Participle clauses

Participle clauses

Do you know how to use participle clauses to say information in a more economical way? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

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

Language level

Average: 4.3 (54 votes)

Submitted by datdo14102004 on Sun, 24/10/2021 - 06:05

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Hello teacher
Can I use present participle in this way to add information to the first clause?
"The figure for Food production in China was determined to be the highest one, rising from nearly 5 million tonnes to about 9 million tones between 2010 and 2012."
Thank you very much!

Hello datdo14102004 ,

Yes, the present participle 'rising' is fine here.

Peter
The LearnEnglish Team

Can I remove the comma after the first clause? Is there any change in the meaning of the sentence if I do that?

Hello datdo14102004,

The comma is necessary. Without the comma, the participle would form part of a defining relative clause describing 'the highest one'. In other words, the sentence would be about the highest figure out of all those which are rising, rather than the highest figure, with some additional detail added.

Peter
The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Risa warysha on Fri, 22/10/2021 - 11:31

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Hi teachers,
Are adjectives -ed like "annoyed and tired" called past participle?

I read adjective with -ed on the other page, and it says "annoyed" cannot be put before noun. Is there any explanation for adjective -ed (or past participle) that can or cannot be put before nouns?
Thank you, sir.

Hello Risa warysha,

Past participles are a verb form, what is sometimes known as the 'third form'. Some past participles can be used as adjectives -- but not all -- and I'm afraid there is no easy rule to say which ones can be used this way.

When we talk about the position of adjectives (i.e. where they go in a sentence), we often use the terms 'attributive' and 'predicative'. The first one indicates a position before a noun (e.g. 'red shoes' or 'expensive car') and 'predicative' refers to an adjective used after a link verb (e.g. 'The sky is blue').

Most adjectives can be both predicative and attributive, but there are some that are only used in one way. 'annoyed' is an example of an adjective that is only predicative; others include 'asleep' and 'alone'.

You can read a bit more about this on https://www.lexico.com/grammar/attributive-and-predicative-adjectives

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by ali shah on Thu, 21/10/2021 - 09:42

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Hello, Sir. You're doing a great job by sorting out our problems relating to grammar. Keep it up! Best wishes your way.

Now coming to my question.

1."Even as the US president has immense powers, the incumbent has the Congress breathing down his neck at all times and has to engage with its members."

Which structure is this: 'the incumbent has the Congrss breathing down'? What grammar rule does apply here? Please explain.

2." Like so many other issues relating to women's health in England, breast cancer is not a subject of serious discussion in the country, largely on account of social taboos."

Which phrase is this: 'largely on account of social taboos'? I didn't get the grammar rule behind it.

Regards.

Hi ali shah,

1. This structure is used to talk about things we experience which are currently in progress. The structure is: subject + have + object + -ing verb. Here are some more examples.
-- It's very hot. I have sweat running down my forehead.
-- I don't feel lonely because I have my friends sending me lots of messages.
-- When I worked in an office, I had people calling me all the time.

You can read more about this on this Cambridge Dictionary page. See the 'Talking about an experience' section: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/have-something…

2. This is a prepositional phrase, 'on account of + noun'. The adverb 'largely' is added at the front.

Thanks for your kind comments :) We are glad to hear that.

Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Wrakshamara on Wed, 20/10/2021 - 12:10

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''As Gorman finished her poem, four US presidents and first ladies, two former vice presidents and their spouses, dozens of lawmakers and scores of diplomats gave her a standing ovation, some struggling to hide their tears.''

What is the grammar behind using the last clause ''some struggling to hide their tears'?
Is it present participle? If yes, why didn't the writer use 'with' before 'some struggling...' as the participle has not the same subject as the main clause?

Please asnwer this, Sir.