not written grammatically. Thanks in advance

Hi Umoh Margaret,

It could be either of them! Both interpretations make sense, and mean pretty much the same thing in this context.

Sorry, we don't make general corrections to user comments, but if you have a specific question, feel free to ask us :)

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

I appreciate your feedback.

Sitting for a long time in front of a PC, I realized that my legs are all stiff.

Dear team, Which one is correct and why? A)when his mother died of cancer, the young doctor decided to pledge his life to finding a cure for it. B)when his mother died of cancer, the young doctor decided to pledge his life to find a cure for it. Please expand your description. Thanks in advance.

Hello mehransam05,

The dictionary entry for 'pledge' shows that it is followed by an infinitive, which would suggest that B is the best option here. This sentence, however, is a bit different because the verb is 'decided to pledge' and I think A could work.

If it were me writing this, though, I would probably use a different construction (e.g. 'decided to dedicate his life to finding').

Hope this helps.

Best wishes,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

1) May God's mercies and blessings descend upon you! 2) He would firstly reply verbally to him in writing. Sir, please check for grammar and notify if there is any mistake.

Hello Muhammad Erad,

Both sentences are grammatically correct.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello. Which sentence is correct or both are? 1- I won’t go to the cinema in case of you not going with me. 2- I won’t go to the cinema in case of not going with me. Thank you.

Hello Ahmed Imam,

I don't think either of these are natural constructions.

We use 'in case' to introduce a problem or negative effect which we want to avoid: I took an umbrella in case it rained.

We use 'in case of' in two ways.

The first is with the same meaning as 'in case' but with a noun following it instead of a clause: I took an umbrella in case of rain.

The second is with the meaning 'if this happens then...': In case of fire, break glass.

In your examples I imagine you are trying to say that you will only go the cinema if the other person goes with you. You can use 'if' or 'unless':

I won't go the cinema unless you go with me.

I won't go to the cinema if you don't go with me.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks for team, I need you comment on the word ( Given) for the below announcement : - Given the current situation in Myanmar, Western Union service to Myanmar is not available.

Hello Genaib,

Used like this, 'given' means the same thing as 'due to' or 'because of' -- that is, it expresses a reason for a situation or action.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank Kirk, I have got the meaning above and I've found it similar and useful,But, referring to past particible usage, I couldn't classify it belongs to who? , kindly advice

Sorry Igot it now, like you said, reason for situation or action.. Thanks

Hi admins, I've got a question. Are perfect participle clauses informal or formal? I mean are they common in speaking or writing?

Hi Rafaela1,

I think they are neutral in style. They are used in informal and formal language use.

They are used in both speaking and writing, but particularly in writing. In speaking, Having said that, ... is quite commonly used, and there may be other common ones too.

I hope that helps :)

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi.. What's wrong with the below sentence :- - Washing at a low temperature, these jeans will keep their original colour for a long.

Hello Genaib,

The first word should be a past participle ('washed') instead of a present participle. Saying 'Washed at a low temperature' has a meaning similar to an 'if' condition: 'If they are washed at a low temperature'. We use a past participle to mean this, not a present participle.

Does that make sense?

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks, I got it

❝After having spent 6 hours at the hospital, they eventually came.❞ ❝After completing work, I will go for sleeping❞ Could you tell me the difference between "After+having+V3" & "After+verb-ing"?

Hello IjajKhan,

It's a little unusual to see or hear 'after having + v3' in modern British English -- instead people tend to use 'Having spent six hours ...' -- but essentially both mean the same thing: after completing one action, another action happens or is done.

Most of the time, the second form ('after completing') is the form I'd recommend you use. This is because even a form like 'having completed' isn't used very much, at least in standard British English.

Hope this helps.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

❝The sun having risen, we set out on our journey❞ ❝Her husband being away, she felt lonely❞ -Is this sentences correct? Please help

Hello ljajKhan,

Yes, those sentences are grammatically correct. I'm not sure if they would be the most natural choices, but that would depend on the context.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Where should I put 'not' in a having+past partciple clause, before or after the participle? Thank you.

Hi Rahmond Aung,

Not normally comes before having. Here are some examples.

Not having finished their training yet, they can't start work.
Not having seen the news, she couldn't comment on it.
Students can take the advanced course, despite not having taken the beginner course.

People sometimes put not after having, but this is less common.

Best wishes,

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you Jonathan R for the answer, I understand it now :)

Hi! How do I decide when to use the past participle or present participle in these two situations: To give the reason for an action; To add information about the subject of the main clause? Thanks.

Hi elsa78,

It's a good question :) Past participles are used if the verb has a passive meaning, in relation to the grammatical subject. For example:

Worried by the news, she called the hospital. --> She was worried (passive) by the news. This is the reason for calling the hospital.
Baked for too long, the cake was inedible. --> The cake was baked (passive) for too long. This is additional information about 'the cake'.

If the verb has an active meaning, present participles are used.

Worrying about the news, she called the hospital. --> She was worrying (active). This is the reason for calling the hospital.
Baking the cake for too long, we made it inedible. --> We baked it (active) for too long. This is additional information about 'we'.

Does that make sense?

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you Jonathan R for the answer, I understand it now :)

Hi Sir/Madam, I saw a sentence in the Oxford Dictionary: "She finds herself increasingly attracted to them and their lifestyle." The word "attracted" here, is it a 'participle clause' here? If not, is it 'adjective'? Don't understand why there's participle used here. Thanks, Nicoletta